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Lyle Brunckhorst
Bronk's Knifeworks
@
Country Village
23706 7th Ave. SE
Suite B
Bothell, WA 98021
425 402-3484
King County Specialty Stores
The total guide to Specialty Stores in the King County area.
Knife Sharpening
A beginners guide for professional results
The Edge Pro Knife Sharpeners
&
knife sharpening in general
Welcome to the
"Secret World of Knife Sharpening"
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The Book: Your guide to professional knife sharpening.
Knife sharpening has always been an art and as a young pup in the 50's, I can remember that my uncle Birdell ,as we fondly called him, was a master story teller as well as a master at knife sharpening. He knew just the right pauses and facial expressions and used them to get just the right effect to keep us hanging on his every word and he knew his knife sharpening as well.
As he spun his yarns, he would sometimes sharpen his hunting knife on his favorite wet stone and the effect would be riveting. He would hone away as he spun these wild tales about his various hunting expeditions. He would take us to the precipice of the story and then suddenly stop honing his blade for the pause that left you hanging on for the next word, he would squint at the blades edge, cock one eyebrow halfway up his forehead, draw his ears back like a mule, test the blade's edge with his thumb, spit on the stone, look at you with a mischievous smile and gleam in his eye and resume honing the edge again as he unfolded the rest of the story. I still remember those stories and the fantastic expressions he made telling them. I also remember his knife was always sharp and I also remember that I found knife sharpening like he did a very frustrating and daunting task. In the past 30 years or more of professional knife sharpening and making knives however, I have learned much.
Professional Knife Sharpening:
Soon after I started making knives, back in 1976, I set up my portable work shop on main street of the small town of White Sulphur Springs way out in the middle of Montana. I did it for two reasons, one to make a little extra money at knife sharpening and the other to introduce myself to the hunters that traveled to the area for the fine elk hunting in the area. It wasn't long and I had a following and a reputation for putting a keen edge on a knife. I still have my knife sharpening shingle hanging out in front of my shop here in Country Village, Bothell, Washington where I still do professional knife sharpening, sell knife sharpeners, make and sell knives, teach knife making and about every thing else knife related. One of my newest endeavors is mail order knife sharpening for those folks that would like to use my services but are not within visiting range. For more info go to Mail Order Sharpening.
Over these past nearly 30 some years, I have made, sold and sharpened many knives as you can imagine and have managed to separate the fact from the myth as I applied the hard learned principles to the craft.
My good friend John Lavier and I joined forces to create the Double L Hoofknife, a couple years back now and it is sold exclusively by Delta Horseshoe Co. of Rocklin, CA. I soon became aware that a how to primer on knife sharpening ("The Secret World of Sharpening") to show the horse shoeing folks how to sharpen the hoof knife the easy way would be very useful. This in turn lead me to the realization that anyone who used a knife, any kind of knife, would benefit from no nonsense professional knife sharpeners and knife sharpening books that made the task and life easier.
I think the book is easy to read and it is separated into chapters for easy navigation. You can skip directly to the chapter on knife sharpening and return later to learn a little more about knives and steels in general. No, I haven't included any of Uncle Birdell's stories. Yet.
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For more information on knife sharpeners or knife sharpening check out Pro Knife Sharpeners Dot Com
I am always looking for ways to improve my craft, whether it be making knives, teaching knife making, writing knife sharpening books or getting information to customers via my web site. So here is the deal, to receive a free condensed version of the chapter on knife sharpening and knife sharpeners and be subscribed to my newsletter, please fill out the feed back form below and include your E mail address. I will send you via E mail a printable and very useful page on sharpening your knives.
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Professional Knife Sharpeners:
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Apex
EdgePro: Professional Knife Sharpener
Most of the knives that I have sharpened over these years has been sharpened on my belt grinder. Uncle Dell would really have something to cock his eyebrow about if he were still here to observe. I have gotten quit good at it and it is very fast and reliable way for me. I realize that the average guy does not have one of these belt grinders at his or her disposal but the principles are the same. Wouldn't it be nice if someone actually made knife sharpeners that not only worked well but was easy to use and affordable? Well here are a few of the best.
Spyderco makes a ceramic knife sharpener that is easy to use because you need only to hold the blades vertical while dragging the edge over the rods. It is great for those quick touch ups between a major sharpening. Although it comes with two grits of ceramic triangular rods, it is still too fine to remove steel on a very dull knife. They have built the sharpener so that you can use the sharp corners of the rods to move metal more aggressively, but it is not the best way to true up the edge. A very good system for touch ups but not the best for accurate knife sharpening.
