Spyderco has a famous line that goes something like “before we made sharp things, we made things sharp.” Unknown to many knife knuts, Spyderco originally made sharpeners. Their current and most modern sharpening device is the Sharpmaker. It uses the Louis Graves invention of the stick-shaped sharpening hone and a molded base. The sticks are set in the base in one of two angles, 30 or 40 degrees. This gives the user a constant angle to work with. The knife is helf straight up and down and dragged along both sticks (one at a time). Holding the knife straight up and down is easier than holding it at a 30 degree angle to a flat sharpening stone.

Knives come in a huge variety of steels. Which there are different levels of quality when it comes to cutlery steel, in general no steel is “better” than another. They are just different and fit different needs.

There are three basic criteria for judging a steel, hardness (specifically edge retention), toughness, and stain resistance. Contrary to popular belief, a harder steel will usually NOT be tougher. Harder steels are generally more brittle. Thing glass versus plastic. The tougher steels tend to be softer. So a very hard steel is great for a utility knife or a pocket knife. They will hold an edge for a long time and are generally not needed to perform very heavy duty work. For a harder use knife a softer steel is often preferred because it will not chip or crack as easily. The steel will bend or deform instead of breaking (again, think glass).