Your content is second to none (in my humble opinion) because of the different layers that make up your videos. Informative, yes of course, entertaining & creative, always, but then there is even more at times like here, a true feat how you manage to incorporate bits of your personal life, including some struggles, as elegantly as you do. I feel this video was made for me, as I moved quickly to fixed angle systems, then trying to freehand but having the exact issues that you are describing: mainly not being able to maintain an even grind all the way to the tip. I will follow your lead, "take a step back" and get this sharpener to teach myself better technique. Thank you and thanks to your cool wife helping you to get out of the rut! BTW, I think you have well established your integrity over the years and I personally don’t see any issue if you accepted some compensation (affiliate link?) from companies of products you truly believe in. I can’t imagine a better endorsement of the sharpener than this video and was surprised that there isn’t an affiliate link in the description. I wonder how many people besides me are going to buy this because of your video. Probably a boatload and I am certain the vast majority of viewers of your channel would agree that some kickback from Worksharp would be very well deserved.
I like this a lot. Hadn't seen Tree for a while until the Wife Sharpening videos, and thought to self "nice tats, those two look great together and have such charming natural interplay." It's nice now to hear you talk a little about making those videos together. Great idea and have loved the new sharpening adventure, cheers to you both!
Everyone should just embrace their inner Uncle Randy. I’ve been freehand sharpening my knives since I was a kid. I had Arkansas stones and a strop. Dad would let me use his Norton stone to work out blade chips. I’ve got the Work Sharp guided sharpener and several of their field sharpeners. They are great products!
It does seem like a really smart design. It’s almost an inverse fixed-angle system. instead of clamping the knife and moving the stone, you clamp the stone and move the knife; but in both cases, the stone freely rotates in order to stay tangential to the edge bevel. It’s like a hybrid of the two most common knife sharpening methods.
Been enjoying all the sharpening content lately, it’s helped me to dust off my own waterstones and find a few new edges myself. I hadn’t heard of those Shapton rockstar stones, they seem like a killer value. I always avoided the ultra-high-grit stuff (why so much more expensive!) but I might pick up the 8k to see if the polish is worth the trouble.
Thanks for posting all the freehand sharpening. I've been at it for 7-8 years and it definitely requires some skill, technique and patience. I'm always learning and refining, I still go back to the guy I learned from just to get unstuck. Initially I liked the challenge,,,, now it's just somewhat second nature. Appreciate all the content lately. 👍👍🔪
I also bought one because of you Pete and I own a wicked edge gen 3 Pro but wanted something to use in the hotel rooms when I'm on the road for work. It's a fantastic piece of kit!
I have the previous version that had the magnetic plates and got the expanded plates that added a strop. On this version, I love the flat ceramic. I like fixed angle too. Loved the videos with your wife too. Even back when you smashed the printer.
I don’t mind the breaks in your videos. I get bored with my knives too, been carrying an opinel no 6 for something different. When I see the notification of a new video from you I get excited. I really liked the videos about around the yard work, keep it up, I miss your psychedelic videos ass well. You know, those old ones that made you say wtf? More Brick as well!
You sir, are a role model. Not only to the knife community but to mankind itself. You inspire people to stay goofy and not taking things to serious. Keep the videos coming, Ill be waiting for them no matter if its twice a day or once a month.
That sharpener is currently getting me into freehand sharpening. I'm really enjoying it more than fixed angle. When you get a sharp edge it's so much more satisfying! I seem to get sharper edges too. Cheers
Your journey has pretty much mirrored mine. I'm now at the point where I can freehand sharpen well enough that my guided system remains in a drawer most of the time. I'm happy to say I can now freehand sharpen a flat bevel and a convex at will. My freehand still needs work because although sharp enough they look messy, especially the convex edges. Great video this one that resonated with me, especially with the WS bench stone.
Hello Pete. You are already pretty good at free hand sharpening but if you want to get better here are some tips. Avoid leaving the stone with the knife. If you do so the contact area will be just the corner of the stone. With 50 times less contact area comes a 50 times higher pressure. If you use 500 grams of force this turns out to be equivalent of 25 Kg. This huge pressure on the edge will cause metal fatigue, reduced durability and maybe even some microchips. If you plan on using strops its good practice to test for sharpness before and after you pass the knife on wood. 10 passes on diamond strop is likely to create foil burr. If there is foil the knife will stop shaving hair after the passes on wood. If you want good cutting performance on hard stuff like carrots, onion or wood you need microbevels. On chef knife for example you can significantly lower the angle as long as you finish with a 15 degree microbevel. 7-10 degree edge with 15 degree microbevel is my standard edge for the last couple years on soft steel. It been tested on many knives without issues including a 50 HRC blade. I got one experimental edge that looks promising- 5 degree edge with a double microbevel of 10 and 15 degrees. Both microbevels combined measure 0.25 mm. This edge combined with a thin overall geometry makes a knife go thru onion like its nothing. I did this on a 54 HRC knife and thought this crazy edge would fail but turns out it can withstand moderate impact on wood. I bet it will suit even better clean steels with high hardness and high impact resistance like AEB-L, 13C26, 14C28N and 52100. High carbide steels need more testing before a recommendation. These fine edges cut really well but don’t take well abuse. Don’t let it touch bones, shells, don’t twist, pry, or apply lateral forces on the edge. Axe and machete also need microbevels for performance but obviously the geometry is different.
