Can The Average Joe Use A Sharpmaker??

[yablanowitz]

More practice and more time. The S30V of the Native is more abrasion resistant than the 8Cr13MoV of the Tenacious, so it will take more strokes to get it sharp. Possibly a lot more.

[Agent Starling]

Not only the average Joe...but even the average Larry, Moe or Curly can get a good edge from that thing... :D

Agent Starling

[sixfoot7]

Tip#7 You may want to prop a mirror up behind the unit so you can see the reflection of the knife as it moves. You may find it helps you to see if you are really holding the knife straight.

It really is virtually idiot-proof if I am able to obtain great edges on 90% of my knives. I thought I was doing a passable job, but the tip I quoted above is the kicker. I think that's the best one, hands down. Thanks Yab!

Rik

[yablanowitz]

Thank whoever thought it up, I'm just passing it along :D

[gldfshkpr]

I've never heard anybody talk about putting anything more than light pressure on the Sharpmaker. I find that when I need to re-profile a blade I use as much force as the thing can take. I clamp the base down and sometimes use two hands! I did this with a 10 inch Chefs knife that was in need of a new edge. Still took about 45 min. The brown stones on the corners is what I use. I can really see the stone wearing down. Takes the corner and makes it flat.

Seems a bit un-orthodox. I've watched Sal's video. He uses a very light touch. Am I doing this wrong? I do end up with nice edges. I wish I could use light pressure and have it work. Just seems to take too long to see any results.

[chuck_roxas45]

I am one of the most sharpening challenged people you will find but I can sharpen to a hair whittling edge on my sharpmaker. There is a learning curve of course, but it's quite steep a little practice and a little thought on the principles of sharpening and shaving sharp edges will be yours for the taking. :D

PS. My UF rods are still on the way. I've heard that they make a big difference in sharpness.

[marcus1]

I think everyone has said most/all of this, but I'll say it anyways.
It is very easy to use... test it on some old kitchen knives first, or any other knife, until you get the hang of holding the knife straight and the downward/pull back motion.

I've not tried the sharpie trick yet, but have had Great Success getting "scary sharp" edges with almost any knife I've done (well, after the first several attempts).

The trick I found was to go very slow at first (to get the motion right). Takes patience, but as you do more, the faster you can move. I'm not as fast as Sal on the video, but getting much closer :)

[marcus1]

PS. My UF rods are still on the way. I've heard that they make a big difference in sharpness.

Do they? Are they really worth getting? I find with the Fine rods I'm getting a nice and scary edge.

And: gldfshkpr get the diamond rods to reprofile... I took some old dull as butter knives to crazy sharp in no time (40 strokes (20 each side) on diamond, then down the line).

[chuck_roxas45]

Hhhmm, I don't know yet but I hear it from some people. :D . I guess I'll find out.

[papaac]

After I got mine, I got one for my son-in-law for Christmas, and talked a friend in to getting one. A big plus was that I discovered from the DVD that I could use it to sharpen my wife's old Wiss pinking shears. I had been told by a local sharpening service that they would have to go to the factory for sharpening, but Wiss today is not the Wiss of old; all they make is throwaway type scissors.

[Eighth of Eight]

Yes, a newbie can use it. You can get a knife razor sharp with it.

Tip#1 Watch the instructional video/DVD even before you assemble the unit

Tip#2 Watch the video again after assembly and before starting to sharpen.

Tip#3 Be very careful to end each stroke with the tip of the blade still in contact with the rod. Dragging the tip off the stone, especially when using the corners of the rods, will round off a tip in a hurry.

Tip#4 Don't get too hung up on counting strokes. Some steels (and S90V is one of them) are very abrasion resistant, and will require a lot more strokes than the video shows.

Tip#5 The Sharpie trick. Color the entire edge bevel with a Sharpie marker, then take a couple of passes on the SharpMaker to see where you are removing steel. If the marker is removed from the very edge only, you are working a microbevel, which is usually a good thing. If the marker is removed from the entire bevel, your blade is matched to the SharpMaker, and you will have to take the entire edge bevel down to create a new edge, which is good but time-consuming. If the marker is removed from the top of the bevel next to the main grind, you are trying to create an entire new edge bevel, which will take a LONG time, especially on something like S90V.

Tip#6 The rods are much harder than steel, so you don't need a lot of pressure to abrade the blade. Keep your strokes light.

Tip#7 You may want to prop a mirror up behind the unit so you can see the reflection of the knife as it moves. You may find it helps you to see if you are really holding the knife straight.

Listen to what yablanowitz says about sharpening. He knows one or two things on the subject. I met him at the seconds sale last year, extremely knowledgable guy.

With that said I puchased one about a year ago from the factory outlet. I am highly impressed with it. Watch the video that comes with it, take your time getting the motion down and you will have good if not excellent results quickly. Just keep in mind different steels sharpen differently. 154CM takes a fresh edge more quickly than VG-10, CPM-S30V, CPM-S90V, ZDP-189 consecutively. The outcome will be better if things are done slowly and mythodically.

Good luck and don't forget to give :spyder: praise when you are pleased with it.

-Zach

[dbcad]

Agree with all I geuss. The Sharpmaker works well. I haven't been able to find my dvd for it since my wife cleaned out my office, but I've read the book a couple of times and it works well. It took me a little bit of time to get it right, but now I have confidence I can sharpen. Good tool to have.

Absolutely great for touching up blades before they get really dull. Quick and painless......Thank you Spyderco! :)

Charlie

[marcus1]

Hhhmm, I don't know yet but I hear it from some people. :D . I guess I'll find out.

Please let me know! So that I can order some with my next knife and save some shipping costs :D

[Iole]

I find my skill leaves the edge slightly rounded not flat as a new out of the box. Now I use a "steel" to realign the edge to save steel and have to resharpen less.