Sharpmaker?

[Edward_Scissorhands]

I've been learning to use the Sharpmaker, and I noticed that the knife seems sharper if I just use the edge of the stones, and not the flat sides. Anyone else notice this? I start with the edge of the brown stones, then do the flat side, then the same for the white stones. However, to me, the blade feels sharpest right after I get done with the edge of the first brown stone. After that, I don't notice much change. In fact, it actually feels a little worse. This is all just based on the feel as I lightly move the blade over my thumb. Maybe I just need more practice?

[Evil D]

I would make sure that what you're feeling as "sharp" isn't just burr formation. Using the same amount of pressure on the corners will result in more force applied to the edge and it's much easier to create a burr using too much force, especially compared to using the flats.

[Sharp Guy]

I haven't noticed myself. I use the corners and flats and have good results with both.

[Bloke]

What D said! :cool:

It’s easy to think you’re knife is a lot sharper than it actually is if you’re pushing a burr back and forth. If you have indeed formed a burr chances are the blade will feel aggressively sharp till you put it to use. The burr will soon enough break away and you’ll be left with a ragged and fairly blunt edge. Edge retention relates direct to how much or how little steel you’ve fatigued in the process of sharpening.

Light pressure is key. Particularly when getting down to the fine grits used to finish on a SharpMaker. It’s easy enough to get into a battle with a burr you’ve formed even on the Ultra Fine stones with some of the softer stainless steels, in particular. :)

[JD Spydo]

There are a few things I tell everyone who gets a Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker. First and foremost view the instructional video that comes with the unit at least 3 times before attempting to use it. And you might want to practice with an older folder and/or an old kitchen knife. Do your practice on knives that won't break your heart if you scratch them.

Also get all the extra stones you can buy for the 204 Sharpmaker. That gives you a lot more versatility and gives you a wider selection of sharpening grits. Also get a clamping system you like to hold the unit solid on a table or workbench. I found that makes all the difference in the world if you have both hands free while working with the Sharpmaker. I use a Vice Grip Welder's Clamp and it secures the Sharpmaker to the table really solid.

But again do watch that video and pay close attention to what Sal says. If you do what he says you'll learn the unit a lot faster.

[Bill1170]

Evil D and JD Spydo have pretty well covered it. All I’d add is to get a loupe or pocket scope to visually verify what’s happening at the apex.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Well now it is time to go against the grain :)

The video is a good starting ground but is far too tame. You need to be able to evaluate where the edge truly is, this will only come with both time and practice.

What Sal shows is extremely conservative in that very, very old video which supersedes current steel technology.

There can be no doubt the Sharpmaker is superb but to get the best out of it takes time, feel and honestly an up and down scrubbing motion which requires experience and feel to get just right then it is most incredible indeed.

I made the mistake of babying my Spyderco Super Steels for years before deciding OKAY PUNK YOU FEEL LUCKY!?

Abandoning finesse and getting to the heart of the matter S30V became a Rock Star on the sharpmaker.

There is no better system out there but you have to buy the Diamond rods for repair and rebeveling or the CBN.

Nothing else comes close to the Sharpmaker for serrated edges either.

You must also consider which steel you are sharpening and what blade type also.

For example H1 serrated can be brought to supreme performance with a Ultra Fine Rod.

S30V Brown medium rod is enough.

VG10 the Fine rod works great.

Cruwear also around Brown Rod But white fine rod is good also.

[Wartstein]

I've been learning to use the Sharpmaker, and I noticed that the knife seems sharper if I just use the edge of the stones, and not the flat sides. Anyone else notice this? I start with the edge of the brown stones, then do the flat side, then the same for the white stones. However, to me, the blade feels sharpest right after I get done with the edge of the first brown stone. .....

.... Also get a clamping system you like to hold the unit solid on a table or workbench. I found that makes all the difference in the world if you have both hands free while working with the Sharpmaker.

OP, from my limited experience with sharpening ( but most of it on the Sharpmaker),just two points

- Actual cutting performance (so not necessarely hair splitting sharpness) and edge retention can (but does not have to) be better when finishing with a coarser grit. See this thread where people way more knowledgeable than I am talk about this very topic: viewtopic.php?t=85096

I personally don´t use my white (fine) stones a lot anymore, but only CBN and brown ones

- Concerning the advice of getting a clamping system: JD Spydo sure knows what he´s talking about, and this will be a good advice, but before you clamp the SM to a table you should have gotten a feel for a "light touch" on the rods when sharpening! When the SM is NOT clamped solidly to a surface, this gives you the opportunity to train / develop a really light touch by just trying to sharpen withou holding the unit with the other hand and still trying to not move it at all when sharpening

[Ric]

Edward, same for me.

My explanation is that the flat side is not flat but curved.
Therefore the edge does not get good/sufficient contact.

But I am still new to sharpening and I sharpen normally only a few minutes, not half an hour to an hour.

[TkoK83Spy]

I know I had a difficult time for a while when I first got my Sharpmaker, some of the guys in this thread were very helpful to me! It definitely takes some practice, so don't give up. There's really a different feel to it once you're hitting that apex, it feels and even sounds different.

When using the flats, give this a try...it's worked great for me. Instead of holding the knife and Sharpmaker base totally parallel to one another, try angling the Sharpmaker base just a tad inward. I've found for me, that doing so really helps me get more of the edge on the flats. When starting off, using a Sharpie marker on the bevel is always good, too make sure you're hitting that apex. I know that was a problem for me starting off.

Give some of these ideas that have been tossed around in this thread a try and report back on how you're doing!

[James Y]

At this point, the Sharpmaker is the only sharpening system I use. As others have said, use a light touch. You don’t want to press down with force.