G'day Pete, I've had the original version for several years now, ........ and up front, I'm more of the ol' Uncle Randy freehand school ; ) A. it was a good way of getting into diamond plates with a wide range of grits. B. A ceramic rod arrangement and strop plate, (a small piece of green compound is included to get you started). C. the sway is great, but can be locked out. D. the cradle can be removed and used free hand for tuning axes and machetes for example E. the guides are helpful to distinguish between 17 and 20,22,25 deg. i.e. kitchen knives and just about everything else for the way I roll. F. relatively compact. G. well priced. Of course reprofiling is a different story, but for sharpening, honing and finishing, with elbow grease alone, mighty hard to beat for the moolah IMO. Cheers Duke. P.S. the cardboard box is still holding up, .......... just ; ) I'll probably end up making a timber one, but I reckon a decent quality plastic case would be a winner .... for transport and/or simply to keep workshop dust out of it.
I got the field sharpener this week because of your previous video, and I really like it. I love the entertaining mix of technical and practical information you share when you're doing reviews or experimenting with the various products. I value your opinion and experience when doing my own research. It's tough to stay motivated when a hobby starts to feel more like a job. Glad you found a way to reconnect with your passion. Thanks!
I got one of these workshop bench stones about six months ago and it's pretty much all I use now even though I have about 20 or 30 other options for sharpening
I have the old version of this worksharp that has the same rocking system and it was my first sharpener. It was very consistent and help me reprofile some uneven factory edges ahem benchmade cold steel. Nowadays I only use a ceramic rod 👀
Fantastic all around. Love the story. Love the channel history. Love the personal life discussion. Love the not so apparent genius of this worksharp product! Thank you!
Hey man, even if you take a year+ off TH-cam I’ll be here when you get back! Mental health and doing you is what matters! As a family man myself I feel the money crunch myself, things really aren’t better where I’m at in the states. Been at my job 13 years and I felt better off 6 years ago than now, not a great feeling. Love all your content, hope you will be (willingly) making more content for a long time but take care of yourself first!
Me three, Pete. I started with cheap fixed angle stuff and then found the small field sharpener. I wore that to death and upgraded to the Worksharp guided kit that's just below the one you use. I love it.
As a long time follower and experienced engineer, I am glad to hear you have a well deserved relationship with worksharp. I know you keep things honest. You are data driven, that is why worksharp are sending you products. They seek engineering truth the same as you seek real world truth. In the end, performance should decide fate. You are decently paired.
Another great video that helps make knife sharpening accessible to the ordinary punter. As have others, I bought this sharpener after watching your first video about it, and it has been a real find. Thanks also for sharing your honest insights into your life and times. Your channel has a genuineness about it that is lacking in many.
Great ending! Glad this could help you find your "aha!" moment in figuring out how to do the belly! Sharpening curves, angle setting/burr formation, and burr removal are the big 3 of sharpening in general and now you have them regardless of the order in which you got them. Also happy to see you've found your inner randy!
I've been unimpressed with the knife market myself for the past year. I recently decided I wanted to buy something new for my collection and I ended up just going for a delica in m390
Oh, this is gonna be a "talk about life" Pete review, oh this is gonna be good! Im gonna pop some popcorn and check it out! Been watching you for about 6 years Pete! Love your stuff! Great video!
Would be interesting to see a comparison between the Benchstone and the GSS in the future. They SEEM to be the same system, only the GSS has replaceable plates held on with magnets (and the GSS has the ceramic rod that's removable from the system). Keep up the great work Pete.
I really really enjoy your videos. You always seem so relevant and you have a great well rounded opinion of knives. I love your humour too. No matter how bad my day is, I only have to watch your Buck 110 review by Uncle Randy and I can’t help but smile.
I started with the spyserco sharpmaker, moved on to the work sharp precision adjust, and settled on the dmt diamond plates and spyderco ceramic plates and freehand sharpening because it gives magnificent results.
I actually learned/learning free hand sharpening using the Spyderco Sharpmaker. The way that I use it is very similar to a regular stone, it's just vertical. I'm not reprofiling anything anytime soon, but it works for me when I don't want to go full-KME.
sort of had the same thing happen but started with a guided lansky jig more than a decade ago and before long I was just using the stones without the guiding rods or clamp. I feel like I can get a freehand edge faster and with less hassle (for setups that require clamping stones in, locking a knife in), or dedicated space for gizmos. used to think freehand was for chefs and old geezers.