Drag em over the edge type sharpeners are too numerous to count and run the gambit of two small round crossed ceramic rods or two sharp carbide cutters in a plastic guide with handle. The former may work as a quick touch up but nothing more. The later makes me cringe as it removes steel way too aggressively but never gets the blade truly sharp. I spent a week at a sportsman show demonstrating the Edge-Pro and right across from me was this fellow with the ultimate drag em. Down the row a ways was a dealer selling Kershaw and Spyderco knives. Someone would purchase a new knife and the drag em guy would induce them to let him sharpen his new prized knife. I would then often as not wind up putting a proper edge back on the knife for the knife owner. It was one of my best shows ever and folks that I met there are still looking me up to get an Edge-Pro several years later.
Electric knife sharpeners are common these days and will certainly appeal to folks who want a fast edge with no fussing around. Although I have not set about to test a variety of these electric grinders, I have never seen one that will give a good and lasting edge and I have seen many knives that have been chewed up by one. If you have a good set of cutlery and value them, I would recommend using something else.
Lansky clamps their device to the back of the knife and uses holes to guide the stone's extensions rods in order to achieve a proper blade angle. It works well on most knives but the drawbacks are having to move the device up and down the blade on longer knives and some knives it can be difficult to keep the device clamped securely.
The Tri Stone Systems that rest in a holder that leaves one stone up for honing and the other two stones submerged in honing oil are very nice if you are a practiced knife sharpener. The drawback here is that you have to be able to hold and maintain the correct angle as you draw the edge over the stone.
EdgePro: I have seen a lot of gadgets sold over the years to supposedly hone your knife, but most are just that, gadgets cluttering up the drawer. I could write a whole book just on the pros and cons of the whole lot but time is better spent on working with what works. I have to tell you straight out about the EdgePro because it is truly a chefs choice knife sharpener and in my humble opinion one of the finest knife sharpening system that I have seen out side of my trusty belt grinder. The "Edge Pro" is easy to master and gets the same results as an expert using the finest of stones but with great precision. I use it often myself on my high end art knives that I want to be just right. You can achieve edges that will rival the Japanese Katana with this thing with only a tiny fraction of the time expended and it can actually get a knife sharper than I can with my belt grinder. My only regret about this sharpener is that I didn't invent it myself and call it something like the sharpmaker knife sharpener or something. The one thing that I would suggest about using the Edge-Pro on a highly polished blade is to cover the blade with masking tape to prevent it from becoming marred from grit that lands on the shelf.
Normally the Edge-Pro comes with two stones from the manufacturer, a 220 grit and a 320 grit and retails for $150.00. However I order the Edge-Pro with three stones, a 220 grit, a 320 grit, and a 800 grit for obtaining that razor like edge. It comes with a carry case and detailed instructions. This will be the last knife sharpener that you will ever need and it will last for generations. The stones are replaceable, you will never wear out the finer stones and you might with a lot of use need to replace the 220 grit eventually.
Check out the special listed below.
Learning to sharpen with the EdgePro is a very simple task but if one has a good understanding of what is happening, he or she can obtain even better results with less effort. The instructions supplied from the Edge-Pro folks does a very good job of explaining how to use the sharpener. Now if you add the book "The Secret World of Sharpening", you will not only master the sharpener but you will become the best sharpener on the block. Wouldn't it be nice to always have sharp knives that made your life a little easier, whether in the kitchen or in the work shop?
Ben has made it even easier yet for you to master the sharpener, he has made a video that clearly demos the Edge-Pro and it is available for only $15.00. plus $4.00 if shipped separate. No additional shipping fees for video if purchased with EdgePro.
For those quick touch ups between sharpening, I recommend using a fine ceramic knife sharpener like our ceramic honing rod instead of the traditional steel. $15.00 plus $4.00 if shipped separate. No additional shipping fees for ceramic hone if purchased with Edge-Pro.
To Order the book:
The book retails for $4.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling $8.95
Washington residents please add 8.9% sales tax $0.44 total $9.39
Edge Pro Apex standard model: Suggested retail $150.00, My price $130.00 save $20.00
Edge Pro Apex Special: Extra 800 grit stone and "The Secret World of Sharpening". Suggested Retail $168.95, My price $144.00, Save $20.00.
Edge Pro Apex Complete: Includes 120, 220, 320 and 800 grit stones. Also the tape blank with packet of 2000 grit polishing tapes, wash cloth, water bottle and video. Retail price including purchase of all parts $237.95, My price $185.00, Save $52.95.
Apex EdgePro:
Professional Knife Sharpeners
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Washington residents add 8.9% sales tax
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Bronk's Knifeworks, 23706 7th Ave. SE, Suite B, Dept W, Bothell, WA 98021