Can someone help me decide what Sharpmaker and stones I should buy today?

[Hashishiin]

I'm ready to buy a Sharpmaker, and I just want to make my final decisions on it. I want to buy a guided system very soon, but still have a lot of research to do, I thought since I don't need to use my knives like crazy on a daily basis, a Sharpmaker would be a good thing to start with to keep a good edge on the knives I have, am I right in that respect? I am interested in keeping an edge on things such as: Spyderco S45VN, REX 45, Cruwear, Maxamet, ZDP, S30V as well as VG-10 and BD1N as some of the easier steels, Cold Steel AUS-8/10a, Ontario 1075 and D2, as well as simple carbon steels.
Things like microbevels and reprofiling are still a mystery to me. I still do not know if the base PM2 has a microbevel or not. It seems like the edge is a different height than the blade, so I would guess it does have one? See, here is where my knowledge lies. I want to be able to watch the video, move my knives up and down on the Sharpmaker, and have a sharp/er knife at the end of it all, while I figure out sharpening systems and all.

I have to admit I will probably be using the Spyderco steels mainly, and if I can do an Opinel right, I can do that right, on a Sharpmaker. I just want the right stones for the job. So... unless there is a compelling reason I shouldn't get one, I'm getting one tonight or tomorrow. What exactly should I be looking for? I have heard repeated mentions of diamond and "CBN" rods. I was wondering if I would have a use for the medium type stones, as it seems the diamond can sharpen my softer steels, like an Opinel or a Mercator, just fine, but not the other way around.

So... yeah. I have a few bucks to spend. What would you start me off with, given the info I have just written? Are there diff packages of Sharpmakers? Do I need to buy the rods seperately?

 

[rycen]

If you are just maintaining the edge on knives I would just go with the standard kit. If you have any damage to fix or want to re-profile the edge get the CBN rods. I would also say wait on the ultrafine rods until you have some time with the sharpmaker.

 

[Hashishiin]

If you are just maintaining the edge on knives I would just go with the standard kit. If you have any damage to fix or want to re-profile the edge get the CBN rods. I would also say wait on the ultrafine rods until you have some time with the sharpmaker.

Yes, all of the knives are still pretty dang sharp and in good working order, I would just endeavor to make them sharper and maintain them when they lose a lil sharpness, maybe spruce up the factory edge. You think the regular rods would do this well on those harder steels like Maxamet, ZDP and REX 45?

 

[rycen]

The stock rods are ceramic so they’d be fine.

 

[Ajack60]

I’d also vote to get the basic setup and go from there. Rex45 and Maxamet will not be as difficult as you think. ZDP and D2 will give you the most discouragement, IMO,
but with some patience and learning curve, they’ll be fine. Also keep in mind, steels are going to behave differently, so take your time and learn the steels you have.
Have you thought about a strop ?

 

[toker]

I'm ready to buy a Sharpmaker, and I just want to make my final decisions on it. I want to buy a guided system very soon, but still have a lot of research to do,

What other systems have you looked at and what is your budget? There are a lot of choices out there. Not saying anything is wrong with the Sharpmaker, but depending on what you want to do (reprofile?), another system may be better.

 

[Hashishiin]

I’d also vote to get the basic setup and go from there. Rex45 and Maxamet will not be as difficult as you think. ZDP and D2 will give you the most discouragement, IMO,
but with some patience and learning curve, they’ll be fine. Also keep in mind, steels are going to behave differently, so take your time and learn the steels you have.
Have you thought about a strop ?

This may sound silly, but I know Opinels have a convexed edge. I don't know what this means for sharpening, but would an Opinel or a Mora work on a sharpmaker, too?

I have a strop, and green compound. I tried to strop a Tru-Sharp Case and a Higonokami to no effect, and seemingly had some positive effect on a BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut thin kitchen knife. I was recently told that I shouldn't be stropping only, and especially not without diamond compound. Others have said they can attain great sharpness through stropping alone, but I am not sure what to think. Would you like to explain what you'd use/when you'd strop? Oh, I'm not looking forward to ZDP and D2, by the way, haha.

 

[Hashishiin]

What other systems have you looked at and what is your budget? There are a lot of choices out there. Not saying anything is wrong with the Sharpmaker, but depending on what you want to do (reprofile?), another system may be better.

I recently got some money in, so... I plan on investing in a good guided system. I would LIKE to keep it under $500, but open to any suggestion.
Thinking about a Worksharp, or a KME? I still have quite a bit to look into, but I want something that will help me sharpen, and perhaps re-profile and such, easily enough.

I intend to have the sharpmaker as a touch-up tool, for all these knives I have that are sharp.

