Sharpmaker: The diamond rods make all the difference!

[thehunt]

Hi all,

after a long journey from one sharpening system to the next I finally arrived at the sharpmaker.

At first I wasnt really impressed, till I realised, that the lack of attained sharpness wasnt the sharpmakers fault at all.
It was the inconsistent and sometimes strange degrees, which the makers use for factory sharpening.

Ok, so you have to build a new edge. Fine.
But how to do so, without spending a painfull amount of time?

Enter the diamond rods.


Ordered them 10 days ago, received them today.
And ****, what a difference they make!
I started with an older Böker Applegate dagger, reshaped the bevel with my new aquisition, went from brown to white to UF-rods.

Happy camper :spyder: :spyder: :spyder:

Had to stop right now to post my truly satisfying experience.

But one thing comes to mind:
How many blades out there come with a edge-grind, far from 40/30 degrees?
Many, in my experience...

Conclusion:
Maybe a Deluxe-Set including the diamond-rods would be a good idea?
You would have the complete set, yea, with increased cost, but looking at the price of other sharpening-systems, you get a whole lot for your money. And it would be far cheaper than a Tormek, Apex Pro or similar.


Just had to share my thoughts...


Cheers!

Marc

[bakergh]

I really like my sharpmaker, I've had it for a couple of years and it's been great for everything but really dull knives. I've been thinking of buying the diamond rods for a while, but I like the ability to control the edge angle that you get with other systems, especially the edge pro, though it does cost much more...

[mattman]

Sal has stated in another thread that there will be new CBN triangles available soon... Approx 400 mesh. Should be a bit quicker for reprofiling.

Edited to add link:http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... post926375

[tlo14290]

Got the diamond triangles almost immediately after the Sharpmaker. They really do cut many times faster than the medium ones, yet are not so coarse that the scratches don't come right out with the medium triangles. Haven't had the system but a couple of months, but am well pleased with the results.

It is surprising ( to me, anyway ) how many blades from reputable manufacturers come from the maker with 45-60 degree inclusive bevels.

K*****w recommends resharpening at 18-22 degrees per side in the literature packed with their products. Add 22 + 22=44, sneeze, and you have 45 degrees or over inclusive. Lay that on the brown rods on your Sharpmaker, and you'll be chewing for a long time, whereas the diamond ones cut it down real quick. Well worth the money.

There's my nickels worth! (Used to be two cents, but, you know, inflation!)

[ChapmanPreferred]

I do recommend getting the Diamond rods before the Ultra-fine to most folks.

[JD Spydo]

I got my first set of diamond stones for my 204 Sharpmaker all the way back to 2002 at a Texas Knife Show where Spyderco had a booth set up. I've also used the Ultra-Fine stones for my 204 Sharpmaker ever since they were available which was sometime around 2000-2001 or thereabout. I really like both sets of stones you can buy extra for the Sharpmaker unit and I use them a lot on a steady basis.

However I'm still not satisfied>> because for a few years now I've been asking Spyderco to consider an "EXTRA COARSE" type of stone for the 204 Sharpmaker for rapid stock removal for really dinged up blades and faster sharpening for those who are skilled at it. I wouldn't care if it were a coarser grit diamond stone or maybe a very coarse aluminum oxide. Because with the current set of stones available for the unit it's really mainly a first class finishing tool.

I love the 204 Sharpmaker and I own 2 of them. But I do think that there is definitely room for improvement and I'm hoping we see some new innovations for the unit in the near future. I love all of my Spyderco sharpening tools and I'm looking forward to what is coming down their pipeline.

[mattman]

@JDSpydo

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... tride-rods