Sharpening a filet knife

Does anyone sharpen their own filet knifes? I’ve always wanted to do it myself, but didn’t know what the proper way was, or if there is a special tool.

Thanks in advance.

Yep, all the time. I have about 8 I use here and there.
I use a diamond stone and hone a 15-20 degree angle on each edge. Use a circular motion with the blade and light pressure not to flex the blade. Im sure you can find lots of youtube videos.

Here is a link on knife edges and angles.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Detailed-Discussion-on-Knife-Sharpening-Angles-W28.aspx

I have, but I’ve found that for $2, a pro does a better job than I can.

I never have gotten one back to “as good as new”. I use an Arkansas stone with some oil on it. 50 years of trying and still have not got the knack. Santa brought me a Wen belt sander style sharpener. Hope that works for me, looks like it requires less skill.

I use a Work Sharp on all of my knives.

http://www.worksharptools.com/sharpeners-14/work-sharp-knife-and-tool-sharpener.html

-J.

Work Sharp! Amazing results! Quick, easy, affordable!

Mike Whitish wrote:

Work Sharp! Amazing results! Quick, easy, affordable!

i use to use stones and ceramics but Work Sharp is too fast and easy.
I still use the small ceramic tool Rapala put out when I am nowhere near my WS.

Got some Cabelas points was going to look into one of the Ken Onion work sharp the belts look a little wider

I use ceramic sticks and get them shaving sharp with little effort.

Two issues I see with knives on a regular basis. 1. over use between sharpening. They should be touched up and not used until completely dull. 2. when sharpening, using inconsistent or wrong angle with a sharpener.

A couple times a year, I take all our knives and do a full process to put a “new” edge on them that is at or better than factory. I changed my methods and used the GATCO method shown in this vid. It made a significant difference and a lot less effort to get a great edge

I know I am an anachronism, but I’ve always thought a man should have certain skills, especially outdoors related. being able to sharpen tools is one of them. I’ll sharpen almost anything other than my Nils augers. I mostly use a Buck diamond hone for knives and I touch them up as soon as I notice a loss of cutting ability.
When you luck into one of those wonderful blades that take and hold an edge, treat it as the treasure it is. All blades are not equal.

Agree with the others who have said that a key part of sharpening is not to let blades get truly dull in the first place. It drives me crazy to use other people’s kitchen knives when they are stone dull, might as well try to cut with a spoon.

I use the ceramic sticks for fast touch ups and I keep one of the pocket size ceramic sharpeners with my fillet knives so I can touch up before each use. I think fish tend to attract lots of grit when being handled so fillet knives seem to dull quickly.

For resurrecting a knife that’s dull-dull I use my my shop sharpening water stones, the same ones I use for planes and chisels. I’ve fond that brown cardboard makes an excellent strop for the final step.

IMO a lot of people seem to want to make sharpening very mysterious and complicated and add a lot of complex schnick schnock gadgets into the process. Sharpening requires only flat stones of the correct grit and the right technique.

Grouse

I almost exclusively use the small ceramic stick sharpeners you get with the Rapala knives. As stated, hit that sharpener often I did finally find the Holy Grail for a deer gutting/skinning knife… and it says Gerber on it I have yet to even touch up the blade, still super sharp after many animals.

Wow, all great suggestions. I am not a novice when it comes to sharpening block plane and chisels, but I suppose that the same principles apply to a knife.
I like the looks of that product Mr Wieland posted. I know that maintaining a consistent angle is crucial on planes and chisels. any “rolling” of the tool is a no no, and that apparatus looks like it locks the knife into the correct angle.

I have a masters set of water stones, I will try that first, and see how I do.

I’m have a kit like Randy has only it is a Lansky brand. I’ve had it for about 15 years and have been sharpening my knives with it once or twice a year ever since.

I added one finer stone to the kit for my filet knives. When used properly, you can restore your edges to new condition.

A few years ago, I broke down and bought an edge pro sharpening system. It is the same principle as the lansky system, only better built IMO. Spendy as heck, but I am glad I bought it. It puts a shaving edge on any knife. In between sharpenings, I hit the blades with a ceramic stick frequently to touch them up.