Sharpmaker rod play

[DainBramage]

I've had my Sharpmaker since the first of the year, and I'm noticing quite a bit of play/looseness... if I place the rods in either the 30 or 40 degree holes, for either the corners or flats, I can easily move the ends of each of the rods a quarter inch toward or away from each other, which can change the angle by a few degrees. I don't remember there being much (if any) play when I first got it, but maybe there was and I didn't think anything of it. I've been making sure that they are always set as far away from each other as they naturally fall, to try to ensure a consistent angle, but I'm wondering if this is something others experience too? Is there anything that you've done to reduce the play? Thanks!

[mrappraisit]

I got my Sharpmaker at Christmas, and it exhibits the same issue. I have not tried to correct it, and have gotten all my knives really sharp with the settings as they are. When using my Sharpmaker I basically do the same thing you do, I tilt them as far apart as possible for the largest included angle. I am not sure of the angle that they sit at now but they still seem to work well, I guess it's the result that matters.
Are they giving you good results?

[Murdoc]

Same here.

I corrected it by wrapping scotch tape two times around one end of the rods. That way, they fit in just fine without any play. It works really fine, but i still wish the rods would fit in the base tighter.

Dennis

[bh49]

My Rods had some play since day one, which never bothered me. Rods are not moving during sharpening, so angle is constant. The only concern can be if any significant difference between angles of corners setting and flats setting. I check it on my sharpmaker after I bought it and found difference less than 1/4 of degree. Uncertainty of my measurement system also was about 1/4 of degree.
So I wouldn't worry too much. When people sharpen freehand, they have some variation on angle, also during sharpening on sharpmaker we are trying to hold knife perpendicular to base, I do not think that on every stroke our 90 degrees angle is the same and exactly 90 degrees. I think your sharpmaker is OK, just use it and have fan. :)

[Water Bug]

I have two Sharpmakers... the current model and an older model without the 30 degree settings. The Triangle Sharpmakers stones for both sets fit somewhat loosely into the slots, and I've gotten good results when sharpening in spite of the loose fit.

[DainBramage]

Yeah, my results are fine... I guess I just wanted to see if it was the same for other Sharpmaker owners. I've thought about wrapping tape or foil or something, but haven't because you'd have to redo it whenever you cleaned the rods.

That's a good point about whether there's a difference in the angles of the flats and the corners. For the most part, I've been trying to work mainly on the flats.

[huugh]

My Rods had some play since day one

Same here. No big deal.
Just use it and do not care about it :)

[Bolster]

Ditto. My rods move around, too. Must be the nature of the beast.

[bladese97]

:spyder: :spyder: :cool: :spyder: :spyder: I too have issues with rod play on my SharpMaker, but as some have mentioned, it doesn't bother me; If it ever does though, I will try Murdoc's idea, and go "home improvement style"...Well...Sorta :rolleyes: :D

[Murdoc]

Well, I just measured exactly the angles on my sharpmaker...something I always wanted to do anyways... that's the scientist in me... :-)

I used the white rods.

result:

30° setting:

bent out (normal angle when sharpening): 32° incl.
bent in max: 26° incl.
taped: 29° incl. with 15° inner rod, 14° outer rod

(I just KNEW that!! That's why I have to tilt the blade a bit when sharpening the "right" side to get to the actual edge (as revealed by the 'magic marker trick')!


40° setting:

bent out (normal angle when sharpening): 42° incl.
bent in max: 36° incl.
taped: 39° incl. with 20° inner rod, 19° outer rod.

Just wanted to share.

Dennis

[Murdoc]

That's how it looks :)

[mrappraisit]

Dennis, you blinded me with science, just kidding. :) It's cool that you were able to figure out the actual angles. Thanks for posting your results.

[jaislandboy]

thanks for the sharing your measurements Murdoc :cool:

[DainBramage]

I just got some benchstones, and as a crutch on my way to true freehanding, I had a friend cut wedges to place under my stones (15 and 17.5 degree). I've measured them with an angle measuring "level" and they're pretty accurate. I've also measured the blade angle when I'm sharpening to ensure that I'm horizontal. What I found was that I had to cut a pretty fair amount off the shoulders of my Delica that had been reprofiled and sharpened for several months on my Sharpmaker at the 30 degree setting. I'm not sure how many more degrees, but obviously the angle on my Sharpmaker had become several degrees beyond 15... one of these days I'll measure.

So... you can still get a great edge with the Sharpmaker, but I wonder if you are missing out on some cutting performance, by "losing" that degree or two of "acuteness"?

[bowarrow2000]

Toothpicks make great shims if you want to tighten the rods up.
A degree or two wont make much difference.