Rick Rider said:
If you were to buy a new sharpener what kind would it be? I am leaning toward a bench
grinder (variable speed) mounted set of wheels myself. One wheel sharpens the other
finishes by removing burrs created on the first wheel. I could use the dressing wheel
many times before needing to re-sharpen the knife on the first wheel.
If you've never sharpened kitchen knives with a bench grinder before
forgeddaboudit... odds are strong all your chefs knives will become
paring knives, if yer lucky, if yer lucky you'll keep all your body
parts intact too. You'd need to be very proficient with bench grinder
use, and for kitchen cutlery you'd need a slow speed model (1750 rpm,
not 3600 rpm) and preferably a wet grinder, one that continuously pumps
coolant on your work. I use a bench grinder for sharpening all sorts
of cutting tools, chisels, drill bits, lawnmower blades, etc. and I'm
very good at it but would not use a bench grinder on my kitchen knives.
For cutlery I use a whetstone. I have an assortment of sizes, types,
and grits. You can't do much damage practicing with whetstones. Btw,
if you can't seem to get a good edge with a whetstone you can only do
worse with a bench grinder, a lot worse.
Sheldon