I think this is why I really started to like work sharp over the years. In the beginning I thought they just put out pull through sharpener nonsense. But they really seemed to listen to the knife enthusiast and started putting out better and better products. That basic field sharpener is now my most used sharpener out of all the ones I own.
Freehand sharpening is addictive…you're in trouble now Mate, because now your going to go down the sharpening stone rabbit hole! lol! Cheers from a subscriber in Nova Scotia.
Completely understand what you are saying, the guided sharpening system that has removable plates from 220 through 800 and a strop is how i do my freehand stuff and now looking at a series of diamond stones to freehand with
Maybe a PERFECT video! I followed much the same journey as you did. 1). I tried freehand sharpening, but I couldn't get anything sharp. 2) I tried lot's of tools to help me get my knives sharp (drag throughs, "V" tools, sharpening steels, sharpening ceramics, etc), 3) a few of the inexpensive guided systems. 4) a return to free-hand sharpening. There is a real, satisfying feeling I got when I finally started getting things sharp! A skill learned. And no "gadgets" needed. Welcome back!!
Mastering freehand sharpening is truly a superpower. It makes owning knives with super-premium edge retention a non-necessity. Knowing how to freehand sharpen any knife allows you the freedom to appreciate knives by their inherent design as opposed to by their steel make/ manufacturer. There were knives I wouldn’t consider buying before, even if I liked how they look and feel, because they have budget steel and I dreaded sharpening them. Now I can confidently acquire them knowing I can touch up their edges super quick as required. Knowing how to freehand-sharpen killed the inner steel-snob out of me.
Love my Worksharp Field sharpener. Still use that for quick touch ups/quick strop. I bought their fixed angle when it was $50. I may get one of these for the kitchen knives. Honestly probably the best knife related purchase you can make.
Totally identify with you on your freehand skill journey. It wasn't until you and Alex put out the recent spate of Kuromaku goodness that I bit the bullet and got one myself (the 220 price dropped). That feeling of freedom that it's all starting to make sense after years of following freehand guides (and failing) that's priceless. Loved both of the endings in this video. 👍
I've only freehand sharpened, originally on probably not very good stones I got off Amazon. I could make a dull blade sharper, but I've never been able to restore a blade to it's factory edge, which I know by some people's standards, isn't very good to start with. However, your video with your wife convinced me to pick up the Work Sharp Benchstone and now I can get much better edges on my knife, and I think it's all I really need when it comes to sharpening for my needs.
Hey i really enjoy you latest burst of creativity and also really want to thank your wife for bringing you back. I also often feel that the knifeworld doesn’t provide any interesting anymore but lately there was one knife that peaked my interest. The Civivi Qubit (and also the We Qubit) is an absolute amazing knife with excellent bladegeometry. Also the Civivi one is actually a great budget knife at sub 80$ US. (Don’t get me wrong there probably is also other stuff thats good like the kershaw bel air) But the Qubit feels like something fresh and is great.
With you. I feel like a lot of the non-standard folders coming out are like space marine folders and it's not for me. But the reality is that I haven't really been looking very hard.
I really like the smaller worksharp field sharpener, its much smaller, but I use it for even large kitchen knives. Every time I don’t want to get my real stones out and grab a knife that’s not keen enough, I grab it and it never lets me down.. I do wish they would sell they diamond plates separately for a decent price though because they do wear on pretty quickly
I got the field sharpener because of your rec...then got almost all of their other products, including two sets of the bench stones so I can just have the extension kit set up on a dedicated system. They are great!
Still in the middle of the video, but I just have to say…my wife bought me the guided field sharpener a couple years ago and once I actually started using it on the road(I travel all the time…I bring several knives with me) I found the GFS was surprisingly awesome. You can get great edges off of it. Ok, back to the video.
You've sold me on not having an excuse not to try freehand because it's "too hard" TM... Already ordered my worksharp benchstone. You should be compensated by worksharp for being such a great salesman :)
I've been freehand sharpening for years, then one day I bought a sharpening system and realized it's not as much fun, now it sits in some drawer somewhere. There is something therapeutic about freehand sharpening. My wife thinks I'm weird.
I love the other version of the same sharpener type: the guided sharpening system with upgrade kit. Glad to see it get some love. I’ve bought many of them as gifts for friends and family members it’s possibly the easiest sharpening system to use. Also your wife is awesome.
freehand will always be a bit convex. Convex is good for edge stability. It may actually mess with your sisal rope system now. You need to do it all again 😀
I always liked Worksharp’s products. Have been an OG user of their Guided Field Sharpener, even before Pete reviewed it. Never though I wanted this one, though. I am interested in their newer clampy one like a Pro Edge.
Fixed angle systems do provide perfect bevels and probably remove less steel overall BUT once you know how to even somewhat efficiently freehand, it’s hard to justify setting up the fixed angle system. Freehand is so simple and quick.
