Advise for sharpening with Sharpmaker

M

Marblo

Joined
Mar 21, 2014
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Hi guys,
I got Sharpmaker and I kinda have a problem with sharpening knifes, especially those with curved blade, like RAT-1 or small Victorinox. When using the flat sides I found out that I have to rotate the knife in the side so that the tip would stay on the stone and would not slip of the stone and get blunted. But when doing it the tip gets sharpened too much. I have watched a lot of videos on YT but I cant find an answer how to touch up a knife without blunting the tip. In videos people are either blunting the tip and they dont care or they have knifes with less curved blade like PM2 where it is not that big problem ( I have also PM2 and touching it up is OK)
Thanx for any advise :rolleyes:
 
Use one of the flat sides of the stone, rotate the blade forwards as you get to the tip. Don't change the angle of the blade to the stone. In other words, you'll be holding the knife level with the floor when you start, and when you get to the tip, the handle will be much higher than the tip of the blade. Hope that helps you out.
 
Wow I feel now very stupid, I wasnt rotating the blade forwards enough.......
Thanks :-)
 
[video=youtube;GB0r6GvESGg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB0r6GvESGg[/video]
 
Use the corners of the stones for curved blades and stop with the tip still on the stone to avoid rounding or blunting it.
 
rycen said:
Use the corners of the stones for curved blades and stop with the tip still on the stone to avoid rounding or blunting it.
Click to expand...

For a recurve, yes. For a regular curve, it's much easier to get the tip right on the flat, you can keep the part of the blade blade you're working on right in the middle of the stone. Just rotate forward or back. When I get to the tip, I'm just moving straight down and rotating forward.
 
Another tip for the tip on the SharpMaker: To keep from drawing off of the stone, and have the tip in contact when you stop, time your stroke so the tip touches the plastic base at the end. The plastic won't blunt the tip and it will keep you from "falling off at the end". I don't do this every time, but when I'm having any kind of trouble with the tip, I find this helpful.

Brian.
 
Im learning on a cheap kitchen knife and I still have a problem with the tip. I keep the knife vertical and I rotate it forwards as I go to the tip and still Im hitting the tip at the edge of the stone where its very easy for the blade to slipp off and do some damage (Im using the flats)
Maybe I could make a video how I do it and you could tell me what I do wrong, what do you think guys :)
 
You may be getting to the tip too quickly. Make sure you are 98% of the way down the stone before the tip starts getting involved.
 
Marblo said:
Maybe I wont have to, what do you guys think about this technique? Im not sure whether the angle changes or not.
http://youtu.be/FemYXS8p_tI?t=4m23s
Click to expand...

I'll go out on a limb and say that I think his technique, while unorthodox, is fine and should produce good results, including a sharp tip. I'm not sure it's exactly necessary, but I think it will work, as it emulates most of what you would do with a bench stone held horizontally.

Personally, with the SharpMaker, I simply lift the handle of the blade as I go through the belly and into the tip to make sure I hit the entire blade. Technically, I believe this will actually slightly widen the bevel at the tip. EXCEPT!! Except with the SharpMaker, most of the time you are microbeveling the blade, so the widening is a "micro-widening" and it doesn't really matter. If I was really removing much metal at all when I use the SM, I'd be paying more attention to the belly and tip to try to keep the bevel widths in those areas the same as the rest of the blade.

Again, with a bench stone, you make a motion that is similar to what he is doing in the video. He's just doing it sideways since the SM sits vertically instead of horizontally like a bench stone.

If I understand the original poster and his question about the tip, I think any technique that works consistently *and* allows you to stop the blade with the tip still on the SM rods is going to be an improvement for you. Best of luck. :)

Brian.
 


1 and two explain why you want to rotate the blade. 3 and 4 are why you don't really want to move your hand left or right. It will kinda do the same thing as rotating forward, but with little to no consistency because you lose your point of reference.

That lack of consistency is why freehand sharpening can be such a challenge, and the SM is designed the way it is: vertical stones so you can hold the blade plumb. Everybody has a natural ability to hold something straight up and down, but it's tough to hold something like a horizontal 17 degree angle. It can be done, but it takes practice. Hope that makes sense.
 
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I'm also having troubles with the curve on my blade (the skyline). It's sharp, but the belly isn't shaving sharp. Any tips? I do rotate the blade, but just can't get it.
 
Marblo said:
Maybe I wont have to, what do you guys think about this technique? Im not sure whether the angle changes or not.
http://youtu.be/FemYXS8p_tI?t=4m23s
Click to expand...

That's how I do it (at least for the finishing strokes, before that I go forth and back) and it works well, on the SM as well as freehand. In fact I believe it is the only way to do it properly on bigger knives and/or lots of belly
 
I'd really like to help you guys out, try out what I said, you will undoubtedly see some results. No more rotating left to right,and keep that edge at 90 degrees, rotate forward to keep it at 90 to accommodate the belly.

This is the best way to take advantage of the SM, there are other ways, but they take practice and don't make much use of the benefits of the SM.
 
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Ill make the video today later how I do it (no rotating left or right, just rorating forwards) and maybe you guys will see something what I dont. I just cannot hit the tip without rotating left/right.
 
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