One is just not always willing to pull out the stones, particularly when there are multiple knives involved.  And they do pile up... pocket knives, kitchen knives, steak knives... all needing some love.

A friend turned my onto Smith's Jiff-S sharpener.  Easy to use, and it does a good job of taking a knife from slightly dull to us-ably sharp.  If the knife is in a bad way, genuinely dull or with nicks, this takes a while to make progress.  I was fairly happy with it.

We just got a care package from my in-laws, and amongst the random items were two Rada sharpeners.  I'd noticed these before at their house.  Weird thing, with two loose washers that are the "stones."  Seeing as we now own two, I tried one out on "that knife."  You know the one.  It only gets used when everything else is dirty.  You didn't actually buy it; the previous tenants abandoned it when they moved out and you found it in a drawer.  After a bit of work, surprise!  The knife had a serviceable edge!  It's a little bit awkward to get a good edge on a curved blade, and there's not enough holding area to do a batch of knives, but it seems like it's actually a pretty decent product.  I think that if this were screwed to a counter top or a windowsill, it would be good for bulk work.

Now, if I were performing surgery, I'd start with one of these tools to get the coarse work done, then start looking for my good stones to finish the job.  But for kitchen work, or demolishing a nice steak, seems like both of these are pretty decent tools.

Share your reviews of other sharpening products!

I bought this Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker Set a few years ago from a knife seller in the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet 10 years or so ago.  I only bought it as the chef at work had it and swore by it.  I say it works great, no complaints yet.  Funny thing is I tend to sharpen my pocket knives more with it than the kitchen knives I have.

I bought this Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker Set a few years ago from a knife seller in the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet 10 years or so ago.  I only bought it as the chef at work had it and swore by it.  I say it works great, no complaints yet.  Funny thing is I tend to sharpen my pocket knives more with it than the kitchen knives I have.

My go-to sharpener also.

For kitchen knives:

Victorinox Diamond Honing Steel 12-Inch Oval with Hollow Core, Black Plastic Handle
(Mine is by Forschner, which it appears was bought out by Victorinox)
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000B5I6PU/?tag=2ahawaii-20



Does a great job if you know how to sharpen blades -- proper angle and pressure.


For pocket and other outdoor knives:

Smith's CCD4 3 IN 1 Field Sharpening System
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000N35D2E/?tag=2ahawaii-20



Just like the Spyerco people have, this has the triangle stones for serrated edges. 
The metal covered stone seems to be at least as good as any whetstone.
The notch sharpner works well for small bladed tools other than knives, like scissors.

No complaints about either one.

I've been doing all of my sharpening on a belt sander, super fine grit belts and finishing with a "Surgi-Sharp" leather belt.  That thing is amazing and puts a mirror finish on a blade quickly and with little skill.  Of course some practice on an expendable blade is always a good idea when using power tools.  I would also advise to keep one hand grounded on the machine when using the leather belt as a pretty decent amount static quickly builds.  It can snap pretty good unless you keep grounded.
Even if you prefer to sharpen with a stone or rod, try the Surgi-Sharp to finish strop, so fast an easy.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000R6RLAY/?tag=2ahawaii-20

I've been doing all of my sharpening on a belt sander,

Do not think she who controls the checkbook is going to be swayed by the idea that a belt sander is needed to sharpen knives, good try though, she said!

I've used a 1" belt sander (I had a 1X42, then when that gave up the ghost I got a 1X30 at HD for $40, give or take) since I learned how at Shofner's World of Knives (Waikiki in the early 80's).

Needless to say, you've got to be real careful not to burn the temper on the blade, nor do you want to eat up your blade too quickly.  I use a 180 grit belt for really dull knives, a 320 for blades I've already sharpened on the sander before and are not too dull, and rarely a 100 grit for rough shaping/regrinding.

After the edge is ground, I back-steel the edge on a fine diamond hone, then give it a half-dozen strokes on each side (yeah, yeah Mac, that's what she said).  Done properly, a machete will ribbon up a sheet of typing paper. 

For my pocket knife, I use a Lansky.  Once the edge is dulled, I use the diamond hone to touch up the edge until I get the urge to redo the whole thing on the Lansky again.

So, in sticking to the topic, I use and like the Lansky sharpener and a kitchen knife type fine diamond steel.

I've used a 1" belt sander (I had a 1X42, then when that gave up the ghost I got a 1X30 at HD for $40, give or take) since I learned how at Shofner's World of Knives (Waikiki in the early 80's).

Needless to say, you've got to be real careful not to burn the temper on the blade, nor do you want to eat up your blade too quickly.  I use a 180 grit belt for really dull knives, a 320 for blades I've already sharpened on the sander before and are not too dull, and rarely a 100 grit for rough shaping/regrinding.

After the edge is ground, I back-steel the edge on a fine diamond hone, then give it a half-dozen strokes on each side (yeah, yeah Mac, that's what she said).  Done properly, a machete will ribbon up a sheet of typing paper. 

For my pocket knife, I use a Lansky.  Once the edge is dulled, I use the diamond hone to touch up the edge until I get the urge to redo the whole thing on the Lansky again.

So, in sticking to the topic, I use and like the Lansky sharpener and a kitchen knife type fine diamond steel.