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A couple of weeks ago, I used the Sharpmaker diamond stones (and the regular stones) to put 30° edges on all the kitchen knives except the cleaver. They've been fine so far, even competitive with a brand new Global. I just did a quick touch-up on the chef's and paring knives (which get the most use ...

So, Joe, how do you know how many strokes to take at 40° after doing the 30°? Do one side only and feel the burr, before switching? And which Sharpmaker steps for tho 40° would you recommend for kitchen knives?

MacHeath - great nick for this forum.

Thanks

This diagram from the article showing 40° above and 30° at the tip makes sense. I'm having trouble visualizing the reverse - 30° above and then WIDENING to 40° at the tip. The diagram in the Sharpmaker manual on page 6 is labelled exactly this way, but it doesn't look it.

The Sharpmaker instructions recommend sharpening kitchen knives at 30° first, and then 40°. The Juravitch article at the link below says 40° with the coarse/medium stone and then finish with 30° and the fine stone. Which one is right?



http://www.ameritech.net/users/knives/J ... 977Feb.htm

I needed to recut the bevels on several kitchen knives when the regular Sharpmaker stones just weren't "cutting it". The diamond stones for the Sharpmaker did the trick.



I cut almost all the knives at 30° from the edge of the diamond rods down to the edge of the fine rod. Tomatoes now fear me ...

I've been advised several times to have my kitchen knives professionally sharpened every 6 months or so to restore the bevel. One knowledgeable dealer (who carries the Sharpmaker and recommends it highly) says that the Sharpmaker won't do this (but a Lansky or Edge Pro will).



I have been using a ...

Makes a lot of sense, eh, V-Wolf. Thanks.

I've found that the Forschner Victorianox stamped knives are very high value. Or, for pure cutting pleasure cost no object, try out Globals. A buddy of mine sharpens his Globals with a Sharpmaker, which got me into it.

Thanks. I tried them at 30° and the tomatoes fled, terrified.

Would you suggest 30° and then 40° (as the instructions suggest), or just 30° and out?

The knives are 20+ years old, Forschner Victorianox, fibrox handles, still great and a bargain.

Thanks

Which Tri-Angle Sharpmaker steps do you use for everyday kitchen knives? I seem to be getting the best results with just the 40° step 2 (utility edge). The knives just don't seem to slice tomatoes as well after steps 3 or 4.



Do you use the 30° 1 - 3 and then the 40° 1-2-3-4?



This is for a chef ...

Thanks for the clarifications. I had already found Joe's excellent FAQ, but knowing next to nothing about knives, and being geometry-challenged, some of it wasn't quite clear the first couple of times through.

One thing I did know is steeling; I always steel the knives before each use and sometimes ...

I was looking at the Edgepro photos trying to understand how it works. Do you set the angle by adjusting the legs?

And you sharpen by pulling the stone back and forth over the blade?

Do you use suction to hold the machine to the table?

Thanks

I'm very happy with my Sharpmaker 204 - I've finally got the kitchen knives to a very usable edge. They go right through tomatoes and everything else, and I have the sharpest vegetable peelers on the block.



But, I couldn't get a razor edge on the kitchen knives. After steps 1-4, they slice paper ...