Another thing is, do not run the tip of the blade off the rod. Always end a stroke with the tip of the blade somewhere on the flat of the rod. If you run the tip off the rod, you risk rounding off the tip.

Jim

[Bloke]

Irrespective of how you use the SharpMaker, technique etc. I’ve always found the concept of using the corners of the stones to sharpen anything other than SE’s and tight recurves a bizarre and puzzling concept.

For example, I if all you had was a triangular file to sharpen a PE blade, would you use the points of the file or the flats? :confused:

[Ric]

It's hard to get full contact on the flats.
I checked yesterday on the flats only a small portion is in contact with the blade. This means also that you have unsharpened spots.
Maybe with more strokes you can equal that out.

[James Y]

It's hard to get full contact on the flats.
I checked yesterday on the flats only a small portion is in contact with the blade. This means also that you have unsharpened spots.
Maybe with more strokes you can equal that out.

If you’re moving the blade down and towards you the rod, from the heel of the edge to the tip, you will get the entire edge.

Jim

[Wartstein]

It's hard to get full contact on the flats.
I checked yesterday on the flats only a small portion is in contact with the blade. This means also that you have unsharpened spots.
Maybe with more strokes you can equal that out.

Ric, I´m not at home where my sharpmaker is at the moment, so I can´t check:

But if "only a small portion of the rod is in contact with the blade when sharpening" (as you say):

-1.) Wouldn´t that be rather a matter of technique than a matter of the design (so with "better" technique more of the flats would come on contact with the edge?)

- 2.) IF indeed "only a small portion of the rod is in contact with the blade" (as you say), that small(er) portion of the rod would still be in contact with all of the blade (edge), so why "unsharpened spots" ?!!

[Bloke]

It's hard to get full contact on the flats.
I checked yesterday on the flats only a small portion is in contact with the blade. This means also that you have unsharpened spots.
Maybe with more strokes you can equal that out.

I don’t quite follow what you’re describing.

All I can think is you’re not contacting the stone close to the blade’s tip(?) and you won’t unless you lift the handle as you approach the belly and tip at the end of your stroke in order to keep the blade’s belly and tip tangent to the stone.

It’s easy to demonstrate, a little harder to describe but basically when you finish the stroke you’re blade/knife should be about 60degrees off horizontal.

This is something like were your knife should finish at the end of the stroke. You need to keep blade tangent to stone, heel to tip, every stroke.



If you were sharpening a Wharncliffe blade you’d need to keep the blade horizontal though the entire stroke.

Hope all this makes sense. :)

[Wartstein]

It's hard to get full contact on the flats.
I checked yesterday on the flats only a small portion is in contact with the blade. This means also that you have unsharpened spots.
Maybe with more strokes you can equal that out.

.....

It’s easy to demonstrate, a little harder to describe but basically when you finish the stroke you’re blade/knife should be about 60degrees off horizontal.

This is something like were your knife should finish at the end of the stroke. You need to keep blade tangent to stone, heel to tip, every stroke.

If you were sharpening a Wharncliffe blade you’d need to keep the blade horizontal though the entire stroke.
...

Just to make it even clearer for those who might be totally new to sharpening and the sharpmaker: What Bloke is saying basically:
You need to follow the "curve" / belly of the edge when sharpening on the sharpmaker, and by doing so lift the handle of the knife in the process.
Now if a knife has NO belly at all (wharncliff), you just keep the blade horizontally trough the entire stroke (cause there is no "curve" in the edge to follow)

Alex (Bloke), I hope you don´t mind me trying to explain that once more for those REALLY new to the matter.
I was just thinking of the times when I myself was just an occasional-non-english-native-tongue-lurker, but still interested reader on this forum... (not that I´d be a lot more experienced nowadays, I am just talking more... :D )

[Bloke]

Alex (Bloke), I hope you don´t mind me trying to explain that once more for those REALLY new to the matter.

No mate! Not in the slightest! :)

The spirit of our Forum is to help one another by passing on what little knowledge or experience we may have. I nearly chucked my SharpMaker out the kitchen window when I first go it because I hadn’t worked out you need to follow the blade curve, as you say ... keep the blade tangent to the stone throughout the entire stroke.

Gringo helped me understand keeping the blade tangent to the stone and Viveo taught me to keep my hands off the SharpMaker when I’m finishing the blade and if it moved I was using too much pressure. So if I can, I’ll help anyone in return, as very best I can.

[Wartstein]

Alex (Bloke), I hope you don´t mind me trying to explain that once more for those REALLY new to the matter.

No mate! Not in the slightest! :)

The spirit of our Forum is to help one another by passing on what little knowledge or experience we may have. I nearly chucked my SharpMaker out the kitchen window when I first go it because I hadn’t worked out you need to follow the blade curve, as you say ... keep the blade tangent to the stone throughout the entire stroke.

Gringo helped me understand keeping the blade tangent to the stone and Viveo taught me to keep my hands off the SharpMaker when I’m finishing the blade and if it moved I was using too much pressure. So if I can, I’ll help anyone in return, as very best I can.

Thanks! You explained it perfectly anyway, just for Non-English-Native-Speakers "keep the blade tangent to the stone" might be harder to understand than "follow the curve of the edge"... :)

[Bloke]

Thanks! You explained it perfectly anyway, just for Non-English-Native-Speakers "keep the blade tangent to the stone" might be harder to understand than "follow the curve of the edge"... :)

Yes, the language barrier! All the members here express themselves so well I forget not everyone speaks English at home. I only have an IPhone and can’t see where members are from unless I go to their profile or I’m on a desktop at work.

Thanks for reminding me. :)