Can`t get the same edge with the sharpmaker easily...

[ZrowsN1s]

Anyone have some tips getting the same edge.
On is always wider then the other here.
What am i doing wrong?
This thing gets razor sharp that is not the problem

I have a guided angle sharpening system, even with that it's really hard to get both sides exactly the same. As long as it's razor sharp, I'd consider that good. Truth is the factory edge on most knives is slightly uneven.

[toeterbaas]

I think sharpening with the SM is not too far removed from freehand sharpening.

Holding the knife blade dead plumb stroke after stroke is not as easy as we may think.

Set a carpenter's or engineer's square on your sharpening bench. Grip your knife where you believe it to be plumb, now take it to your square and you'll likely see what I'm trying to say. Even a couple of degrees out of plumb will leave you two very different bevels on either side of your blade. :eek:

Not sure this helps, but it is what it is. :)

It is easier if you put the brain on zero and do it as fast as possible.
It gets razorsharp i found out :)

[toeterbaas]

Anyone have some tips getting the same edge.
On is always wider then the other here.
What am i doing wrong?
This thing gets razor sharp that is not the problem

I have a guided angle sharpening system, even with that it's really hard to get both sides exactly the same. As long as it's razor sharp, I'd consider that good. Truth is the factory edge on most knives is slightly uneven.

I think they are both good now :)

[carl3989]

I find that M4 is probably the hardest steel for me to get sharp. I've used the Sharp Maker but usually end up using the Wicked edge. Even then it's never as sharp as my S30V knives. Hate M4 yet love my Gayle Bradley Spydercos.

[ZrowsN1s]

I find that M4 is probably the hardest steel for me to get sharp. I've used the Sharp Maker but usually end up using the Wicked edge. Even then it's never as sharp as my S30V knives. Hate M4 yet love my Gayle Bradley Spydercos.

I have had really good results sharpening M4, my M4 PM2 is sharp enough to effortlessly shave hair. (I own S30V as well, they both get very sharp in my experience). Your problems may be due to something other than the steel like blade geometry and thickness behind the edge. (or we could just have different ideas about what constitutes 'sharp') :D

[roger-roger]

At what level do the SM diamond stones come into play? Is it strictly for reshaping/regrinding the bevel?

[ZrowsN1s]

At what level do the SM diamond stones come into play? Is it strictly for reshaping/regrinding the bevel?

They will sharpen your knife faster than ceramic rods, and you need them if you are sharpening/reprofiling a high hardness steel like ZDP-189. The diamond rods are harder than the ceramic.

[JD Spydo]

Anyone have some tips getting the same edge.
On is always wider then the other here.
What am i doing wrong?
This thing gets razor sharp that is not the problem

Greetings "Toeterbass" :) Nice to make your acquaintance I really enjoy all you great Brothers from the Netherlands. I'm hoping that my old pal "Spydutch" chimes in on this one as well.

Well just recently I sort of got humbled when I realized after watching the 204 Sharpmaker instructional video that Sal graciously blessed us with. You know one of my old shop teachers from way back in high school had a saying that I still find helps me a lot in life>> he said several times " If Nothing Else Works Then Try Following Directions". Well it was just recently I was sharpening some of my older Spyderco kitchen cutlery on my 204 Sharpmaker when I realized that I just wasn't getting them as sharp as I used to.

That's when my old shop teachers cliché hit me like a ton of bricks and I did realize that I truly needed to watch the 204 Sharpmaker video to see what I might have been overlooking. It didn't take but about 3 minutes and I immediately realized that I was overlooking some obvious methods that truly worked in an excellent fashion that I just flat forgot about. Because for the last 3 years I had pretty much exclusively been using my Spyderco 701 Profiles to do most of my Spyderedged sharpening with. Thus I forgot some of the raw basics of using the 204 Sharpmaker.

The biggest key to success on the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker is to use all of your different grit 204 stones in succession to each other. And if you have the 204 diamond stones then start with them and then go to the medium, then the fine, then the Ultra-Fine. But going to each stone in succession as it shows on the video I quickly realized that I was the problem and I just forgot a very important step.

I still prefer my 701 Profiles for most of my Spyderedged sharpening but now I can see after learning the error of my ways that I will indeed view the use of my 204 Sharpmaker unit much differently in the future. As the wise old shop teacher said "IF NOTHING ELSE WORKS THEN TRY FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS" :o

[Donut]

Every once in a while we get people asking the question if you can polish an edge well with the sharpmaker.

I thought I would do a proof of concept with the sharpmaker and try to polish the edge of my Orange Dodo. I spent quite a bit of work on it and my edge has a wavy patterened polish on it.