 

[jbmonkey]

the standard setup work just fine. I rarely use the diamond or others. have, just rarely, and I mean rarely...... as in once a year maybe use them.

 

[Hashishiin]

the standard setup work just fine. I rarely use the diamond or others. have, just rarely, and I mean rarely...... as in once a year maybe use them.

Just ordered the standard setup and a Z-cut in BD1N to learn on! After that, will try an Opinel, and after that.... Maybe a RAT or a PM2. I hope it works out!

 

[toker]

I recently got some money in, so... I plan on investing in a good guided system. I would LIKE to keep it under $500, but open to any suggestion.
Thinking about a Worksharp, or a KME? I still have quite a bit to look into, but I want something that will help me sharpen, and perhaps re-profile and such, easily enough.

I own the Worksharp Ken Onion and the Wicked Edge. I like using the Worksharp for my beater kitchen knives, but it's really easy to round the tip of a knife if you're not careful. I'm also not a huge fan of the angle setting on the WSKO. The other thing I've noticed is that the edge doesn't last as long as the Wicked Edge. There's a slight learning curve, but it only should take a few knives.

I use the WE on all of my nicer knives since it's easy to setup up and repeatable. It's one of the easiest systems to use, quick and very accurate. There is a smaller learning curve, but depending on the length of the blade, you'll have adjust the position of the knife and use a sharpie to figure out where the sharpening angle and curve is. The WE also excels at reprofiling knives to a different angle. I use a digital angle cube to figure out the angle I want and use the 50/80 grit stones. It's too bad you didn't make this thread last week as WE was offering 10% off on their website.

I intend to have the sharpmaker as a touch-up tool, for all these knives I have that are sharp.

The Sharpmaker is also a nice, easy tool to use. It's not great for reprofiling though. But if you did buy something like the Wicked Edge, you really wouldn't need the Sharpmaker for touch ups.

 

[Hashishiin]

I am going to need diamond for Maxamet and 10V though, aren't I? Not for S45 or Cruwear though, I know for a fact the stock stones will do those just fine.
I'm thinking about waiting on buying Diamond and CBN rods, learn on an Opinel or RAT, just use my BD1N PM2 exclusively so that I can learn to touch a PM2 up, while I'm getting a guided system with diamond for when I know how in the world to reprofile and microbevel. Just working factory angles for now.
The PM2 is my favorite knife model along with Yojumbo, RAT, Opinel, so very interested in sharpening and later learning to reprofile these knives specificall.

 

[kreisler]

in the end you'll need just 1 rod.

look:

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

This may sound silly, but I know Opinels have a convexed edge. I don't know what this means for sharpening, but would an Opinel or a Mora work on a sharpmaker, too?

I have a strop, and green compound. I tried to strop a Tru-Sharp Case and a Higonokami to no effect, and seemingly had some positive effect on a BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut thin kitchen knife. I was recently told that I shouldn't be stropping only, and especially not without diamond compound. Others have said they can attain great sharpness through stropping alone, but I am not sure what to think. Would you like to explain what you'd use/when you'd strop? Oh, I'm not looking forward to ZDP and D2, by the way, haha.

The factory edge on Opinels is just a simple V-beveled edge, as with most factory knives. The primary, overall grind behind the beveled shoulders of the edge and extending maybe halfway or two-thirds of the way toward the spine, has a little bit of convex - it's very subtle. So, there's nothing special needed, in terms of technique or equipment, to sharpen an Opinel.

And for a Mora, with it's wide-beveled 'Scandi' grind, the SM can be used to keep the apex crisp, essentially in the manner used to apply a microbevel. In other words, you wouldn't be grinding flush against the full width of the bevels. That would be far too slow on something like the SM, to grind on those wide bevels.

Stropping is OK for maintaining an already sharp edge. But by itself, it won't be able to restore cutting completely on a truly dulled edge that's rounded, blunted or damaged. That's what stones are for.

I'd bet, at some point, you'll be wanting something more aggressive-cutting for your high-wear steels. Either the diamond or cbn rods for the SM would handle that. The ceramics will maintain for a while - but they won't be able to restore the fully aggressive bite to high-wear steels past a certain point, like diamond or cbn will. Past a certain point, the edge will gradually become a little thicker, more burnished or polished and probably rounded a bit, in using just the ceramics on high-wear steels. It'll become necessary to grind some of the thickness away from the bevels to get the apex crisp again. That's where the diamond/cbn rods will really earn their keep.

 

[Ajack60]

This may sound silly, but I know Opinels have a convexed edge. I don't know what this means for sharpening, but would an Opinel or a Mora work on a sharpmaker, too?

