Sharpmaker Galley V & Gauntlet

[BeggarSo]

Hello all,

I have owned the sharpmaker for years and the Galley V for quite a while out of the two I find the Rods on the Galley V to be the best in my use for putting a good edge on all of my EDC in the following steels.

S30V
S35VN
S45Vn
S90V
Maxamet
VG-10
440C
420HC

Question Number 1. Are the rods on the Galley V the same as on the Gauntlet only longer? Same as in abrasive.

Question Number 2. Am I correct in my observation that the Galley V is not the same level of abrasion as the standard white rods that come with the sharpmaker? To me it seems like it is somewhere in between the brown and white rods in terms of lets say grit even though it is not the right term.

One thing I have never liked about the sharpmaker is how short the rods are If Spyderco would Make those rods longer and the same shape as the Gauntlet and Galley V I would buy it all over again.

[JRinFL]

I don't have an answer to these questions, but I will bump it to the top as it they are good questions.

[Evil D]

Yeah I haven't bought either the GV or Gauntlet but I would love to see longer rods as an option for the Sharpmaker, but I guess for portability they need to fit inside the Sharpmaker case. I'd buy longer rods just to use at home. My issue with those two sharpeners is the lack of angle options.

[PStone]

I asked Sal once if the rods between the gauntlet and galley v are interchangeable. He said they were. So I would assume they are just different lengths. Never thought about asking if the grits were the same. I’m curious now too.

Edit to add:

Hi PStone,

Same config, different lengths. They should be interchangeable

sal

[BeggarSo]

Yeah I haven't bought either the GV or Gauntlet but I would love to see longer rods as an option for the Sharpmaker, but I guess for portability they need to fit inside the Sharpmaker case. I'd buy longer rods just to use at home. My issue with those two sharpeners is the lack of angle options.

As for longer rods I would also love to see the entire design up sized including wider flats on the rods as well as greater length. Keep the design just increase all the dimensions the design is pure genius. Yes the compactness of the current sharpmaker is incredible and if I were camping it would come along but I do most of my honing at home so...

Size Matters not

As for the Galley V and likely the Gauntlet I am unconcerned about fixed angles.

I currently hone all my Spyderco, Enso, Yaxel and Zwilling knives on the Galley V including a large Chris Reeve Sebenza 31 in S45VN & a Large Inkosi also in S45VN.

The reason I mention the Chris Reeve Knives is to illustrate a point, those knives are convex and also come in between 22.5 and 20 degrees, the way I hone them on the Galley V is by listening to the sound and feeling how the blade feels while using super light pressure and sometimes even using the sharpie method if it is not getting sharp the Sebenza 31 was difficult to get the feel for it took me about 10 minutes to figure out my eyes were not giving me the right feedback and I had to use a sharpie to figure it out.

What I learned was that I also have to turn the blade as I near the tip so the handle is more inwards to keep the blade in proper contact with the rods, this was true of the sharpmaker also. Another thing I have learned is you cant always count on doing the whole blade at once, so what I do is the whole blade at once for about 5 light strokes per side and then cut some magazine paper after that if there is section that is not as sharp I work on that that section for another 5 strokes per side and then cut test again and if satisfied then give 5 more light strokes per side blending the entire blade test it and am usually good to go.

In many ways the elliptical design of the Galley V rods are much more forgiving of technique and easier to adjust for.

I know people reprofile using the sharpmaker but to be perfectly honest I prefer using a TSPROF Blitz 360 for reprofiling it is much faster and far more accurate.

These devices are honing devices as far as I am concerned and certainly have a rightfully earned place with me. The trick is I never let my knives get dull to the point where they need sharpening as that is just wasting good metal and these honing devices will keep knives good and sharp while removing very little metal.

The elliptical cats eye design is another example of Sal's not always readily apparent genius, I have discoverd this many times once I get one of his knife designs in hand.

[BeggarSo]

I asked Sal once if the rods between the gauntlet and galley v are interchangeable. He said they were. So I would assume they are just different lengths. Never thought about asking if the grits were the same. I’m curious now too.

Edit to add:

Hi PStone,

Same config, different lengths. They should be interchangeable

sal

Glad to read this, especially since I purchased a Gauntlet last night on Amazon it should arrive on Friday, makes me happy to know I can swap rods, since I love the way the Galley V Rods hone my blades, I will report what I discover.

Oh I forgot to mention I got the version with the CBN rods those look really good in the Spyderco tutorial like they are more refined than the diamond rods on my Sharpmaker.

The Galley V rods produce a honed blade that will cut paper towel and shave hair and not just on thin behind the edge kitchen knives but folders in S45Vn with 20 degree convex obtuse grinds while at the same time producing an edge that seems to cut most all materials equally and is not so refined that it slides on harder materials, pretty cool overall finish in my experience using the method described in my last post in this thread.

Very much looking forward to the arrival of the Gauntlet I suspect the fixed 20 degree setting will work just as good with my technique and maybe even better especially visually due to being set at 20 degrees versus 10 degrees on the Galley V.

[BeggarSo]

Ok the Gauntlet showed up a day later than expected and I am very happy with this purchase, allow me to do a run down on it.

#1. I can confirm the level of abrasive, mesh , grit however you want to say it is indeed the same as the galley V and is not the same as the white rods nor the brown on the Sharpmaker.

#2. The CBN rods are indeed more refined than the Diamond rods on the sharpmaker and they have some heft to them a good solid weighted feel you can tell they are top notch quality. I have not used them yet but do have a very dull knife in mind to test them with.

