better sharpening system...

B

ballsagne

Joined
Jun 14, 2009
Messages
196
All I own is a small sharpening stone and it has worked fairly well for quite a while but I am looking for a better sharpening system, which stones are best? Or which have you had the most success with?
 
I think the sharpmaker's the easiest & most reasonable for its price/quality to get. However, down the road, you're probably going to want to get a diamond stone & an ultra fine stone or rods (You can get those from Spyderco & they'll fit in your sharpmaker).
 
I use a DMY coarse, med,(brown) Spyderco alumina ceramic, and a fine (white) Spyderco alumina ceramic. After years of trying different things, this is the set up I think works the best.
 
I've had a Spyderco Sharpmaker for around 10 years... It is great, and certainly serves its purpose... but being limited to 30 or 40 degrees has some limitations... like Sharpening the Striders I've had... they come from the shop at around 45 degs. It is pretty much impossible to touch up the edge with the Sharpmaker. I've had to have the blades reprofiled in knife/sharpening shops... I don;t really trust any of them that use machines (all of them) and have had an SA "relieved" Waaaaay more than I wanted. I gave it away. Of course, when I lived in Austin, there was a few totally trustworthy shops.

I'd like to buy an EdgePro Apex.
 
I literally just got my sharpmaker. It was waiting for me when I got home.

Just made a BM Grip and a Spyderco Chinook 'scary sharp' in about 5 minutes each.

I can't hold a consistent angle on a stone to save my life, so thats why I went with a sharpmaker. If you work at it though, and get a few good stones, I think you would be just as pleased with the outcome compared to a Sharpmaker. You can be a bit more creative with a stone as well.

The Spyderco product is just another way to skin a cat, albeit an easier one in my opinion.
 
The Sharpmaker really does grow with the user. Anybody can swipe out forty strokes, but eventually you get a feel for the edge and know when to go all out, and when just to take it lightly to polish an edge. I have the ultra fine stones in the mail right now, should be here tomorrow. Nothing beats a dedicated stone for freehanding, but the option to lay the rods down like a benchstone is something some forget.

Where it really shines, is that it really can sharpen anything. I mostly use Wharnecliffe blades for everything, but my friends have me sharpen their serrations, recurves, and hawkbills constantly. I wouldn't mess with a purposely chisel ground plain blade, but doing both sides of serrated blades can really improve performance. It isn't the end-all sharpeners for the elite hair-splitting crowd, but it's a good start and can be taken pretty far.
 
I think the Sharpmaker is better than nothing, but without the diamond rods, it's likely to frustrate many new folks when they can't just do 20 or 30 strokes on the 30* then 20 or 30 on the 40* and have a sharp knife.

The rods are so thin that many (most?) new sharpeners will have a tendency to round their tips.

Even with the diamond rods, reprofiling a blade that came more obtuse than 40* can be a serious chore.

Personal preference, I guess, but I find freehand with DMT both easier and faster. (And I can do it while sitting in my recliner watching TV or chatting with the wife.)

I have a Sharpmaker I should probably sell or donate. I don't buy or use serrated or recurve blades anyway.
 
I've got a Sharpmaker and liked it but after handling an associate's knife sharpened with an Edgepro Apex I had to get one. I received mine yesterday and after only about 2 hours I got 4 of my knives sharper than factory new. Best $ I've spent on a knife-related item. Seriously.
 
This will only complicate the decision, but I got my ultra fine Sharpmaker rods today. Been whittling hairs for a while with various knife shapes and steel types, never seen anything this sharp. I'm ordering the diamond stones, but I can't speak for how well the thing reprofiles or handles weirder blade grinds. For me, I'm quite satisfied, but practice with any system will give good results.
 
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