I have a strop, and green compound. I tried to strop a Tru-Sharp Case and a Higonokami to no effect, and seemingly had some positive effect on a BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut thin kitchen knife. I was recently told that I shouldn't be stropping only, and especially not without diamond compound. Others have said they can attain great sharpness through stropping alone, but I am not sure what to think. Would you like to explain what you'd use/when you'd strop? Oh, I'm not looking forward to ZDP and D2, by the way, haha.

Obsessed with Edges has sound advice. I always read carefully what he has to say. So there’s that.
The only time I use a strop is after sharpening a blade and occasionally if I feel a snag on the blade. Other than that, I don’t use one. The diamond paste loaded on a strop,IMO, will yield better results than the green compound. Sometimes just a few swipes on a ceramic rod followed with a strop will keep my blades shaving sharp.

 

[Hashishiin]

The factory edge on Opinels is just a simple V-beveled edge, as with most factory knives. The primary, overall grind behind the beveled shoulders of the edge and extending maybe halfway or two-thirds of the way toward the spine, has a little bit of convex - it's very subtle. So, there's nothing special needed, in terms of technique or equipment, to sharpen an Opinel.

And for a Mora, with it's wide-beveled 'Scandi' grind, the SM can be used to keep the apex crisp, essentially in the manner used to apply a microbevel. In other words, you wouldn't be grinding flush against the full width of the bevels. That would be far too slow on something like the SM, to grind on those wide bevels.

Stropping is OK for maintaining an already sharp edge. But by itself, it won't be able to restore cutting completely on a truly dulled edge that's rounded, blunted or damaged. That's what stones are for.

I'd bet, at some point, you'll be wanting something more aggressive-cutting for your high-wear steels. Either the diamond or cbn rods for the SM would handle that. The ceramics will maintain for a while - but they won't be able to restore the fully aggressive bite to high-wear steels past a certain point, like diamond or cbn will. Past a certain point, the edge will gradually become a little thicker, more burnished or polished and probably rounded a bit, in using just the ceramics on high-wear steels. It'll become necessary to grind some of the thickness away from the bevels to get the apex crisp again. That's where the diamond/cbn rods will really earn their keep.

Thank you so much, man, you are a wealth of information. Yeah, man, I was reading something like that, that you essentially have to give a Scandi a microbevel to sharpen it on the SM. I'm debating learning on a cheaper alum oxide stone, while maintaining on the sharpmaker, while deciding on a full sharpener.

Also, none of my knives are dull, maybe a couple of old Chinese ones. My PM2s (keep going back to this because it is my most varied platform in terms of steel and I like the pattern) are everywhere from absolutely 100%, to "Well, you can tell someone made some cuts with it, but it's still sharp and ready to take to work if you need", no dullness, no cracking, on any steel worth mentioning. So they are all presumably good to strop. I was thinking about ordering some 1 micron diamond paste. Would you say that is a good strop-all? I wonder if one strop will handle things like soft carbon steel without being too abrasive, and also the heavier steels. I haven't had much luck with my green compound so far.

Yes, I will be definitely wanting something for my high wear steels as soon as I know what I am doing with the SM
And am looking seriously at a Wicked Edge

 

[c7m2p3]

in the end you'll need just 1 rod.

look:

This is how I find myself using the system more and more. Small, compact, and convenient to carry. I'll throw it in my bag for a trip to a rental house and throw microbevels on the usually abused kitchen knives at the rental houses just so they are useable.

 

[Hashishiin]

in the end you'll need just 1 rod.

look:

This seems like a great method! Especially the bevel-finding, I really appreciate that.

 

[Hashishiin]

Does anyone know if a PM2 comes already with a "micro-bevel"? It looks as if the edge is at a higher angle than the rest of the knife.

 

[c7m2p3]

Does anyone know if a PM2 comes already with a "micro-bevel"? It looks as if the edge is at a higher angle than the rest of the knife.

Thats not a micro bevel. So with flat grinds like most spydercos (including the PM2) you have a primary grind which is the angle of the blade starting at the spine of the knife all the way down to the edge which is the shiny higher angle you are seeing.

A micro bevel would be a tiny bevel that is on the very tip of that shiny edge grind. These are useful for many users for a few reasons.

First, it makes throwing a cutting edge back on a knife easy by just throwing a slightly more aggressive micro bevel on a knife that is no longer biting into material the way that one may want. Second, it requires less material removal than putting a whole new edge back on the knife trying to keep with the original edge bevel angle. And finally, it can be a way to achieve a more stable edge if you have a very steep edge angle. Say you reprofile to 15 degrees, one may want to put a 17 degree microbevel on the edge to reduce the chance of the edge rolling over.