#3. The gauntlet rods and the Galley V rods are interchangeable a serious bonus.

#4. The The Gauntlet rods are not as long as the Galley V but are longer than the triangle rods on the sharpmaker.

#5 I was right the Galley V makes it much easier to see what I am doing compared to the sharpmaker.

#6. I am getting a superior edge from this device the rods are superbly thought out.

Today I used the Gauntlet to hone the following and mind you it only take between 5 and 10 very light strokes per side.

PM2 S45VN

Benchmade 940-1 S90V

Spyderco Wharny in Hap40

Spyderco Military S90V

Spyderco Yojumbo S30V

Chris Reeve Inkosi Insingo blade large S45VN

This Gauntlet is a real sleeper dont let the 20 degree only setting fool you, you can very easily adjust for a steeper angle.

The Gauntlet is another fine example of the not readily apparent genius of Sal, These elliptical rods are a vast improvement over the 204 Sharpmaker rods in the blade you wind up with.

[bbturbodad]

I like the Galley V for thinning out serrated edges. I used to just angle the blade on a Sharpmaker but I get cleaner results with the Galley.

[Soanso McMasters]

Ok the Gauntlet showed up a day later than expected and I am very happy with this purchase, allow me to do a run down on it.

#1. I can confirm the level of abrasive, mesh , grit however you want to say it is indeed the same as the galley V and is not the same as the white rods nor the brown on the Sharpmaker.

#2. The CBN rods are indeed more refined than the Diamond rods on the sharpmaker and they have some heft to them a good solid weighted feel you can tell they are top notch quality. I have not used them yet but do have a very dull knife in mind to test them with.

#3. The gauntlet rods and the Galley V rods are interchangeable a serious bonus.

#4. The The Gauntlet rods are not as long as the Galley V but are longer than the triangle rods on the sharpmaker.

#5 I was right the Galley V makes it much easier to see what I am doing compared to the sharpmaker.

#6. I am getting a superior edge from this device the rods are superbly thought out.

Today I used the Gauntlet to hone the following and mind you it only take between 5 and 10 very light strokes per side.

PM2 S45VN

Benchmade 940-1 S90V

Spyderco Wharny in Hap40

Spyderco Military S90V

Spyderco Yojumbo S30V

Chris Reeve Inkosi Insingo blade large S45VN

This Gauntlet is a real sleeper dont let the 20 degree only setting fool you, you can very easily adjust for a steeper angle.

The Gauntlet is another fine example of the not readily apparent genius of Sal, These elliptical rods are a vast improvement over the 204 Sharpmaker rods in the blade you wind up with.

Does the jump from the CBN rods to the fine rods seem excessive or are the two progressions sufficient?

[JD Spydo]

I have about 6 extra ceramic rods for the original Galley V ( Late 90s version) and I do find that the shape of those Galley V rods are really helpful for models like the Dodo and for plain edged Hawkbill models as well. On the old Galley V kit they were only available in "FINE". But those rods are a nice sharpening tool and I've sure used mine a lot over the years.

I wish they would have made a "MEDIUM" grit for the old Galley V. But if you all ever get the chance to get some of those older Galley V stones I would recommend getting them. Especially if you are like me and actually enjoy the chore of sharpening.

[BeggarSo]

Ok the Gauntlet showed up a day later than expected and I am very happy with this purchase, allow me to do a run down on it.

#1. I can confirm the level of abrasive, mesh , grit however you want to say it is indeed the same as the galley V and is not the same as the white rods nor the brown on the Sharpmaker.

#2. The CBN rods are indeed more refined than the Diamond rods on the sharpmaker and they have some heft to them a good solid weighted feel you can tell they are top notch quality. I have not used them yet but do have a very dull knife in mind to test them with.

#3. The gauntlet rods and the Galley V rods are interchangeable a serious bonus.

#4. The The Gauntlet rods are not as long as the Galley V but are longer than the triangle rods on the sharpmaker.

#5 I was right the Galley V makes it much easier to see what I am doing compared to the sharpmaker.

#6. I am getting a superior edge from this device the rods are superbly thought out.

Today I used the Gauntlet to hone the following and mind you it only take between 5 and 10 very light strokes per side.

PM2 S45VN

Benchmade 940-1 S90V

Spyderco Wharny in Hap40

Spyderco Military S90V

Spyderco Yojumbo S30V

Chris Reeve Inkosi Insingo blade large S45VN

This Gauntlet is a real sleeper dont let the 20 degree only setting fool you, you can very easily adjust for a steeper angle.

The Gauntlet is another fine example of the not readily apparent genius of Sal, These elliptical rods are a vast improvement over the 204 Sharpmaker rods in the blade you wind up with.

Does the jump from the CBN rods to the fine rods seem excessive or are the two progressions sufficient?

Hi I finally got around to testing what it is like to go from the CBN rods on the Gauntlet to the White Rods and was pretty freaking impressed.

I used an old Buck 110 in 440C steel to test. The CBN rods left a very toothy coarse edge as to be expected especially being brand new, what I did not ecpect however was what happened after I used the white rods to refine the edge, somehow it remained toothy but also smooth at the same time and honestly I have owned this knife for years and it has never been sharper!

So is the jump too big? No I don't think so in fact it yielded a very big welcome surprise in cutting performance.

Yes I have used the Sharpmaker on this same knife and never received such a good result.

[Soanso McMasters]

Thanks for the reply. I picked one up but haven’t used it yet. I do enjoy my Sharpmaker though and will test out the Gauntlet soon.