couple sharpening questions

[Edward_Scissorhands]

Hi all, I have the Spyderco tri-sharpener, but haven't used it much. I see they recommend using the 40 degree setting, but would there be an advantage to using 30 instead? I found a few other threads where people are typically sharpening to an angle of 30 or less. I have a few knives, including a couple Sages, a Tenacious (I think it's called) and just got a Yojimbo 2 (sweet blade, BTW).

Also, would something like this be OK to use on the Spydies, or should I relegate that to cheap knives?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Y ... UTF8&psc=1

[sal]

Hi Edward,

Welcome to our forum.

Did you watch the video that comes with the Sharpmaker?

Many just uses the 40 degree. Some use the 30 degree for thinning edges. I use the 30 degree for all of my knives.

sal

[Ric]

Hi Edward.

Welcome here.

I normally use the 40 degree slots.
It's easier to sharpen only the edge with that.

Please use a sharpie on your edge and see where material is removed at each slot. Also keep the rods clean.

For kitchen knives I use the rods only or a benchstone - freehanded or on a table.

I would use that pull-through only at my enemy's knives.

[vivi]

Using 40 degrees lets you complete the job faster.

Using 30 degrees can take a while if the edge is thicker than 30 degrees, but provides better cutting performance in most cases.

I set my edges to 10 degrees per side then sharpen at 15 degrees per side. Having the majority of the edge ground thinner than I sharpen at means I can do touch ups very fast.

[Cambertree]

I sharpen too at around 10-12 dps, then set the apex with the Sharpmaker at 15 dps, and a few finishing passes at 20 dps.

It might sound a bit complicated, but it's very quick and easy to resharpen.

Pull through knife sharpeners are a travesty, and if you have a Sharpmaker, you have no need for one anyway.

[Evil D]

Hi all, I have the Spyderco tri-sharpener, but haven't used it much. I see they recommend using the 40 degree setting, but would there be an advantage to using 30 instead? I found a few other threads where people are typically sharpening to an angle of 30 or less. I have a few knives, including a couple Sages, a Tenacious (I think it's called) and just got a Yojimbo 2 (sweet blade, BTW).

Also, would something like this be OK to use on the Spydies, or should I relegate that to cheap knives?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Y ... UTF8&psc=1

Sweet Jesus please don't use that "sharpener" on any knife you care about. Just say no to pull through sharpeners.


I personally like to go with 30 degrees on any knife that has an edge bevel that it works with. A lot of knives come in at angles higher than 15 degrees per side (which adds up to 30 degrees inclusive) and so to sharpen the very edge of the bevel you may need to use the 40 setting or else the stone is hitting the shoulder of the bevel and you'll be there all day making passes but the edge won't get any sharper. Get a Sharpie and color the edge bevel and then make a couple passes on the 30 setting and see where it hits the edge and go from there. Eventually every knife will need reprofiled back down to a thinner edge which can take some work depending on what rods you have (you'll want diamond and or CBN rods eventually).

[Edward_Scissorhands]

Thanks, guys! It sounds like the easiest thing to do is just stick with 40 degrees. Isn't that how most of the Spydies come from the factory?

Also, good to know about the pull-through sharpener. It sounds like that was a waste of money, although it was pretty cheap. I guess maybe I can just keep it for cheap kitchen knives. Why are those kinds of sharpeners so bad? Do they damage the blade?

[cabfrank]

Sort of a related question; on the very old Sharpmakers, where there is only one angle setting, is the setting 30 or 40 degrees?

[vivi]

Thanks, guys! It sounds like the easiest thing to do is just stick with 40 degrees. Isn't that how most of the Spydies come from the factory?

Also, good to know about the pull-through sharpener. It sounds like that was a waste of money, although it was pretty cheap. I guess maybe I can just keep it for cheap kitchen knives. Why are those kinds of sharpeners so bad? Do they damage the blade?

Most come a little under 20 degrees per side. This means using the 20 degree setting you'll be working the very apex of the edge, which gives you super fast sharpening times.

Pull through sharpeners, if nothing else, get clogged up super fast since you're abrading the entire edge along a tiny piece of abrasive, as opposed to running a knife along the full length of a sharp maker rod. Abrasives need to be clean to cut well.

Your sharp maker rods will need cleaned with a mild abrasive like Bar Keepers Friend or Comet every so often. If you see visible steel build up on them they aren't going to work as well.

[Sharp Guy]

Sort of a related question; on the very old Sharpmakers, where there is only one angle setting, is the setting 30 or 40 degrees?

The old 203 Sharpmakers are 40°

[Sharp Guy]

Thanks, guys! It sounds like the easiest thing to do is just stick with 40 degrees. Isn't that how most of the Spydies come from the factory?

Almost all my Spydies are somewhere between 30° & 40°. As previously noted, using the Sharpmaker at 40° on knives with an edge bevel less than that allows you to sharpen only the apex (the sharp part) of the bevel. We call that adding a microbevel. After several sharpenings that microbevel will be not so micro anymore. At that point most of us choose to reprofile the entire edge bevel back to 30° or often even less. You can use the Sharpmaker with the stones on the 30° side to reprofile but it'll take forever. It can even take awhile with the diamond or CBN rods but it's not too bad. Reprofiling the edge is where some good bench stones or a fixed angle system can come in really handy.

[p_atrick]

Get proficient on the SM. If that works for you, great. If, as is often the case on this forum, you start to go down the rabbit hole of sharpening, then you can start experimenting. Here is a way to experiment with different angles without having to buy new sharpening equipment (the video should start around the 8:36 mark, if not fast-forward there).

https://youtu.be/CSBl2NVXNxE?t=516

[Edward_Scissorhands]

Thanks for all the tips! I've been messing around with the Sharpmaker a bit these past few days, and it seems to work well. I really don't use my knives all that much, so they stay sharp a while. I've had the Spyder itch lately, and just bought a few new blades...the Yojimbo 2, a PM2 and a Dragonfly, because, why not, LOL. It can become addictingl; that's for sure =)

[cabfrank]

Thanks, Sharp Guy.