I’ve bought 3 field sharpeners, I end up giving them to my dad and sons they are that good. I know how to free hand and don’t use the guide but that strop and ceramic being there is convenient. My dad and sons can’t free hand though and it came in really handy for them.
I'm at a different stage with my sharpening journey, just bought the one stone a DMT course, but I've been practicing with it and I'm getting ok results! Not perfect at all, very convex-y and very uneven bevels, but I'm getting stuff sharp and I'm enjoying the process of learning! Cheers for setting a good example mate, watching someone as they improve their skills has been really helpful for me. But yeah just the one stone and a strop is working ok! Got the idea from Outdoor55. Sorry for the star wars crawl comment lol
I’ve been watching you for a looong time, and I have been so delighted to watch you become freehand capable with your sharpening journey. It was so nice to watch someone else have what looked to be the same or similar experiences I had when I discovered the freehand world. It’s a skill I will have for the rest of my life and I couldn’t be more proud to say that. Well done brother. So happy for you to be a newly addicted sharpener. 😂
Want to learn sharpening knives, read this and ask questions if needed: Free hand stone sharpening: To hit the belly part while sharpening, you must lift the butt of the knife up a bit.The more steap the belly is, the more you lift and vise versa. Practicing the reverse motion, on a stable on the table strop, is a good way to start.That's because on leather, you can't dull the tip (if you lift the handle up more than you should,it will happen).Free hand, is the way to learn and understand knives better.When shaprening on stones, we DO NOT pinch grip the tip with our free hand, we put 3 fingers along the blade on the middle part (from spine to edge), one finger near the recaso, one on the middle and one near the tip.Do not exeed the stone surface, otherwise youl dull the tip. Do not apply much pressure while sharpening, you must use very little pressure, just enough, to keep the same edge angle stable on the stone, along all the sharpening motion.What you do one one side, must be mirrored exactly the same on the other. Always count your passes. Changing to your left hand, (if you are not a lefty) can still improve hitting the same angle on both sides. Using the same hand for sharpening both sides, may lead (especially non profesionals) to uneven angles (example, 20 degrees the left side, but the right, but you'll sharpen the rght side at 25 and you'll be sure you hiting the same angle. Begin with your cheap kitchen knives, with experience, will come results. It takes hundreds of sharpening sessions, to build a muscle memory and also fix your mistakes, so keep trying. PS Mora Companion Stainless version, and your cheap kitchen knives, are the best knives to learn free hand.Scandi grind will help you build better muscle memory and understand better, how things work, then advance on your kitchen knives, to practice on full flat grinds. NEVER use mouspads for convexing bevels, learn how to do it proerly on stones (leather strop will convex your edge way better, mouspad use under a sandpaper, is 100% wrong, (it convexes the bevel way more than it should and also increases and changes the edge bevel angles. to random degrees.)
You have been killing it lately Pete. You should be proud.
Wouldn't mind an updated knife steel list now that we have newish steels like magnacut.
Your content is second to none (in my humble opinion) because of the different layers that make up your videos. Informative, yes of course, entertaining & creative, always, but then there is even more at times like here, a true feat how you manage to incorporate bits of your personal life, including some struggles, as elegantly as you do.
I feel this video was made for me, as I moved quickly to fixed angle systems, then trying to freehand but having the exact issues that you are describing: mainly not being able to maintain an even grind all the way to the tip. I will follow your lead, "take a step back" and get this sharpener to teach myself better technique. Thank you and thanks to your cool wife helping you to get out of the rut!
BTW, I think you have well established your integrity over the years and I personally don’t see any issue if you accepted some compensation (affiliate link?) from companies of products you truly believe in. I can’t imagine a better endorsement of the sharpener than this video and was surprised that there isn’t an affiliate link in the description. I wonder how many people besides me are going to buy this because of your video. Probably a boatload and I am certain the vast majority of viewers of your channel would agree that some kickback from Worksharp would be very well deserved.
I got the previous version called the guided sharpener. Same pivot system. Great way to learn freehand sharpening. I use it without the angle guides.
I like this a lot. Hadn't seen Tree for a while until the Wife Sharpening videos, and thought to self "nice tats, those two look great together and have such charming natural interplay." It's nice now to hear you talk a little about making those videos together. Great idea and have loved the new sharpening adventure, cheers to you both!
Everyone should just embrace their inner Uncle Randy. I’ve been freehand sharpening my knives since I was a kid. I had Arkansas stones and a strop. Dad would let me use his Norton stone to work out blade chips. I’ve got the Work Sharp guided sharpener and several of their field sharpeners. They are great products!
It does seem like a really smart design. It’s almost an inverse fixed-angle system. instead of clamping the knife and moving the stone, you clamp the stone and move the knife; but in both cases, the stone freely rotates in order to stay tangential to the edge bevel. It’s like a hybrid of the two most common knife sharpening methods.
