Sharpmaker question

rabbivj

rabbivj

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
328
When yall use the sharpmaker to touch up the blades, do yall generally use the corners AND the flats? or just the corners? ive had good luck with just using the corners on the UF stones...whats yalls preferred method?

ETA: i have the med, fine and UF stones if that matters.
 
I prefer using the flats as I freehand with the stones rather than using the jig. The flats let me feel when the edge is laying flat against the stone more easily. Counterintuitively the flats work very well for sharpening a recurve as well. The two corners of the flats sweep two points one after another on the inside radius of the curve.
 
Lapedog said:
I prefer using the flats as I freehand with the stones rather than using the jig. The flats let me feel when the edge is laying flat against the stone more easily. Counterintuitively the flats work very well for sharpening a recurve as well. The two corners of the flats sweep two points one after another on the inside radius of the curve.
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yeh i prefer using the jig myself as im kinda mechanically retarded when judging angles...
 
Oh I am also completey retarded at judging angles. It took me quite a while to develop my method.

All I do i holt the stone rod in one hand lay the flat of the blade against it. Then I slowly start lifting the spine of the knife until I can feel a very tiny almost *click* as the edge lays flat against the stone. Now I make my stoke on the stone heel to tip. Now I lift the blade off the stone and flip the knife over ans repeat on the other side.

This method is molassas slow but it gets abit faster as you get used to it. The good thing is that since I am matching the factory edge I don't have to do much grinding at all. It is important not to let the edge get too dull or it will take forever to resharpen.

Of course convex edges are much more difficult to do using this method as they don't have that percievable little click as the edge lays flat.
 
Need to use both. Corners then the flats. Just ensure that the point of the balde do not leave the flats as you sharpen the blade from heel to toe. This is to minimise any rouding of the point of the blade.
 
^^^ This for sure.
jumpstat said:
Need to use both. Corners then the flats. Just ensure that the point of the balde do not leave the flats as you sharpen the blade from heel to toe. This is to minimise any rouding of the point of the blade.
Click to expand...
 
I use both. Just depends on how dull the knife is and what I am trying to achieve. The main thing with the corners is if you keep pulling the knife blade off of it, it will eventually round the tip. Whereas on the flats, you stop your stroke on the flat, thus preserving that pointy tip. The thing to remember is that it doesn't take dozens of swipes on the sharpmaker to put an edge. I have had sebenzas where they would not cut paper and by doing 3 swipes on each side would take them back to a paper slicing machine. I use very little pressure also. Let the stones do the work.
 
416isToronto said:
I only use the flats. Easier to make sure the tip doesn't come off.
Click to expand...
so , i don't really need the sharpm... just the stones spyderco sells ?
my 21 will be back from spa and i've never sharpened it. others , yes
i use dia-fold and do it freehand but w/ this crk i'd like to be able to maintain it and never change the factory bevels.

inpput? thanks good thread
VauaRoGl.jpg
 
I use the corners for sharpening the entire edge just behind the tip. Then the flats to grind the complete edge.
 
My Sharpmaker has been my primary sharpening method for around 15 years. The corners have been more or less ground down in spots and I have not been able to use them for several years. I don't miss them and the flats are going strong. The diamond rods are a game changer. I'm kinda 1/2 & 1/2 with using the crock jig and freehand. Either way I almost always mark the edge with sharpie as a guide.
 
I must be in somewhat of a minority on the Spidie's Sharpmaker system, as I ended up not liking it and hence took it back to Walmart (yes my local Wally's had one!). I definitely see that merits in that system and my dislike was primarily on me because I just could not get my angles correctly to come down vertically on the right side rods for the right side of the blade (none presentation side). I am right handed and the way I position my body in respect to the SM system standing over it, didn't feel to me that my vertical movement of the blade was perpendicular to the horizontal plate, whereas the left side felt just fine and natural!

I tried to free hand it just using the rods but thought that it would really defeat the objective of it all as the rods are too narrow, plus I kept worrying too much about sliding the tip off the rods and inadvertently causing some minute tip rounding off. Additionally, the Umnumzaan was just a b*tch to hone on those skinny rods (I used the flats and never the edges). It seems to me that I have a better control over my body and angles when I free hand as opposed to a simplistic and quasi guided system! I just went ahead and ordered the 2' x 8" M and F plates instead and since I already have th3 306UF plate, this gear set up will hopefully give me better honing results as I get better.

For now, I just very carefully used my Fallkniven DC4 using both the diamond side to shave off some metal from that convex edge and then followed by using the synthetic sapphire ceramic side to make the edge a bit more acute (reprofiling if you will). That Zaan blade is one tough Hombre and I had to spend ober 20 minutes on that blade with the DC4 followed by some stropping on my Knives Plus green compound so that now the Zaan slices through thing catalog paper much better to my better satisfaction. Not perfect as it snag in a spot or two, but much, much better than before. I am convinced that once I get the two Spydie M & F ceramics to use and then on the 306UF followed by perhaps some stropping (not sure as to one which has the higher grit or lower micron factor, the 306UF or the strop block!) to finally get that Zaan to cut in proximity to my Carothers Field Knife or my two Millies. Not trying to stir the pot, just stating factual observations :)
 
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