question regarding sharpmaker UF and diamond rods

[npad69]

i noticed from my local seller that the the UF rods are being sold separately while the diamond are being sold by pairs.
does it mean that i only need one rod if i am to use the UF?

[Evil D]

Nope you need both, they're only sold individually because some people use these stones without the Sharpmaker base (dentists, etc).

[mattman]

In addition to what David said, I think another reason all the ceramic rods are sold as "each", is so that in the event you break one, you only have to buy one...

[JD Spydo]

In addition to what David said, I think another reason all the ceramic rods are sold as "each", is so that in the event you break one, you only have to buy one...

Yeah that's just what I was going to say>> I just broke one of my medium 204 Stones a couple of days ago. I'm hoping I can find some more 204 stones in trade because I've heard that more and more people are only using their fine stones for some extremely strange reason :confused: . I also heard one guy over at Bladeforums a couple of months ago say that he only used his Medium stones and nothing else :confused:

My advice>> get every stone you can get for the 204 Sharpmaker because if you're serious about sharpening and truly wanting to do well at it the entire selection of stones you can get for the 204 Sharpmaker to me are absolutely necesary. I use all 4 grits of mine just at least twice a week and sometimes much more.

The Ulra-Fine stones for the Sharpmaker are well worth what you pay for them. As well as the diamond stones you can get for the unit as well. I've yet to get the CBN stones ( cubic boron nitride) that are now available for the 204 Sharpmaker but I am going to have a set of them before spring is over. I've heard nothing but good about them>> so when you can afford it get them too.

[npad69]

Tnx Mr. Evil and Mr. Matt. so I already have the sharpmaker, the next question is which rods do I need to buy first? Uf or diamond?

[npad69]

Thanks for the advise mr spydo, Do I still need to strop if I already have the uf stones?

[Surfingringo]

I also heard one guy over at Bladeforums a couple of months ago say that he only used his Medium stones and nothing else :confused:

Hi JD, outside of reprofiling, I only use the medium stones. I don't find the more refined edge I get off of the fine and UF rods to be very practical for my typical knife uses. I can whittle free hanging hairs off the flats of the mediums. Thats sharp enough for me for an edc. :)

As an aside, here is the best use I have found for the UF rods. This gives me two finishes in between the Diamond rods and the medium rods which is much more useful to me than the higher grit stones.

[Surfingringo]

Tnx Mr. Evil and Mr. Matt. so I already have the sharpmaker, the next question is which rods do I need to buy first? Uf or diamond?

Hi Npad69, you should absolutely get the diamond rods first. They are pretty much mandatory to get the most out of the sharpmaker. The UF rods are more just for fun. You can get an edge frighteningly sharp and highly refined off the regular fine rods. A few passes on the fine rods will bring a sharp edge back to hair whittling. A strop is not necessary unless you just like stropping. :)

[mattman]

Diamond or CBN.

You will need to re-profile, before you will need the polished edge...

I jumped in as a noob, and went in thinking ultimate sharpness was always the goal, but really, the frustration avoided with the coarser stones, is much more rewarding long term, than the novelty edge provided by the ultra-fine stones.

Get diamond/CBN, and spend the time saved reading up here and in the "Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment" forum over at Blade Forums.

[mattman]

Also, read a bit, and learn the difference between "re-profiling" and "sharpening"... Knowledge that would have saved many new sharpeners much hand-wringing (myself included).

[The Deacon]

Nope you need both, they're only sold individually because some people use these stones without the Sharpmaker base (dentists, etc).

Do you really "need" both of any of the rods, or is it just more convenient than having to move one rod back and forth?

[Surfingringo]

Nope you need both, they're only sold individually because some people use these stones without the Sharpmaker base (dentists, etc).

Do you really "need" both of any of the rods, or is it just more convenient than having to move one rod back and forth?

If you are making alternating passes (which I usually do unless I'm doing heavy reprofiling) that would get old pretty quick. :)

[Fancier]

When I was a small child my Great Depression era father told me that I didn't need a pillow, so I set it aside and slept without one for most of a year.
I found that I'd rather sleep with a pillow, and I'd rather use the Sharpmaker as designed with two rods, but technically you can make do without.

[Evil D]

Nope you need both, they're only sold individually because some people use these stones without the Sharpmaker base (dentists, etc).

Do you really "need" both of any of the rods, or is it just more convenient than having to move one rod back and forth?

Well I guess you don't HAVE to have both rods. You don't HAVE to have 4 wheels on a car to drive it, but it makes it a lot easier if you do

[The Deacon]

Nope you need both, they're only sold individually because some people use these stones without the Sharpmaker base (dentists, etc).

Do you really "need" both of any of the rods, or is it just more convenient than having to move one rod back and forth?

If you are making alternating passes (which I usually do unless I'm doing heavy reprofiling) that would get old pretty quick. :)

That makes sense. It's a non-issue for me, since I only ever used my Sharpmaker on my serrated kitchen knives, so one rod would be fine.

[aesmith]

As an aside, here is the best use I have found for the UF rods. This gives me two finishes in between the Diamond rods and the medium rods which is much more useful to me than the higher grit stones.

Hi, hope you don't mind me asking about this. I assume these are DMT stones, so if that's correct are you saying that the Spyderco diamond rods are a grade coarser than the DMT Red "Fine" and the Spyderco brown rods are a grade finer than the DMT Green "Extra Fine"? That's more of a gap between diamond and brown than I was expecting.

I don't have anything but the standard white and brown rod yet, but I'm finding that I use the Sharpmaker for so much of my sharpening that I think it might make sense to get some of the other rods for it, or maybe a couple of small DMT Fine stones rather than the Spyderco diamonds.

Thanks, Tony S

[Razzle]

I use the diamonds and medium browns, pretty much exclusively, ala Gringo.