Sharpen and hone?

[blackroseblackstripes]

Whats the difference? And whats the best way to do both?

[Vagrant]

Sharpening is putting a usable edge on the knife.
Honing is refining that edge to a smoother state where it cuts with less drag.
[Actually the terms can mean the same thing, and others are free to
define them any way they want].

[J-man]

Same thing as Vagrant said, but If you want to keep your knife for a long life hoan it proplery (and no I won't explian it, goto knifecenter.com to find they call it sharpening with a steal) Sharpening on the other hand makes a new edge, only SHARPEN (not hoaning/sharpening with a steal) if you know what the hell your doing otherwise if your trying to put a new edge on or not just realigning it (say on a stone, which is hard to do). GOT IT?

[Pushbutton]

The best thing for sharpening are flat stones. Once one masters them they produce the best edges compared to all the gimmick sharpeners out there. Steeling a knife only re-aligns the edge not sharpens it.

[Vagrant]

I use a belt sander [with a worn out 600 grit belt coated with jeweler's rouge.] Follow up with a steel. Over-do it with a power sharpening device
of any kind and you'll destroy the temper of the blade.

[Razor_54]

I have to agree with pushbutton, stones are the best to put a razor edge on any blade. With 2 good stones a medium and fine and plenty of oil to prevent the pores on the stones from loading up to quickly. I also use an old leather belt to remove any buurs. Like pushbutton and j-man say stay away from rods unless you know what you are doing. Buy some cheap blades and practice and when you think you have it right, practice more.

[Vagrant]

Lansky, Gatco, and other kits that set the angle are very useful.

[blackroseblackstripes]

Thanks for the info. I have not sharpened any of them yet. I'm taking all this in and looking for one at the local shops. Then I'll hack up a cheap knife till I get it right. The SWAT I got is pretty sharp so I use that for now. Later