In y'all's opinion, what's the best knife sharpener under $50? "Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it." - Pope John Paul II
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I can't remember the price, but I'll put my vote in for the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Simple, accurate, and very effective.

After you've purchased it, start saving your pennies for the diamond-coated sticks - they are very cool!

I'll second the Sharpmaker. It's so simple, even I can use it.

todd

I just got a sharpmaker a few weeks ago. It works better than anything else I have tried. I did not get the diamond stones, yet anyway. I did order the extra fine ceramics and like the results of following the supplied directions. Unfortunatly, my old VCR ate the tape that came with the sharpmaker before I got to see it! May have given me some tips! Under $50 and easy to get a sharp edge. Try it, you'll like it:)

wet and dry sandpaper in fine, extra fine and super fine grades. ( 400, 800, 1500 ).

The video doesn't tell you anything that the book doesn't - less if anything.

I bought my sharpmaker for $45 I think. Never watched the video since I dont own one of those antique VHS thingies. I read the book which is about a 5 minute read and been getting great edges on it since day one. A little Ajax on the ceramics every now and then is all the maintenance its ever required.

The Sharpmaker may be great for home but not for a pack. I like the credit card diamond hone for my Mora knife and the Gerber mini-X ceramic sharpener for the rest. The Gerber has the correct angle for my knives.

And that angle is?

I'm asking because I recently purchased the Field Sharpener offered by A. G. Russell for touchups at the office. It's USD 39.95.

Field Sharpener

I really like it, but it offers only one angle -- 30 degrees. So it's not a perfect match for my Sharpmaker unless I abandon the Sharpmaker 40 degree slots and stick to 30 degrees for everything.

Soooo. If your Gerber has a 40 degree angle (or if anybody knows of a ceramic, fixed-X sharpener with a 40 degree angle) that would make a nice complement to the AG Russell unit.

By the way, this has both diamond and medium (brown) rods. They're smaller in diameter than many rods, being roughly 3/16 by 4 inches. But it still does a great job.

The overall unit is roughly 2 x 5 inches, and 3/4 inches thick. It really is portable enough to lug around.

Bear