Free Handing On The Sharpmaker?

[Scandi Grind]

So I am planning to buy a new kitchen knife, and I have budgeted to get a new sharpener of some sort to go with it. I realized that means I could potentially get a Sharpmaker. This could be used for all my knives, not just my new kitchen knife, but I have some reservations.

Firstly, I'm not sure if the Sharpmaker's angles are best for kitchen knives, but I assume one of them should work well even if they are not exactly the same as how the blade comes.

The second and probably biggest thing for me is that I like to freehand, but I wasn't sure what to expect from using the Sharpmaker's bench stone feature. Anyone use it that way?

I was also wondering what level of finish to expect off the fine stones. I would be looking to get very fine edges on my kitchen knives with this, so I would be going from the fine stone to a strop with diamond compound. For comparison, I was looking into a two sided whetstone with a 3000 grit side for finishing before going to the strop.

The final thing I was curious to know is if there are after market bases that use Sharpmaker rods and give you more angle options?

[vivi]

15 degrees works alright for kitchen knife apexes. I keep the bevels much thinner than 15dps though.

The sharpmaker is actually designed with this in mind. You can lay two stones together on the bottom for sharpening stuff like kitchen knives. It can be used like a benchstone or you can hold the sharpmaker in one hand and the knife in the other.

I work as a professional chef and the fine stones are polished enough for me. The edge I get off of them glides right through food.

I maintain my kitchen knives with a sharpmaker and the four sided harbor freight diamind stones I'm fond of. I also keep a DMT fine for polishing bevels before applying a higher polish apex.

The gauntlet is designed with kitchen knives in mind, that's another option. I've been meaning to try one. Longer rods more suitable for longer blades, and thinner angles.

[kennethsime]

I use my sharpmaker on my kitchen knifes all the time - works great. Like Vivi said, the Gauntlet is bigger, which makes it easier to sharpen larger knives.

[Bemo]

I haven't tried the Gauntlet yet (I'm sure I will at some point) but Viv's point is really right on as far as I can see and have tried. The inexpensive Harbor Freight diamond stones to reprofile down to sub 15 degrees, and then the Sharpmaker to microbevel to 30 degrees seems almost ideal.

[vivi]

[James Y]

My kitchen knives are all very thin-bladed Victorinox knives, and I sharpen them with only the white rods on my Sharpmaker at 15 DPS. I can't speak for other kitchen knife brands, but it takes me only seconds, and the edges last a good while.

Jim

[Scandi Grind]

Have any of you used the Sharpmaker bench stone function? I'd like to assume it is designed and works well, but life teaches me to never assume anything. It just looks strange in the pictures I've seen having two separate rods put together to make a larger surface.

If that feature works without caveat, I think I would be willing to buy the Sharpmaker.

[Wandering_About]

I wasn't a fan of the bench stones function on the sharpmaker, but that's only one opinion. I prefer using a regular bench stone.

[Eli Chaps]

If you like to freehand, just freehand.

[Scandi Grind]

If you like to freehand, just freehand.

He he, yeah, that seems like the what I'm feeling at the moment. Still debating options other than the Sharpmaker. I got a suggestion for a double sided whetstone, Vivi has mentioned Harbor Freight diamond stones which are super cheap, and I even considered buying a couple grits of Edge Pro plates to freehand with. There are a lot of options, hard to narrow down.

[LimpCroissant]

I'm not the best freehand sharpener, my method now days is reprofile all my knives on a KME when they're ready under 20 degrees per side, and then keep them touched up with the 40 degree sharpmaker slots until it's time for another little reprofile job. However I have used the Sharpmaker as a benchstone several times. I did get some of the best results I've ever got with a benchstone (again that style is not my forte), but it did always kind of wierd me out sliding the edge against two stones at the same time. But, it didn't seem to have any negative impact on my results

[Surfingringo]

I like to freehand but the sharpmaker is an indispensable tool in my kitchen. I have my kitchen knives properly profiled so that I can hit the microbevel 6-8 licks on the Sharpmaker and have them shaving sharp again in less than 10 seconds.

If you want to use low edges (and you want to use the SM exclusively), I would recommend placing a pencil under the center of the base (with the rods in the 30 degree setting. Rock the base back and forth as you sharpen each side (or do one side a time if you are profiling) and that should give you a 10-11 degree per side edge. From there, remove the pencil and just microbevel at the 30 degree setting. This will give you a screaming sharp edge that is super quick and easy to maintain.

The regular white *fine rods will give you plenty of refinement at the edge for kitchen use. They make UF rods too but they are unnecessary IMO and really won’t give you any appreciable improvement in edge performance or longevity in kitchen use. To be honest, I prefer finishing my kitchen knives on the brown stones. That edge is PLENTY refined, performs better on soft foods and lasts longer.

As others have stated, you can use the SM as a bench stone but if you are going to be exclusively free handing then there are better options than the SM. For keeping your knives at their highest level of sharpness with the least amount of time and effort though, there is nothing that beats the Sharpmaker.

[wrdwrght]

Doh! Right here is why we need to reexamine our fixed ideas.

I have never imagined this arrangement. Why? Because I have long had various bench-stones. And because the Sharpmaker is just about angled rods, right?.

[vivi]

Doh! Right here is why we need to reexamine our fixed ideas.

I have never imagined this arrangement. Why? Because I have long had various bench-stones. And because the Sharpmaker is just about angled rods, right?.

It works well as long as you have something to secure the base with.

when I'm at work I keep my sharpmaker setup like this. I hold it in my left hand, knife in my right, and free hand it on the flat of one of the stones.



for me it's faster than setting up the sharpmaker the regular way.

[TkoK83Spy]

I never use the Sharpmaker base itself for touch ups, I just hold the rod in hand. I've tried using the base before as a bench stone, but they didn't sit evenly and I didn't like the gap between the stones.

[vivi]

this is my technique for touching up the edge during mid shift. ymmv but I get about the same sharpness as using the sharpmaker as intended.

https://vidsli.com/watch/0i6qy1cIub

[Scandi Grind]

I wish I could see your pic Vivi, but it doesn't show up on my computer.

I am heavily considering a double stuff at this point. It's an inch shorter than the whetstone I was considering, but it is cheaper and I like the lower maintenance of Ceramic. The quality of Spyderco stones seems to be top notch, so for the price it seems like a good deal. I think I would stick with the original, rather than the Double Stuff 2 because I am not a serration fan.

[Bemo]

Wow vivi what do you think that angle is? Looks over 40 degrees to me close to 45. Just trying for a refreshed micro bevel?

[vivi]

Wow vivi what do you think that angle is? Looks over 40 degrees to me close to 45. Just trying for a refreshed micro bevel?

yep, quick strokes at an obtuse angle to refresh the apex. I reset the edge every so often once it starts feeling thick.

[vivi]

this is how sharp I get my chef knives on the sharpmaker freehand:



I can get them sharper if I really take my time but this is good enough for getting me through a shift.

That's with the fine rods fyi.