One thing that sticks out in my mind is when Cliff Stamp made a thread and announced that a VERY small difference in the dimensions of a triangle stone can change the angle of the stone 1-2 degrees. If you are using the fine stones, or probably even the medium stones, 1-2 degrees can be the difference of you hitting the edge or not. (Or polishing the bevel in my case.) Cliff's solution was that if you're having trouble, just swap the stones. Take the stones out of the slots and put them in the opposite slots. Some people say they mark the stones L and R so that each time they are sharpening, they are using the same angles.

[bryan123]

A couple more tips, I don't use the corners at all except for serrations. Also keep your stones clean, you can use dish soap and a Scotchbrite pad or Barkeeper's Friend and a rag, or a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser does wonders but doesn't last very long.[/quote

Thanks for the magic eraser suggestion. This is the best way to clean the stones I've tried so far.

[Evil D]

A couple more tips, I don't use the corners at all except for serrations. Also keep your stones clean, you can use dish soap and a Scotchbrite pad or Barkeeper's Friend and a rag, or a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser does wonders but doesn't last very long.[/quote

Thanks for the magic eraser suggestion. This is the best way to clean the stones I've tried so far.

Yep, just watch the corners, they'll saw your sponge in half. Also store brand works just as well.

Little lesser known fact, that foam isn't anything special, it had been used in recording studios for decades as a sound deadening insulation on walls.

[toeterbaas]

I think sharpening with the SM is not too far removed from freehand sharpening.

Holding the knife blade dead plumb stroke after stroke is not as easy as we may think.

Set a carpenter's or engineer's square on your sharpening bench. Grip your knife where you believe it to be plumb, now take it to your square and you'll likely see what I'm trying to say. Even a couple of degrees out of plumb will leave you two very different bevels on either side of your blade. :eek:

Not sure this helps, but it is what it is. :)

Thanks for your help :)

[toeterbaas]

Can anyone tell me wich angle i should shape if i get my endura zome?

[Bloke]

I think sharpening with the SM is not too far removed from freehand sharpening.

Holding the knife blade dead plumb stroke after stroke is not as easy as we may think.

Set a carpenter's or engineer's square on your sharpening bench. Grip your knife where you believe it to be plumb, now take it to your square and you'll likely see what I'm trying to say. Even a couple of degrees out of plumb will leave you two very different bevels on either side of your blade. :eek:

Not sure this helps, but it is what it is. :)

Thanks for your help :)

Too easy! :)

I think it makes things a little easier too if you fix your SM to your bench. I use a small clamp. It frees up one hand and gives you the option of a two handed grip.

I set 28-30 deg bevels on all the Spyders I own, but I use a guided system. With your new knife, depending on the factory grind etc, you may like to maintain it with a 40 deg micro bevel and down the track re bevel it at 30deg.

[Surfingringo]

I think sharpening with the SM is not too far removed from freehand sharpening.

Holding the knife blade dead plumb stroke after stroke is not as easy as we may think.

Set a carpenter's or engineer's square on your sharpening bench. Grip your knife where you believe it to be plumb, now take it to your square and you'll likely see what I'm trying to say. Even a couple of degrees out of plumb will leave you two very different bevels on either side of your blade. :eek:

Not sure this helps, but it is what it is. :)

Hey there Bloke, remember when you first learned to put a hair whittling edge on a knife? What sharpener did you learn that on again? :cool:

[Bloke]

Hey there Bloke, remember when you first learned to put a hair whittling edge on a knife? What sharpener did you learn that on again? :cool:

Ah, hahaha! Hello Nuts, :)

As honest as I type I was going to mention I got my very first hair whittling edge on a HAP40 Delica, and I couldn't have done it without a little help from a mate and the mighty SM ... of course!

Wish I had an unclad HAP40 Sprig! :cool:

The clean apex with a .0005" micro-bevel is certainly a thing to behold! Didn't want to sound like a smart arse is all. Anyhow, I sharpen most knives with 400-600 rocks mostly of late. Ah, hahaha! :rolleyes:

[Eli Chaps]

[quote="bryan123"

...

Little lesser known fact, that foam isn't anything special, it had been used in recording studios for decades as a sound deadening insulation on walls.

Yes and no. The base foam (melamine) has indeed been around for years but that exact composition came about for a very different purpose than cleaning counter tops. A few years ago I did quite a bit of work with the company that originally designed the "sponge". It was intended to clean very sensitive equipment/instruments and one of the primary needs was to retain the particles it scrubbed off. It did that just fine but, as anyone who has used the sponge knows, it also wore away the sponge material so it cancelled out the benefits of the particle retention properties. They sold the rights off as a general-purpose cleaning tool and went on to perfect the cleaning products they originally set out to make and today are very successful in that niche application.

Just a little more gee-whiz info. :)