Been enjoying all the sharpening content lately, it’s helped me to dust off my own waterstones and find a few new edges myself.
I hadn’t heard of those Shapton rockstar stones, they seem like a killer value. I always avoided the ultra-high-grit stuff (why so much more expensive!) but I might pick up the 8k to see if the polish is worth the trouble.
Thanks for posting all the freehand sharpening. I've been at it for 7-8 years and it definitely requires some skill, technique and patience. I'm always learning and refining, I still go back to the guy I learned from just to get unstuck. Initially I liked the challenge,,,, now it's just somewhat second nature. Appreciate all the content lately. 👍👍🔪
I bought one of these because of seeing it on your channel.
nice! hope it has/had a similar effect on yourself!
I got the other smaller one from longer ago and it has been a great little field sharpener
Picking one of these up soon.
I also bought one because of you Pete and I own a wicked edge gen 3 Pro but wanted something to use in the hotel rooms when I'm on the road for work. It's a fantastic piece of kit!
I've got nothing to cut and a million knifes. So I've got nothing to sharpen
Toilet tank lid and Toothpaste: am I a joke to you?
We need a shirt
I have the previous version that had the magnetic plates and got the expanded plates that added a strop. On this version, I love the flat ceramic. I like fixed angle too. Loved the videos with your wife too. Even back when you smashed the printer.
I don’t mind the breaks in your videos. I get bored with my knives too, been carrying an opinel no 6 for something different. When I see the notification of a new video from you I get excited. I really liked the videos about around the yard work, keep it up, I miss your psychedelic videos ass well. You know, those old ones that made you say wtf? More Brick as well!
I remember when I first started watching your videos I thought your name was Cedric and your wife must have been Ada. 😅
Me too! RIP
LOL, me too
Wait…it’s not Cedric and Ada?!? I feel lied to. 😊
I still think that
I think everyone has thought that 😊
Cheers for Tree! What a gem.
You sir, are a role model. Not only to the knife community but to mankind itself. You inspire people to stay goofy and not taking things to serious. Keep the videos coming, Ill be waiting for them no matter if its twice a day or once a month.
That sharpener is currently getting me into freehand sharpening. I'm really enjoying it more than fixed angle. When you get a sharp edge it's so much more satisfying! I seem to get sharper edges too. Cheers
I find most of your content to be honest and compelling and would be happy to watch you review your chickens.
Your journey has pretty much mirrored mine. I'm now at the point where I can freehand sharpen well enough that my guided system remains in a drawer most of the time. I'm happy to say I can now freehand sharpen a flat bevel and a convex at will. My freehand still needs work because although sharp enough they look messy, especially the convex edges. Great video this one that resonated with me, especially with the WS bench stone.
Hello Pete. You are already pretty good at free hand sharpening but if you want to get better here are some tips.
Avoid leaving the stone with the knife. If you do so the contact area will be just the corner of the stone. With 50 times less contact area comes a 50 times higher pressure.
If you use 500 grams of force this turns out to be equivalent of 25 Kg.
This huge pressure on the edge will cause metal fatigue, reduced durability and maybe even some microchips.
If you plan on using strops its good practice to test for sharpness before and after you pass the knife on wood. 10 passes on diamond strop is likely to create foil burr. If there is foil the knife will stop shaving hair after the passes on wood.
If you want good cutting performance on hard stuff like carrots, onion or wood you need microbevels. On chef knife for example you can significantly lower the angle as long as you finish with a 15 degree microbevel. 7-10 degree edge with 15 degree microbevel is my standard edge for the last couple years on soft steel. It been tested on many knives without issues including a 50 HRC blade.
I got one experimental edge that looks promising- 5 degree edge with a double microbevel of 10 and 15 degrees. Both microbevels combined measure 0.25 mm.
This edge combined with a thin overall geometry makes a knife go thru onion like its nothing.
I did this on a 54 HRC knife and thought this crazy edge would fail but turns out it can withstand moderate impact on wood. I bet it will suit even better clean steels with high hardness and high impact resistance like AEB-L, 13C26, 14C28N and 52100.
High carbide steels need more testing before a recommendation.
These fine edges cut really well but don’t take well abuse. Don’t let it touch bones, shells, don’t twist, pry, or apply lateral forces on the edge.
Axe and machete also need microbevels for performance but obviously the geometry is different.
Well done, I brought the field sharpener model after watching your video, now I am purchasing this model because of your video. Thank you.
G'day Pete, I've had the original version for several years now, ........ and up front, I'm more of the ol' Uncle Randy freehand school ; )
A. it was a good way of getting into diamond plates with a wide range of grits.
B. A ceramic rod arrangement and strop plate, (a small piece of green compound is included to get you started).
C. the sway is great, but can be locked out.
D. the cradle can be removed and used free hand for tuning axes and machetes for example
E. the guides are helpful to distinguish between 17 and 20,22,25 deg. i.e. kitchen knives and just about everything else for the way I roll.
