Spyderco Sharpener...

[n8swag]

Hey, so I'm having some trouble affording the Spyderco Sharpmaker... do you think i could just buy a single rod and use that for my zt 0350?

[mkjellgren]

As long as you know how to sharpen freehand then yes, you could do this. You would wantvto use te corners of the stone to sharpen the recurve. With that said, you are going to want stones in different grits. By the time you buy one of each stone you might as well have just bought the sharpmaker. For a cheaper alternative look at some of the other rod based sharpening systems. Check out the lansky croc sticks. They are a similar sharpening system to the sharpmaker but slightly less refined. I believe Smith makes what they call their "3 in 1" sharpening system which includes rods in a V shape like the sharpmaker but also features a diamond bench stone.

Truthfully though, I would just save up and get the sharpmaker, its definitely worth the $50 it costs.

[n8swag]

As long as you know how to sharpen freehand then yes, you could do this. You would wantvto use te corners of the stone to sharpen the recurve. With that said, you are going to want stones in different grits. By the time you buy one of each stone you might as well have just bought the sharpmaker. For a cheaper alternative look at some of the other rod based sharpening systems. Check out the lansky croc sticks. They are a similar sharpening system to the sharpmaker but slightly less refined. I believe Smith makes what they call their "3 in 1" sharpening system which includes rods in a V shape like the sharpmaker but also features a diamond bench stone.

Truthfully though, I would just save up and get the sharpmaker, its definitely worth the $50 it costs.

Okay, thanks for the advice! I saw the smith... right now I have a smith diamond rod sharpener, but I'm reluctant to use it on that nice of a knife.

[res1cue]

Truthfully though, I would just save up and get the sharpmaker, its definitely worth the $50 it costs.

+1... using a single rod would get pretty annoying pretty fast!

[n8swag]

+1... using a single rod would get pretty annoying pretty fast!

Haha agreed... I heard they will sharpen it for free, so I could just pay the 3.50 for flat rate shipping and ship it to them...

[res1cue]

Haha agreed... I heard they will sharpen it for free, so I could just pay the 3.50 for flat rate shipping and ship it to them...

That could get annoying too.

I'd say either save up, or get some lansky croc sticks to last you until you can afford one.

Or just pick up some stones and learn how to do it freehand

[RevDevil]

A 1' section of smooth PVC and some 400 grit W/D sandpaper will do it. Total cost, about $6.

[Obsessed with Edges]

A 1' section of smooth PVC and some 400 grit W/D sandpaper will do it. Total cost, about $6.

After 20+ years of accumulating all kinds of sharpening gear (including at least 5 sets of ceramic 'V-crock' type sharpeners), that is how I'd do it, if starting all over again.

Having said that, I still find ceramics useful for specific finishing tasks, like straightening/realigning an edge, removing burrs & wires and polishing bevels.

[RevDevil]

After 20+ years of accumulating all kinds of sharpening gear (including at least 5 sets of ceramic 'V-crock' type sharpeners), that is how I'd do it, if starting all over again.

Having said that, I still find ceramics useful for specific finishing tasks, like straightening/realigning an edge, removing burrs & wires and polishing bevels.

You know, I used this method on a very old butcher knife, must have had some 440C steel. It was sharp as a spoon when I started, after about 15 minutes it could push cut through a soft tomato with ease. It was much more enjoyable sharpening this way than the Edge Pro.

[Razorsharp-Travis]

lansky crocksticks are great