My non 90 degree sharpening

[Mowmanchu]

Well, I bought a few nice knives and I can't seem to put a satisfactory edge them with the sharpmaker.
I'm 76 years old and very steady but my angles are not very steady. I know about the sharpie and have seen a few how to and tips videos. Nothing helps. I was a mechanic when I was Much Younger so I have skills in that direction. Any one thought of a way that my hand stays at 90 degrees with something that physically keeps my hand vertical as I'm progressing down and back while sharpening? You know, a kind of jig or fixed angle guild. Just an old man's thoughts. Thanks

[sal]

Hi Mowmanchu,

Welcome to our forum.

Did you watch the video that comes with the Sharpmaker? I would suggest that you only sharpen on the down stroke and not on the up stroke. I'm an old man too and I focus on keeping my hand vertical on the down stroke. I rarely if ever sharpen on the up stroke.

I would also suggest getting a magnifying loupe, maybe 10X - 12X which will give you a better "look" at the edge to see what's going on. They don't make eyes like they used to.

sal

[Evil D]

One thing I found that sometimes helps is to stand up and over the Sharpmaker, so maybe place it on a desk where you can stand and look down on it. For some reason this helps me to hold a more consistent angle throughout each stroke down the rods. The downside is that you may be standing there for a while depending on how much sharpening needs to be done but I do it in sessions if it's a big job.

[Coastal]

I'm getting up there too. I suggest using the Sharpmaker noticeably below waist level. Like dining-room table height rather than countertop height.

Well, David beat me to it.

[dsvirsky]

Another trick that works for me is to look down at the blade's spine when sharpening. Makes it easy to see whether the blade is at 90°.

[Road Tripper]

What I find helpful is to set up a small mirror on the table behind the Sharpmaker. I can watch the mirror to check the blade angle.

[PaperKnife]

To add to the other great tips - pressure.
Light pressure is essential when sharpening on ceramics since they’re so hard.

[sal]

I would like to add; put your thumb on the spine of the blade. Stand back from the Sharpmaker about a foot. Sometimes, if you are looking down on the blade from directly above the left stone, and then move your hand to the right stone without changing your view, what looks to be vertical, might not be. So then you sharpen the edge on the left stone properly, then take the edge off with the right stone. I hope that makes sense?

sal

[MacLaren]

I would like to add; put your thumb on the spine of the blade. Stand back from the Sharpmaker about a foot. Sometimes, if you are looking down on the blade from directly above the left stone, and then move your hand to the right stone without changing your view, what looks to be vertical, might not be. So then you sharpen the edge on the left stone properly, then take the edge off with the right stone. I hope that makes sense?

sal

Yes sir! That's what I had to do long ago!

[mikey177]

^ I stand a foot away from the Sharpmaker too. When using the flat portion of the rod, it helps me ensure that the edge is making proper contact.

[Bemo]

As Sal said, welcome to the forum! You're an inspiration for those of us only 6 decades on this planet. Keep striving and learning. Love the tips, never thought of most of these quite frankly so again thanks for asking the question!

[prndltech]

In each one of these threads, there’s always new ideas/tips/tricks/methods to using the sharpmaker. I love it!

[WilliamMunny]

Well, I bought a few nice knives and I can't seem to put a satisfactory edge them with the sharpmaker.
I'm 76 years old and very steady but my angles are not very steady. I know about the sharpie and have seen a few how to and tips videos. Nothing helps. I was a mechanic when I was Much Younger so I have skills in that direction. Any one thought of a way that my hand stays at 90 degrees with something that physically keeps my hand vertical as I'm progressing down and back while sharpening? You know, a kind of jig or fixed angle guild. Just an old man's thoughts. Thanks

What type of knife steel are you trying to sharpen and what stones (brown or white) are you starting with? What angle (30° or 40°) are you trying to put on your knife blade? Is it a Spyderco knife you are sharpening the first time or a knife that has been sharpened many times before?

Generally the issue you are experiencing is due to not reaching the apex (aka very edge) of the knife while sharpening. The Sharpmaker, while amazing, generally takes a long time to reprofile (change the angle of the knife edge) of a knife. I say this because even if you are not perfectly 90° every time your knife will still get pretty sharp as long as you are sharpening to the edge of the blade.

A few things to try:

1. If you don’t care too much about the angle of your edge try sharpening at 40°. You will be much more likely to reach the apex while sharpening, especially if the knife is already sharpened to 40°.

2. Keep sharpening only one side until you develop a bur. It’s what happens when you reach the apex and a very small amount of metal folds over at the very edge. Maybe google it to see what it should look and feel like. Once you get the bur along the whole edge then sharpen the other side until a bur develops along the other side of the blade. At this point you can then alternate each side.

3. Change it up, the Sharpmaker allows you to lay two stone down side by side and sharpen like a traditional flat stone. You may find more success this way.

Good luck, there are a ton of people on here that will have a lot of great tips.

[hereiamu1]

It wouldn't be too hard to come up with a small bubble level. It could have a spring loaded clamp. Hard to explain what I am thinking of.

[Senfkarte]

Try clamping the Sharpmaker down to the table and use both hands to hold the knife. With two hands, you will be much more consistent with your angle.

[N. Brian Huegel]

I would like to add; put your thumb on the spine of the blade. Stand back from the Sharpmaker about a foot. Sometimes, if you are looking down on the blade from directly above the left stone, and then move your hand to the right stone without changing your view, what looks to be vertical, might not be. So then you sharpen the edge on the left stone properly, then take the edge off with the right stone. I hope that makes sense?

sal

Also, putting your thumb on the spine will help to stabilize your wrist allowing you to more easily hold the knife perpendicular to the base.

nb

[mongo1958]

One thing I found that sometimes helps is to stand up and over the Sharpmaker, so maybe place it on a desk where you can stand and look down on it. For some reason this helps me to hold a more consistent angle throughout each stroke down the rods. The downside is that you may be standing there for a while depending on how much sharpening needs to be done but I do it in sessions if it's a big job.

Yup!

It is easier to use the sharpener while standing.

[ChrisinHove]

Great tips, here, so thank you. I had become careless in my use of the Sharpmaker and was struggling on k390. Not now, though…

[Spicy Suplex]

To add to the thumb on the spine advice, which is great, I have a bit of an addendum -

Make conscious effort to keep your other fingers firm as well, notably the pinky, in order to ensure stability throughout your pull. It doesn't take much. I try to tell myself "firm grip, light pass, no, lighter, lighter, wrong, wrong" etc, but you get the idea. You can leave out those last bits.

When I notice myself going too far up and only gripping toward the spine and pivot, and then re-include the bottom portion of my grip, I can feel the difference in the grind.