Fast forward 20 years and I know have a fancy Sharpmaker which is just fantastic. It is easy to use and puts a razor sharp edge on my knives.
In my modest collection I have a couple of Esees, 1095 steel, simple to sharpen, insanely sharp.
I also have a Cat (440C), a Dragonfly (VG-10), a Ladybug (ZDP-189) and a Manix2 (154CM) all of which I can quite easily get shaving sharp.
The 154CM would be the hardest for me to sharpen, but I feel that's partly due to the semi-serrated blade on my Manix2, which makes it a little difficult to get long, flowing strokes going on the Sharpmaker.
On to my Techno, when I first got this it was crazy sharp. I use my Techno a lot and recently have been putting it through its paces helping a friend with some renovations.
I don't baby the tool, but I also don't abuse it. I don't use it to cut anything metal, aluminium, wire etc, but anything wood, plastic, cable ties etc that you would expect during renovation and carpentry work I attack without a second thought.
The edge has help up very well and still cuts well, but the magical crazy sharpness has gone and I cannot get it back.
I use the 40 deg Sharpmaker stones, starting with the grey, onto the white just like the video shows and exactly what I do for all my knives.
I have done the Sharpie thing to see where I am hitting and apart from missing the very tip of the blade at times, my contact is correct.
But, I am not getting an arm hair shaving edge back again.
What do I do, keep grinding away on the white stones? Am I doing something fundamentally wrong? Should I throw this Techno in the drawer and simply buy a new one each time it gets blunt (joke!)
Sorry for the rambling post, I'd love to hear from other Techno owners about their sharpening experiences, other CTS-XHP users or just anyone who wants to chime in!!
Gratuitous Techno shot to brighten up this text heavy post!
