Sharpening an SE Tasman with a Spyderco sharpmaker

[street89]

Just got the sharpmaker today and I've been sharpening my Tasman quite a lot. I was a bit stupid at first as I didn't read the instructions properly and starting sharpening it as if it were a plain edge knife so I did all four steps in the instruction book. Will this cause problems with my blade being serrated? I'm worried I've cocked it up! :mad: Anyway, after being a sensible person I went on to sharpening it the correct way using just the white stone. The thing is it doesn't seem to be getting any sharper, the serrations still look rounded rather than a sharp point, is that the way it's meant to be?

Can anyone send me a link to an image or video of what a sharp serrated blade should look like?

Thanks and sorry for being a noob! :o

[ChapmanPreferred]

This looks pretty sharp to me and it is serrated.

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=60

There are a couple ways you could try to regain some of the tip of each serration that you ground off on the flat parts of the stones during steps 2 and 4 of the 4 step sharpmaker progression (corners, flats, corners, flats). First and most reliable option is to send it back to Spyderco for a regrind to bring all the points back. Second would be to sharpen on the 204D diamond stones for a significant amount to time in an attempt to wear down the belly of each serration and take away some material from the recently flattened tips (guessing since there is no macro picture of the damage). Third is to get the byrd duckfoot and do the same thing as you would for the 204D, but with a different tool.

I have read good reviews of using the duckfoot on serrations to try to make them pointier. The technique I beleive I read that was posted by Yabs was to sharpen faster than you normally would, thus mostly hitting the sides of the serrations and not working the belly of the serration as much. I hope Yabs will reply to your thread.

Sorry for your unfortunate learning experience. I bet you will not forget the proper technique now which will benefit you in the long run.

Cheers.

Doug

[ChapmanPreferred]

Found what I thought I remembered:

Several years ago I picked up a couple of well-worn serrated Police Models on eBay. The first gen was particularly bad, from the back you could barely tell it was SE. Using the SharpMaker and later the Byrd Duckfoot (I ran out of patience) with full strokes, I restored the serrations, points and all. It sounds all wrong, but the scallops get sharp first and the points last. I alternate heel to toe and toe to heel strokes, about 5 of each on the scallop side and then one of each on the back sidewith the main grind flat to the rod. The trick is getting the scallops parallel to the rod and holding that handle alignment throughout each stroke.

[ChapmanPreferred]

Here is a link to a nice macro photo from a fellow forum member:

http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.p ... macro+edge

The picture I am referencing is in the first post.

[JD Spydo]

Few people love the 204 Sharpmaker more than I do. I got my first one back in 1999/2000 when they first became available. With that said I love the 204 Sharpmaker and I use both of mine very frequently.

However when it comes to Spyderedges and especially serrated Hawkbills I have a better tool for sharpening them and other Spyderedges as well. Spyderco has a kit known as the 701 Profile kit and it contains 2 ceramic files that have just about every geometric surface you need to sharpen almost anything. I've been using my 701 Profiles almost exclusively for the past 4 years now sharpening Spyderedges.

It not only leaves the serrations looking like they came from the factory but it also gets them so sharp you can float through paper just like you can with a sharp plain edged blade.

Please consider trying the 701 Profiles.

[Fred Sanford]

Few people love the 204 Sharpmaker more than I do. I got my first one back in 1999/2000 when they first became available. With that said I love the 204 Sharpmaker and I use both of mine very frequently.

However when it comes to Spyderedges and especially serrated Hawkbills I have a better tool for sharpening them and other Spyderedges as well. Spyderco has a kit known as the 701 Profile kit and it contains 2 ceramic files that have just about every geometric surface you need to sharpen almost anything. I've been using my 701 Profiles almost exclusively for the past 4 years now sharpening Spyderedges.

It not only leaves the serrations looking like they came from the factory but it also gets them so sharp you can float through paper just like you can with a sharp plain edged blade.

Please consider trying the 701 Profiles.

Me too brother. I own a set of the 701 Profiles and I don't use anything else unless I need to reprofile a little. If I need to reprofile or put a new edge on I use a coarse 6" DMT stone. I gave away the SM that I had as I never used it.

[street89]

Thanks very much for your help guys. I just bought a Native today for £40 ($63) from a friend and it's in perfect condition. Never really left the box because he bought a couple after his previous Native had fallen from his pocket clip some how and landed in a fire which as you can imagine the next morning when he found it, it was useless. Really pleased with it and I've definitely learnt from this "mistake" but I'll take a look at the 701 Profiles as well. The guy who sold me the knife did actually say the serrations were still fine and he's been buying knives for 15-20 years so I don't think it's as bad as I thought :)

[rkh]

I have a Sharpmaker that I love and is great for just about everything except reprofiling an edge. My question what is the difference between the triangular rods on the Sharpmaker and the 701 profile kit? Just looking at Spyderco web site it seemed they were the same type of rods. Thanks for the help and I do not want to change the thread here as I have a Harpy serrated that needs a little touch up and a Tasman salt which is plain and I wish it was serrated as this type knife seems to work better serrated.

RKH

[JD Spydo]

I have a Sharpmaker that I love and is great for just about everything except reprofiling an edge. My question what is the difference between the triangular rods on the Sharpmaker and the 701 profile kit? Just looking at Spyderco web site it seemed they were the same type of rods. Thanks for the help and I do not want to change the thread here as I have a Harpy serrated that needs a little touch up and a Tasman salt which is plain and I wish it was serrated as this type knife seems to work better serrated.