F. relatively compact.
G. well priced.
Of course reprofiling is a different story, but for sharpening, honing and finishing, with elbow grease alone, mighty hard to beat for the moolah IMO. Cheers Duke.
P.S. the cardboard box is still holding up, .......... just ; ) I'll probably end up making a timber one, but I reckon a decent quality plastic case would be a winner .... for transport and/or simply to keep workshop dust out of it.
I got the field sharpener this week because of your previous video, and I really like it. I love the entertaining mix of technical and practical information you share when you're doing reviews or experimenting with the various products. I value your opinion and experience when doing my own research. It's tough to stay motivated when a hobby starts to feel more like a job. Glad you found a way to reconnect with your passion. Thanks!
Lmao at the old man transformation at the end. Your cat is awesome too
I got one of these workshop bench stones about six months ago and it's pretty much all I use now even though I have about 20 or 30 other options for sharpening
I have the old version of this worksharp that has the same rocking system and it was my first sharpener. It was very consistent and help me reprofile some uneven factory edges ahem benchmade cold steel. Nowadays I only use a ceramic rod 👀
Fantastic all around. Love the story. Love the channel history. Love the personal life discussion. Love the not so apparent genius of this worksharp product! Thank you!
Hey man, even if you take a year+ off TH-cam I’ll be here when you get back! Mental health and doing you is what matters! As a family man myself I feel the money crunch myself, things really aren’t better where I’m at in the states. Been at my job 13 years and I felt better off 6 years ago than now, not a great feeling. Love all your content, hope you will be (willingly) making more content for a long time but take care of yourself first!
Freehand sharpening brings me peace where fixed angle takes out the fun for me. I've almost bought this tri-stone sharpener a few times.
we love your content and how down to earth you are, Pete, do it as long as it interests you.
You're so right about the belly. This for most people is the area where they (me too at times) struggle.
You're spot on about the field sharpener, quite a value . You're been doing a great job, thanks man 👍
Me three, Pete. I started with cheap fixed angle stuff and then found the small field sharpener. I wore that to death and upgraded to the Worksharp guided kit that's just below the one you use. I love it.
Thanks, Pete! What I love about your videos is that you keep this fun.
As a long time follower and experienced engineer, I am glad to hear you have a well deserved relationship with worksharp. I know you keep things honest. You are data driven, that is why worksharp are sending you products. They seek engineering truth the same as you seek real world truth. In the end, performance should decide fate. You are decently paired.
you explained ennui very well, and I can relate, have had inspiration problems many times
Another great video that helps make knife sharpening accessible to the ordinary punter. As have others, I bought this sharpener after watching your first video about it, and it has been a real find. Thanks also for sharing your honest insights into your life and times. Your channel has a genuineness about it that is lacking in many.
Great ending!
Glad this could help you find your "aha!" moment in figuring out how to do the belly! Sharpening curves, angle setting/burr formation, and burr removal are the big 3 of sharpening in general and now you have them regardless of the order in which you got them. Also happy to see you've found your inner randy!
I've been unimpressed with the knife market myself for the past year. I recently decided I wanted to buy something new for my collection and I ended up just going for a delica in m390
Oh, this is gonna be a "talk about life" Pete review, oh this is gonna be good! Im gonna pop some popcorn and check it out! Been watching you for about 6 years Pete! Love your stuff! Great video!
Would be interesting to see a comparison between the Benchstone and the GSS in the future. They SEEM to be the same system, only the GSS has replaceable plates held on with magnets (and the GSS has the ceramic rod that's removable from the system). Keep up the great work Pete.
I really really enjoy your videos. You always seem so relevant and you have a great well rounded opinion of knives. I love your humour too. No matter how bad my day is, I only have to watch your Buck 110 review by Uncle Randy and I can’t help but smile.
I started with the spyserco sharpmaker, moved on to the work sharp precision adjust, and settled on the dmt diamond plates and spyderco ceramic plates and freehand sharpening because it gives magnificent results.
I bought 2 of these, the upgrade kit and the 15/17 degree guides, its awesome.
I actually learned/learning free hand sharpening using the Spyderco Sharpmaker. The way that I use it is very similar to a regular stone, it's just vertical. I'm not reprofiling anything anytime soon, but it works for me when I don't want to go full-KME.
sort of had the same thing happen but started with a guided lansky jig more than a decade ago and before long I was just using the stones without the guiding rods or clamp. I feel like I can get a freehand edge faster and with less hassle (for setups that require clamping stones in, locking a knife in), or dedicated space for gizmos. used to think freehand was for chefs and old geezers.
Barking dogs in my neighborhood, barking dogs on trips, and now barking dogs on Pete’s videos. I just can’t seem to ever get away from them
I freaking love freehand sharpening. So satisfying.
