940 Sharpening with Sharpmaker

this_is_nascar

this_is_nascar

Joined
Jan 17, 2004
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My pre-owned 940 arrived and I want to sharpen it. Anything special I should do or be aware of using my Triangle Sharpmaker? Do I use the 40-degree setup? I only have the stock sharpener with course and fine stones.
 
Same setup and knife here. Decided to reprofile the less than stellar factory grind. Did 30 with a 40 microbevel. Took me forever it seemed, YMMV, but was better in the end. Taking off the thumb studs helped.
 
Since your knife is used you'll have to use the sharpie method to determine which angle is best, of its already 30 or 40* there's no reason to re profile it. Just test to see which one it is closest to and go from there.

If you do need to completely reprofile it you may consider wrapping some coarse sand paper around the medium (brown) rods to speed things up a bit. Should be able to pick up a few sheets of ~300 grit SiC paper (the black kind) at the dollar store and effectively have a set of coarse stones.
 
I tried sharpening this 940 on the Sharpmaker last night. I seem to be dulling it more than anything else. When I started the edge was okay, however now it won't hardly cut paper. Could I not be giving it enough time on the course stone? I first tried 40 degrees, that I tried 30 degrees. I did 20 or so passes. Still no luck. I need help.
 
Sharpie the bevels and see if its hitting shoulder or apex, it'll take more than 20 swipes on the medium brown stone depending on where you're hitting. Most people reprofile on 30* and micro at 40* depending on their intended use for the knife.
 
78LilRed said:
Sharpie the bevels and see if its hitting shoulder or apex, it'll take more than 20 swipes on the medium brown stone depending on where you're hitting. Most people reprofile on 30* and micro at 40* depending on their intended use for the knife.
Click to expand...

Excuse my ignorance, but does that mean I should do 30 first and then 40?
 
coiledwire said:
Same setup and knife here. Decided to reprofile the less than stellar factory grind. Did 30 with a 40 microbevel. Took me forever it seemed, YMMV, but was better in the end. Taking off the thumb studs helped.
Click to expand...

When you say awhile, any guesstimate on how many strokes on each angle? I just need to know if we're talking 30 or so or hundreds.
 
The Sharpmaker allows 2 settings for the triangular prisms. 15 and 20 degrees off vertical. If you use the steep 15 dov (75 degrees off horizontal) setting, you will get a 30 degree inclusive edge (15 degrees per side). If you use the less acute setting of 20 dov (70 degrees off horizontal), you will get a 40 degree inclusive edge (20 degrees per side). If you start out on the more acute setting and finish up on the less acute setting (30 first and then 40), you will end up with a compound edge.
 
78LilRed said:
Yeah get a clean apex on 30 and then move to 40 if you need a more robust apex. If the bevels are way off and all you have is the medium ceramics it could take hours.
Click to expand...

I was afraid you were going to say something like that. Maybe I should invest in those diamond rods for the SM. I've read that they'll take off some material rather quickly, compared to the coarse ones. I just did about 50-passes or so and still can't tell any difference. Maybe I'm just not doing something correctly.
 
Take a sharpie marker and color in the bevel on your knife. Then start sharpening on the sharpmaker. Where the bevel meets the rods, the marker will come off. That will give you a clear indication of the angle your knife bevel is. As others have said, it could take a while with just the brown rods. If you clean them it will help to keep them aggressive. A brill pad and some barkeepers friend or comet will make them look brand new
 
Are you using a sharpie to see where the stones are contacting the bevel? Benchmade typically uses 20-25 degrees per side on their edges, so even if it was perfect from the factory it is going to take ages to hit the apex with the SM. I'm talking hundreds of strokes per side with the stock SM rods.
 
Bighaze51 said:
Take a sharpie marker and color in the bevel on your knife. Then start sharpening on the sharpmaker. Where the bevel meets the rods, the marker will come off. That will give you a clear indication of the angle your knife bevel is. As others have said, it could take a while with just the brown rods. If you clean them it will help to keep them aggressive. A brill pad and some barkeepers friend or comet will make them look brand new
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll try that again. I didn't have any luck when I 1st tried that.


blame it on god said:
Are you using a sharpie to see where the stones are contacting the bevel? Benchmade typically uses 20-25 degrees per side on their edges, so even if it was perfect from the factory it is going to take ages to hit the apex with the SM. I'm talking hundreds of strokes per side with the stock SM rods.
Click to expand...

Damn. That's what I was afraid of. I'm probably better off getting the diamond rods for the SM. I'm not looking to invest that much time and effort into sharpening this and I'd rather not send it out if I don't have to.

If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it. Someone mentioned getting coarse sandpaper and wrapping it around the coarse rods to make the process go quicker.
 
Wrapping the rods with sand paper will help. Though I would go to an auto parts store and get the good stuff. Ive tried the cheap sand paper are work and it wears out too fast. And that was with regular stainless (303,304,316). I could see S30V wearing the cheap stuff out after just a few passes.

The sharp maker is great for touch ups, not so much for re-profiling.
 
Over the last few years I've tried every means of reprofilikinh I could think of. The optimal idea is to use a belt sander. But that is also a quick way to ruin a good knife. But the most effective for me so far is freehand on a coarse grit bench stone. There are videos all over YouTube that will give you advice. Get a cheap Frost knife and go to town with it. Once you get freehanding down, you aren't limited to just 30 degrees or 40. I like to do about 25 to 27 and then do a 30 microbevel on the end.
 
When you go diamond rods or plates make sure to keep medium to light pressure, the more pressure you use the higher the chance of knocking out the diamond abrasives. The diamonds will cut just fine with light pressure.
 
I would start by emailing and/or calling Bemchmade Customer Service and asking them which of the two settings to use on the Sharpmaker. That will give you the original setting, and you can restore that with the medium and improve on it with the fine. The Sharpmaker is pretty standard, so, if they check around, someone should know the answer (Chris Reeve formally recommends its use for the Sebenza and provides the angle in its instruction sheet!). I do this for any knife I get, just before I sharpen it.

Good luck.
 
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