Spyderco Forums

I was thinking about this today, we have plenty of craftsmen on the forum and in the knife community in general. There are people who can use autocad, 3D printers, wood workers, fabricators of all kinds, a thriving custom handle aftermarket.....

Why can't we get someone to make a custom base for the sharpmaker? With slots for 8, 10, and 12 degrees per side? A custom piece for people who have some very nice kitchen knives, regrinds, or just want to push the performance on their "super steel" knives. Something for those who have not mastered the art of freehand sharpening, who want something more consistent and repeatable than their freehand skills allow.

So is anyone up to the challenge? Do you know someone who is?

It is a brilliant idea! I will discuss it with some friends of mine who have home workshops.

Would that qualify as IP infringement?

I wouldn't want to make and distribute a CAD file without Spyderco's blessing.

Hey Matt, I’ve been mulling this one over for a while now. My idea is to make a base to hold the SharpMaker rods and/or new Gauntlet rods so they can be adjusted to an angle, within reason of course. :)

I have a lathe but no mill and beloved wife will tell you I’m the laziest man in Australia which I deny, but so far all I’ve done is thought about it. :o I don’t think it would be too hard to make though and would certainly add further versatility to a great invention.

awa54 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 2:55 pm

Would that qualify as IP infringement?

I wouldn't want to make and distribute a CAD file without Spyderco's blessing.

I hear what you're saying. And I suppose it could be construed as such, but then isn't the custom scale market guilty of the same? I see it as a product that Spyderco doesn't make, and has no intention of ever making. If Spyderco DID want to make it, I would be happy to buy it from them. I don't think Spyderco sees enough demand to justify the cost of making new molds for mass production. A small custom shop however could probably make some money selling these to the afi crowd.

Bloke wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 3:01 pm

Hey Matt, I’ve been mulling this one over for a while now. My idea is to make a base to hold the SharpMaker rods and/or new Gauntlet rods so they can be adjusted to an angle, within reason of course. :)

I have a lathe but no mill and beloved wife will tell you I’m the laziest man in Australia which I deny, but so far all I’ve done is thought about it. :o I don’t think it would be too hard to make though and would certainly add further versatility to a great invention.

thats a good idea too!

Larry_Mott wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 2:46 pm

It is a brilliant idea! I will discuss it with some friends of mine who have home workshops.

Thanks Larry!

I've had this thought several times. Currently I just clamp the rods in a vise with some soft jaws and adjust to whatever angle I need. But I've considered designing something with a triangular shaped hole that I can 3d print to act as a better base. Adding to that an angle indication would be handy, but I only use the sharpmaker rods on serrations and it's pretty easy to figure out the appropriate angle with them because the bevel is so large.

awa54 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 2:55 pm

Would that qualify as IP infringement?

Is the Sharpmaker covered by a current patent? I'm pretty sure I saw one 25 years ago, I don't think there's anything left to infringe.

I wonder if Spyderco might make this kind of thing as a "sprint" for the sharp maker?

I haven't found a patent on the Sharpmaker but check this out...

https://patents.google.com/patent/US895 ... rco&page=3

If you download the PDF file in the link you can see the line drawing much more clearly.

EDIT: There's no patent number on the base of the current 204 model but there is one on the base for the 203.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US423 ... oq=4231194

It's called a crock style sharpener. I've made a few out of random lumber like 4x4's and given them away. The people I gave them to love them.

I don't want fixed angles, I want a fully adjustable base that can hold the rods at any angle.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 8:15 pm

I don't want fixed angles, I want a fully adjustable base that can hold the rods at any angle.

That makes more sense to me too. Check out the first link in my post above. I don't think that's designed to be adjustable but I bet it could be.

I was thinking that it might be easier to make two adapters. The bottom is triangular in shape and fits into the star-shaped holes of the Sharpmaker base. The top half is has a triangular or star-shaped hole to fit the SM rods. The two halves are joined with a wing nut or set screw so the angle of the top half can be adjusted to the desired angles. A digital angle cube or Johnson pitch/angle finder is used to set the desired angle.

Would it not work to simply make a set of rubber wedges to sit underneath the sharpmaker to change the angle?

spyderg wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 8:48 pm

Would it not work to simply make a set of rubber wedges to sit underneath the sharpmaker to change the angle?

I do this work sharpmaker rods

spyderg wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 8:48 pm

Would it not work to simply make a set of rubber wedges to sit underneath the sharpmaker to change the angle?

That would work for sharpening one side at a time, but it would complicate things for alternating strokes. I prefer alternating, particularly when finishing an edge.

Id rather have a flat base with dedicated slots.

Well here's my quick and dirty 3d printed solution that I cooked up tonight. I think I should have made finer degree markers, I forget the printer can do pretty good at that level of detail. But it will work better than what I've been doing.

I guess for people that need two rods in a V configuration you could make the blocks thicker and offset the triangle hole so that you could clamp them both in a vise at the desired angle(s).

zhyla wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 10:40 pm

Well here's my quick and dirty 3d printed solution that I cooked up tonight....

That's excellent zhyla! Simple yet effective.

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:12 pm

zhyla wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 17, 2019 10:40 pm

Well here's my quick and dirty 3d printed solution that I cooked up tonight....

That's excellent zhyla! Simple yet effective.

Hear, hear! :cool:

Got the following from some vid on youtube (can´t find it right now):

One thing you can do is attach one of the safeguards or some other round rod to in the middle of the downside of the base with a rubber band or something. So the base rests on the rod and you can "seesaw" it a little, so the angle gets more acute. Hard for me to explain in english, what I mean: when you use the right sharpening rod you tilt the base to the left a bit and vice versa.

Sure you´d have to measure somehow WHAT exact angle that gives you and sure you can achieve the same by tilting the BLADE a bit while using the sharpmaker in a regular setting. But the method described above still allows you to keep the blade perpendicular, which is the whole idea of the Sharpmaker in the end...