Is a spyderco sharpmaker right for me?
Well....not to knock a great product but i don't think the Sharpmaker is for me, because honestly i can get sloppy when it comes to repetitive motions that need to be pretty precise in order to achieve a certain goal. I like guide systems because they eliminate my sloppiness and give me repeatable results every time and so far i have yet to feel a knife sharper than my own (though i know there are plenty of guys on here far better at sharpening than myself). I use a Lansky but i've been contemplating either a Gatco or if i can cough up the cash, an Edge Pro.
Oh and another thing i'll add, i also tend to be hard on my edges and chips and dings are a pretty common occurance. Fixing those chips and dings on a Sharpmaker can be pretty time consuming from what i've read. Also every knife i use gets some degree of reprofiling, which is another thing the Sharpmaker takes a lot longer to accomplish. Both these things are much easier dealt with on a guide system.
Still, all that aside i do intend to buy a Sharpmaker in the long run, because i'm not one to give up when i can't do something. I also plan on learning to sharpen on bench stones someday.
Oh and another thing i'll add, i also tend to be hard on my edges and chips and dings are a pretty common occurance. Fixing those chips and dings on a Sharpmaker can be pretty time consuming from what i've read. Also every knife i use gets some degree of reprofiling, which is another thing the Sharpmaker takes a lot longer to accomplish. Both these things are much easier dealt with on a guide system.
Still, all that aside i do intend to buy a Sharpmaker in the long run, because i'm not one to give up when i can't do something. I also plan on learning to sharpen on bench stones someday.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
Actually Evil D, I have screwed it to my bench so pretty easy to eliminate most of the sloppiness. It is quite easy to use this system and much easier than those you mention.
The system only seems sufficient though for a dull knife that needs the edge brought back up eg as a steel would. The abrasion does not seem sufficient to tackle much else but I will persist for a little while
The system only seems sufficient though for a dull knife that needs the edge brought back up eg as a steel would. The abrasion does not seem sufficient to tackle much else but I will persist for a little while
The medium ceramics are fairly slow cutting. And they are even slower if they are not kept clean. They tend to "load" up fairly quickly with very fine metal shavings and when that happens they just can't cut metal very well. They should be cleaned with an abrasive cleanser like Comet, Barkeeper's Friend, or SoftScrub fairly frequently to keep them performing at their best.
But if you need to fix chips or reprofile on the Sharpmaker, or just want to be able to grind metal faster with it, the optional diamond rods are a big help and a good investment, imo. They are supposed to be 400 grit which is just a little finer than a DMT C (which is 325 grit). I just got a set of the diamond rods recently from Amazon (which btw has them for a reasonable price with free shipping) and after using them to reprofile an Endura that needed a lot of work, I'm pretty pleased with them so far. I just hope they last a fairly long time. My DMT diamond benchstones are still going strong after almost 20 years. It would be nice if the diamond rods prove to be similarly durable, but unfortunately, they are not made by DMT as far as I know. But they're working great so far.
But if you need to fix chips or reprofile on the Sharpmaker, or just want to be able to grind metal faster with it, the optional diamond rods are a big help and a good investment, imo. They are supposed to be 400 grit which is just a little finer than a DMT C (which is 325 grit). I just got a set of the diamond rods recently from Amazon (which btw has them for a reasonable price with free shipping) and after using them to reprofile an Endura that needed a lot of work, I'm pretty pleased with them so far. I just hope they last a fairly long time. My DMT diamond benchstones are still going strong after almost 20 years. It would be nice if the diamond rods prove to be similarly durable, but unfortunately, they are not made by DMT as far as I know. But they're working great so far.
Peter - My :spyder:'s:
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).