Is the Sharpmaker "cheating"?
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P40_Warhawk
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- Location: Westchester County, NY
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JediKnight86
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- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:00 pm
- Location: Brea, California USA Earth
I personally think it holds you back. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but when I tried to put a new edge on using the textbook Sharpmaker procedure on a Endura 4 I dulled the crap out of it.
I hardly use my Sharpmaker anymore now that I know how to use Japanese water stones. And once you learn that skill you really see how limited the Sharpmaker is, just like Murray Carter says in his DVD.
I hardly use my Sharpmaker anymore now that I know how to use Japanese water stones. And once you learn that skill you really see how limited the Sharpmaker is, just like Murray Carter says in his DVD.
Hi my name is Alex and I'm a Spyderholic :D
I have a different take than Jedi. I tried going back to free hand after 30 or so years (I was a teenager then) and found my self unable to get a blade sharp. Getting the Sharpmaker and educating myself more on edges is the bridge for me to get good at freehand sharpening again, if I ever really was back then...lolol.
I allowed my vg-10 D4 Delica to lose it's edge so it wouldn't cut paper. The Sharpmaker helped me get it to better than out of the box sharp after I figured out how to get that stubborn burr off. I feel myself developing the feel thanks to the sharpmaker.
To each his/her own though....
Charlie
I allowed my vg-10 D4 Delica to lose it's edge so it wouldn't cut paper. The Sharpmaker helped me get it to better than out of the box sharp after I figured out how to get that stubborn burr off. I feel myself developing the feel thanks to the sharpmaker.
To each his/her own though....
Charlie
Charlie
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
I never got the Sharpmaker, but it sure sounds like a nice piece of equipment. A tool that enables you to do something better or more easily is never cheating unless you're in some sort of competition with rules against it. (Or if it hurts your pride not to do something the "traditional" way, which can be an issue especially in some tradition-bound pursuits.)
On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with working manually with stones. It IS a skill, and it takes some practice before the results turn out well, but it isn't insanely difficult. But that is coming from a person who does a lot of fine work with his hands (playing the violin, overhauling bicycles, machining, etc.), so YMMV. The nice thing about this route is that you can get just a few grits of say DMT diamond-impregnated blocks and run the full gamut from heavy rebeveling to touchups with the same equipment.
As Paul said, however, if you had lots of knives with serrations and/or recurve portions, it might be a different story. Personally, I really like my ProFiles for dealing with SE edges as well as other difficult sharpening/deburring tasks.
Good luck. Get a loupe! :)
On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with working manually with stones. It IS a skill, and it takes some practice before the results turn out well, but it isn't insanely difficult. But that is coming from a person who does a lot of fine work with his hands (playing the violin, overhauling bicycles, machining, etc.), so YMMV. The nice thing about this route is that you can get just a few grits of say DMT diamond-impregnated blocks and run the full gamut from heavy rebeveling to touchups with the same equipment.
As Paul said, however, if you had lots of knives with serrations and/or recurve portions, it might be a different story. Personally, I really like my ProFiles for dealing with SE edges as well as other difficult sharpening/deburring tasks.
Good luck. Get a loupe! :)