RKH

The rods are made of the same high alumina ceramic material but that's about the only thing that they have in common. The 701 Profiles are so different from the 204 system that I can't even begin to compare the two of them.

The 701 Profiles are strictly a freehand system whereas the 204 is a fixed angle sharpening system. The 701 Profiles have 2 complete different radian sized radii on both edges. This makes it ideal to do about any serrated pattern out there. I've been wanting Spyderco to do a video on the proper use of the 701 Profiles and hopefully they will someday. also on both edges there are a triangular apex on both sides to fit the spike part of most serrations. You just have to get a pair to see what I'm talking about. You won't regret getting them if you like sharpening stuff yourself. Those 701 Profiles are also a machinist's dream for deburring and doing many other precision metal works.

To do the serrations properly I put my serrated knives in a vise with rubber lined jaws to hold it firm so I can do precision honing on each scallop and each spike. I've been able to keep all my serrated Spyders looking like they just came from the factory. With the exception of my big Dyad :o I slipped a couple of times on that bad boy :D But mistakes lead you the way to perfection

Get a set of 701 Profiles. If you don't like them I'll either buy them from you or trade you something for them. I'm that confident you'll like them.

[rkh]

Thank you JD Spydo! THat what I needed to know. I will get a set of the 701 Profiles. Over the years I have worn the points off of some Spyderco serratted edges. Amazing what you learn on these forums and fine people here who are so knowledgeable and helpful. Thanks!

RKH

[captnvegtble]

Hey JD Spydo, is it possible to post a video of using the 701 profiles? I'm interested in your technique. Thanks.

[Brock O Lee]

Please consider trying the 701 Profiles.

Based on many of these responses by the 701 Profiles Evangelist JD Spydo , I have also now pulled the trigger on a set of Profiles.

My SE Aqua Salts are already thanking me :cool: :D

[JD Spydo]

Hey JD Spydo, is it possible to post a video of using the 701 profiles? I'm interested in your technique. Thanks.

Thanks guys for the feedback :) I've tried to petition the Great Spyder Factory into considering not only doing a video on the proper use of the 701 profiles but in that video also include their other great sharpening devices like the Duckfoot, The Goldenstone, The Doublestuff stone and even the small 400 file set.

Like I've said before the 701 Profile set it truly one of Spyderco's best kept secrets. Ask some of the long term members like Michael Cook, David Lowry and a few others I could mention just how versatile and agile the 701 Profiles are.

Oh did I mention that it's also a great field kit for sharpening Hawkbills. I've been using mine lately to sharpen plain edged Hawkbills like my PE Tasman. It seems like the radii work great to super-hone the plain edged hawkbills.

I sure didn't mean to hi-jack the thread by any means but this tool the 701 is unjustly overlooked by many. Hey I'm not at all taking anything away from the 204 Sharpmaker. I've used mine twice today already>> and you can sure sharpen serrations with the 204. But I don't like the way it alters the geometry and takes some of the definition of the scallops and spikes away each time you use it. Whereas the 701 Profiles truly do keep your Spyderedges looking very close to how they came from the factory.

[captnvegtble]

I think I might have to buy a 701 set too.

[JD Spydo]

I think I might have to buy a 701 set too.

I can assure you that none of you will go wrong buying a set of 701 Profiles.

They are so handy for so many jobs I would be at least an hour listing all the jobs I've found them good for.

Even if you find a used set like on Ebay or any of the Forums don't let that discourage you>> because with proper cleaning you can make them just as good as new.

I just touched up my PE Tasman with my white/fine 701 stone this morning just for something to do and I couldn't believe how fast that blade obtained an edge similar to that of a sharp straight razor.

Also did I mention how valuable the 701 Profiles are for all kinds of "tip sharpening"?

No toolbox, tacklebox, backpack, bugout bag or fanny pack should be without a set. Again it's one of Spyderco's best kept secrets>> but I got a feeling that is about to change

[captnvegtble]

No toolbox, tacklebox, backpack, bugout bag or fanny pack should be without a set. Again it's one of Spyderco's best kept secrets>> but I got a feeling that is about to change

Has anyone ever noticed that Spyderco seems to have a lot of closely guarded secrets?

[JD Spydo]

Has anyone ever noticed that Spyderco seems to have a lot of closely guarded secrets?

Yeah I've noticed :) !! and it seems like they're hidden in plain view

The Cat's Eye stones that were in the old Spyderco Galley V sharpening kit are still one of my favorite sharpening tools. I used to have a really tough time getting my PE Dodo as sharp as I wanted it until I started using one of those Cat's Eye stones from my Galley V kit. They are also great on reverse S blades as well.

I'm hoping someday that Spyderco will come up with some type of a combination metal/ceramic sharpening steel as well. Also it would be great if they would also make some type of professional sharpening strop. With Mr. Glesser's knowledge of sharpening equipment I can only imagine how good his strops would be.

There is one other tool I've had good luck sharpening serrated Hawkbills with. DMT has conical sharpeners made of ceramic and diamond that work really good on Spyderedges depending what type of edge restoration needs to be done.