anyone ever use a sharpmaker

[Vermont woodsman]

I was thinking about getting a sharpmaker to sharpen my sebenzas'. My question is, when chris reeve gets done sharpening a sebenza the grinds are 100% perfect, if i get good on a sharpmaker; will the grinds look as nice as it did when it was new or will the grinds never look as nice as when they were new? ...Would i be better off learning how to sharpen on a stone? Im just real scared of messing up the grinds, id :barf: if i messed them up.

 

[Larry S.]

I'd suggest a little glass display case ........but seriously, Chris recommends the Sharpmaker and don't worry.....you'll be sharpening on "stone" as that is the medium supplied with the Sharpmaker.

Larry S.

 

[Wali]

It is the easiest way to a razor sharp sebbie just follow the included instructions.You may want to practice on some cheaper knives first.....

 

[glockman99]

I used to use a Sharpmaker (203 & 204) to sharpen my knives, 'till I discovered the Spyderco 302 (fine & ultra-fine) 8" ceramic benchstones...Now my knives get "scary sharp"!..

 

[Erasmus]

It works fine on my Sebenza.

Watch the video, and then run into the kitchen and practice, by sharpening all your wife's dull kitchen knives. Once you have it down, you're ready to sharpen the Sebenza.

 

[yoda4561]

Remember though that the sharpmaker isn't going to do all the work for you. If you want to keep the bevels on the seb looking as nice as they did new you'll need to be careful to keep the blade aligned properly when you sharpen.

And yes, practice practice practice with knives you don't mind getting a couple scratches on here and there. There is a brief learning curve associated with V-stick type sharpeners and the sharpmaker is no exception.

 

[bones57]

I just received my Sharpmaker about 2 weeks ago and love it. I am a newbie as far as sharpening goes and went thru fits trying to sharpen my voyager with a water stone and then bench stones but this shaprmaker is great.
Speaking for myself i have to stay focused when sharpening and not get sloppy and go off stride so to speak. I ordered the ultra fine rods and am waiting for them to come in.

One question though if anyone reads this, i have a set of nose hair clippers and they wont sharpen, they dont seem to have a bevel on them and they are pretty small and i cant get any sort of edge going.
Any ideas from anyone besides buying a new pair ??

 

[Planterz]

The Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 is easily the most reccomended sharpnening system on the knife forums. At $50, it might seem a tad "pricy", but it won't break the bank. It's easily comparable to the Gatco, Lansky, etc systems in terms of price (actually cheaper in many cases). But it's far easier to use. And if you consider the cost of the sharpener versus sending the knife back to the factory (usually under $5, or free, plus shipping costs), or paying someone to do it (like a knife shop), it pays for itself pretty easily. And it's certainly more convenient.

About the only sharpening system that gets better reviews is the Edge Pro, but we're talking 3X the cost.

IMO, the best way to sharpen knives would be learning with a system like the Edge Pro or Sharpmaker, then freehanding for touch-ups and maintainance. Personally, I reprofile with the Sharpmaker (I also have the diamond rods), but other than that, 99% of the sharpening I do is freehand with the Sharpmaker rods, or round ceramic rods that I pulled from a "ghetto" Sharpmaker with a wooden base. I learned sharpening freehand long before I used a system, and I'm better for it. However, this includes many ruined (thankfully inexpensive) practice knives. But the Sharpmaker system helps a lot for heavy work. I'm heavily considering an Edgepro though.

For the price, the Sharpmaker 204 can't be beat. Chances are that even with practice, your edges won't look factory perfect. You'd probably need an Edgepro for that. But if it cuts, what does it matter? All my edges will pop hairs, but none look factory.

In the end, you've got a $350 knife. $50 to maintain it is very reasonable. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari and feed it regular 85 octane gas, right? And chances are that you have more than one knife. Most of us have several, doezens, or even hundereds. I myself have spent over $5000 in knives in the past year or so. I have the full-kilted Sharpmaker setup (standard kit, plus diamond and ultra-fine rods). About $110. Plus I'm thinking of getting an Edgepro. $300 for sharpening equipment sounds like a lot, but not compared to the $5000 in knives it'll be maintaining.

 

[tallpaul]

the sharpmaker was the first sysem I bought that I could get a shaving edge with. It is pretty much all I ever use on my sebenza's- or any of my knives so far.... looks? not bad but if you stare at it I am sure ya' can see a difference. I feel everyone should own at least one sharpmaker.