I think this is why I really started to like work sharp over the years. In the beginning I thought they just put out pull through sharpener nonsense. But they really seemed to listen to the knife enthusiast and started putting out better and better products. That basic field sharpener is now my most used sharpener out of all the ones I own.
As usual, you make a lot of sense and share something relatable and are fun in the process 👏👏👏
Freehand sharpening is addictive…you're in trouble now Mate, because now your going to go down the sharpening stone rabbit hole! lol! Cheers from a subscriber in Nova Scotia.
Completely understand what you are saying, the guided sharpening system that has removable plates from 220 through 800 and a strop is how i do my freehand stuff and now looking at a series of diamond stones to freehand with
Maybe a PERFECT video! I followed much the same journey as you did. 1). I tried freehand sharpening, but I couldn't get anything sharp. 2) I tried lot's of tools to help me get my knives sharp (drag throughs, "V" tools, sharpening steels, sharpening ceramics, etc), 3) a few of the inexpensive guided systems. 4) a return to free-hand sharpening. There is a real, satisfying feeling I got when I finally started getting things sharp! A skill learned. And no "gadgets" needed. Welcome back!!
Mastering freehand sharpening is truly a superpower. It makes owning knives with super-premium edge retention a non-necessity. Knowing how to freehand sharpen any knife allows you the freedom to appreciate knives by their inherent design as opposed to by their steel make/ manufacturer. There were knives I wouldn’t consider buying before, even if I liked how they look and feel, because they have budget steel and I dreaded sharpening them. Now I can confidently acquire them knowing I can touch up their edges super quick as required. Knowing how to freehand-sharpen killed the inner steel-snob out of me.
You twisted my arm and I finally bought one because of this video. Really easy to use!
Bought one today thanks to your review .🙂👍
Love my Worksharp Field sharpener. Still use that for quick touch ups/quick strop. I bought their fixed angle when it was $50. I may get one of these for the kitchen knives. Honestly probably the best knife related purchase you can make.
Usually don't go for the feelings video, but the no-excess-drama no whining version works. Keepin it real yo.
Totally identify with you on your freehand skill journey. It wasn't until you and Alex put out the recent spate of Kuromaku goodness that I bit the bullet and got one myself (the 220 price dropped). That feeling of freedom that it's all starting to make sense after years of following freehand guides (and failing) that's priceless. Loved both of the endings in this video. 👍
I've only freehand sharpened, originally on probably not very good stones I got off Amazon. I could make a dull blade sharper, but I've never been able to restore a blade to it's factory edge, which I know by some people's standards, isn't very good to start with. However, your video with your wife convinced me to pick up the Work Sharp Benchstone and now I can get much better edges on my knife, and I think it's all I really need when it comes to sharpening for my needs.
Hey i really enjoy you latest burst of creativity and also really want to thank your wife for bringing you back. I also often feel that the knifeworld doesn’t provide any interesting anymore but lately there was one knife that peaked my interest. The Civivi Qubit (and also the We Qubit) is an absolute amazing knife with excellent bladegeometry. Also the Civivi one is actually a great budget knife at sub 80$ US. (Don’t get me wrong there probably is also other stuff thats good like the kershaw bel air) But the Qubit feels like something fresh and is great.
With you. I feel like a lot of the non-standard folders coming out are like space marine folders and it's not for me. But the reality is that I haven't really been looking very hard.
I’m half way through this video….enjoying it!
I really like the smaller worksharp field sharpener, its much smaller, but I use it for even large kitchen knives. Every time I don’t want to get my real stones out and grab a knife that’s not keen enough, I grab it and it never lets me down.. I do wish they would sell they diamond plates separately for a decent price though because they do wear on pretty quickly
You can order them from their website.
I got the field sharpener because of your rec...then got almost all of their other products, including two sets of the bench stones so I can just have the extension kit set up on a dedicated system. They are great!
You're the reason I bought it actually. Mom's Kitchen Knives (Old Zwilling ones) never worked better plus I got it cheap
still one of best channels that genuinely tell us about knife steels, how they perform and how to sharpen them, happy to have u man
Still in the middle of the video, but I just have to say…my wife bought me the guided field sharpener a couple years ago and once I actually started using it on the road(I travel all the time…I bring several knives with me) I found the GFS was surprisingly awesome. You can get great edges off of it. Ok, back to the video.
Freehand sharpening is for Uncle Randys! Lol😅😂. Great Vid explaining the benefit of the worksharp and the pitfalls of freehanding the knife bellies👍.
You've sold me on not having an excuse not to try freehand because it's "too hard" TM... Already ordered my worksharp benchstone. You should be compensated by worksharp for being such a great salesman :)
I've been freehand sharpening for years, then one day I bought a sharpening system and realized it's not as much fun, now it sits in some drawer somewhere. There is something therapeutic about freehand sharpening. My wife thinks I'm weird.
I love the other version of the same sharpener type: the guided sharpening system with upgrade kit. Glad to see it get some love. I’ve bought many of them as gifts for friends and family members it’s possibly the easiest sharpening system to use.
