What five things...

...do you need to start sharpening knives?

Smith's Trihone

The Smith’s Trihone system uses three different grade stones to get your knives razor sharp. To use the system, you gently scrape your knife along the first stone repeatedly before moving onto the next, eventually getting to the fine grit stone and finishing your knife off with an extremely sharp edge.

Spyderco Sharpmaker

The Spyderco Sharpmaker works on the same principle as the Smith’s Trihone system. However, the Sharpmaker uses standie-uppie stones rather than horizontal ones. This allows you to slide your knife across them vertically, which simplifies the process and allows you to get more consistent strokes with less practice.

Leather Strop

The final stage in sharpening, if you want a polished edge that’s razor sharp, is using a leather strop. After sharpening with the finest grit stone you have, run your knife backwards over this leather strop twenty to thirty times to remove any microscopic burrs or imperfections in the edge of the blade.

Sharpening Stone Oil

Sharpening stones like those used in the Smith’s Trihone system require lubrication between the surface and the knife. Water can be used, but it’s far less than ideal. The best thing to use is a sharpening stone oil such as this one. It protects the stone and the knife from damage, and it allows the knife to glide easily over the stone with little resistance, allowing you to hold it at a constant angle.

Strop Compound

Rubbing a small amount of strop compound on your leather strop before sharpening increases its effectiveness and allows you to customize the coarseness. This extra fine green buffing compound is perfect for giving a polished edge to kitchen or pocket knives.

BONUS: AccuSharp Sharpener

This AccuSharp sharpener is a quick and dirty solution to sharpening. It’s foolproof and works very quickly, but it takes slightly more metal out of your knife than other methods, and most knife enthusiasts don’t recommend using a sharpener like this on expensive knives. However, this sharpener is extremely easy to use and allows you to create a very sharp edge in a matter of seconds.