Also your wife is awesome.
I loved this one.
I appreciate your feelings.
Basal ROKZ.
🤘🏻🐈⬛🤘🏻
I think I need one of those Worksharps.
Excellent video!
You have just clarified for me something I have missed in sharpening.
Thank you for being you ❤️
freehand will always be a bit convex. Convex is good for edge stability. It may actually mess with your sisal rope system now. You need to do it all again 😀
I know what you mean … I’ve been trying to dig myself out of a TH-cam rutt
Great video. I might give this system a try
They have a new knife that they came out with automatic and manual switchable and it's so different it's refreshing..
They being worksharp of course
I always liked Worksharp’s products. Have been an OG user of their Guided Field Sharpener, even before Pete reviewed it.
Never though I wanted this one, though.
I am interested in their newer clampy one like a Pro Edge.
Fixed angle systems do provide perfect bevels and probably remove less steel overall BUT once you know how to even somewhat efficiently freehand, it’s hard to justify setting up the fixed angle system. Freehand is so simple and quick.
I’ve bought 3 field sharpeners, I end up giving them to my dad and sons they are that good. I know how to free hand and don’t use the guide but that strop and ceramic being there is convenient. My dad and sons can’t free hand though and it came in really handy for them.
I love this character redemption arc. Welcome back to the Freehand City
I like freehand sharpening better, too. Problem is, I get sharper and better looking edges using fixed angle systems. Getting closer, though!
I'm at a different stage with my sharpening journey, just bought the one stone a DMT course, but I've been practicing with it and I'm getting ok results! Not perfect at all, very convex-y and very uneven bevels, but I'm getting stuff sharp and I'm enjoying the process of learning! Cheers for setting a good example mate, watching someone as they improve their skills has been really helpful for me. But yeah just the one stone and a strop is working ok! Got the idea from Outdoor55. Sorry for the star wars crawl comment lol
i hace to older versiom of that and love it, more than the persision adjust elite
Proudest achievement of my life that my comment changed basil’s scream
I’ve been watching you for a looong time, and I have been so delighted to watch you become freehand capable with your sharpening journey. It was so nice to watch someone else have what looked to be the same or similar experiences I had when I discovered the freehand world. It’s a skill I will have for the rest of my life and I couldn’t be more proud to say that. Well done brother. So happy for you to be a newly addicted sharpener. 😂
the elbow movement is like an old school dj spinning a record
The toilet technique was my sharpening revelation
Beautiful Final Fantasy VII music in the background. Love it! 😀👍
Love you brother don't sweat the small stuff.
hahahah the ending 🤣... really enjoying the sharpening vids 👌we all thank your wife for her support ✌
You're great, Pete!
I didn't see that coming . . . but i am not surprised.
Want to learn sharpening knives, read this and ask questions if needed: Free hand stone sharpening: To hit the belly part while sharpening, you must lift the butt of the knife up a bit.The more steap the belly is, the more you lift and vise versa. Practicing the reverse motion, on a stable on the table strop, is a good way to start.That's because on leather, you can't dull the tip (if you lift the handle up more than you should,it will happen).Free hand, is the way to learn and understand knives better.When shaprening on stones, we DO NOT pinch grip the tip with our free hand, we put 3 fingers along the blade on the middle part (from spine to edge), one finger near the recaso, one on the middle and one near the tip.Do not exeed the stone surface, otherwise youl dull the tip. Do not apply much pressure while sharpening, you must use very little pressure, just enough, to keep the same edge angle stable on the stone, along all the sharpening motion.What you do one one side, must be mirrored exactly the same on the other. Always count your passes. Changing to your left hand, (if you are not a lefty) can still improve hitting the same angle on both sides. Using the same hand for sharpening both sides, may lead (especially non profesionals) to uneven angles (example, 20 degrees the left side, but the right, but you'll sharpen the rght side at 25 and you'll be sure you hiting the same angle. Begin with your cheap kitchen knives, with experience, will come results. It takes hundreds of sharpening sessions, to build a muscle memory and also fix your mistakes, so keep trying. PS Mora Companion Stainless version, and your cheap kitchen knives, are the best knives to learn free hand.Scandi grind will help you build better muscle memory and understand better, how things work, then advance on your kitchen knives, to practice on full flat grinds. NEVER use mouspads for convexing bevels, learn how to do it proerly on stones (leather strop will convex your edge way better, mouspad use under a sandpaper, is 100% wrong, (it convexes the bevel way more than it should and also increases and changes the edge bevel angles. to random degrees.)
After 6 years of watching this channel i finally bought a guided system. Now we goin’ freehand?
Final Fantasy VII background music is so nice
Top Stuff!…. Worksharp shopping for me now I think! 👍😃
this is why i learned how to sharpen the japanese way, i sharpened section by section and got it done that way.