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

[DavidABQ]

That's good to hear, dang... I thought S30 would be the hardest one, along with D2. Those are the two I am most afraid to touch up, your comment inspires confidence though.

The D2 that I sharpen is an older Queen Cutlery slip-joint if that makes any difference and to be honest it seems to take a slightly coarser edge then my other knives with different steel. The S30 is from Spyderco, a Lil' Native to be precise, again I don't know if that makes any difference. The Ultra-Fine stones and rods really are for final polishing before stropping or touching up an edge that is not really too dull. The fine stones do a very good job but don't give that polished edge.

I don't know if that is important to you or not.

 

[Papilio]

When it is about sharpening knives properly, many roads lead to Rome. Used with the right kind of steel, Arkansas stones can serve you well and for a very long time. They are low maintenance. If I would buy Arkansas stones again, I think I would save myself the Soft stone. The edge I got from that stone was abolutely fantastic. But Arkansas stones are slow cutters. Meaning if your blade is dull it might take quite long to get it back to sharp. As Arkansas stones are oilstones too, I might prefer a manmade stone like an India for setting the bevel. And a finer (Hard) Arkansas stone for touchups or honing.

 

[Hashishiin]

When it is about sharpening knives properly, many roads lead to Rome. Used with the right kind of steel, Arkansas stones can serve you well and for a very long time. They are low maintenance. If I would buy Arkansas stones again, I think I would save myself the Soft stone. The edge I got from that stone was abolutely fantastic. But Arkansas stones are slow cutters. Meaning if your blade is dull it might take quite long to get it back to sharp. As Arkansas stones are oilstones too, I might prefer a manmade stone like an India for setting the bevel. And a finer (Hard) Arkansas stone for touchups or honing.

I was under the impression that all of the stones had to be lubricated with water or mineral oil? Also, none of my knives are really dull, the dullest ones I have are my Case Toothpick and my Winchester slippie, as well as my Mora Precision in carbon which is my main whittler, and started to lose a good bit of original sharpness. Other than that, everything is sharp and upkeep work. I want to learn the ins and outs of keeping an edge sharp and making an edge, though.

 

[Papilio]

Most stones should be used with oil or water, right. You can use ceramics like Spyderco or diamond stones dry. Fällkniven even recommends not to lubricate their stones.
Some waterstones need to be soaked for 10 minutes or so (until they are saturated), some are splash and go (it is only necessary to keep the surface wet). Oilstones generally work better with oil, although I have read (and watched Videos on YouTube) that guys use water on Arkansas stones, too. Especially if you are outdoors. I used my Arkansas stones with soapy water, too.
As long as you keep your knives sharp it is not necessary to have a coarse stone. But there might come the day when your edge is chipped. Or a knife is dull due to heavy work.
I sharpened kitchen knives on Arkansas stones mostly. No high end steel, no good edge retention. Meaning they lost sharpness quickly. I remember a knife that was sharp enough to slice onios effortless but was not sharp enough to make a clean cut through tomatos. With only a Soft Arkansas it took time. Using an India or a ceramic or diamond like Fällkniven will make this job in minutes. If at all.
The Arkansas stones worked, beyond all question. I liked the edge so much. But nowadays I prefer faster cutting stones. It was a good experience, I learned a lot. They were the first good quality bench stones I have ever bought (I had a full setup). I don't regret that I had them.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for the good information, here. I always pay attention to your posts.

On the topic of stropping, I've always used the green compound, and I do indeed get a noticeable improvement within just 6 or 8 passes on the strop. I make my own strops, and have a couiple of spares that are still bare leather, and was thinking about trying them. Since one is smooth side up, and the other is rough, which would you recommend? Or doe it even matter? I suppose I could (and likely will) experiment with both, but it's always good to hear from others who have more experience.

Thanks.

I'd suggest trying both. The rough (sueded) side can hold compound more densely, which might be attractive if you want to polish more aggressively. If you're mainly interested in just aligning the edge and cleaning it up, then a more subtle application of compound on the smooth side can do that.

Part of it is also a confidence thing - sometimes the rough side will feel a little too irregular or bumpy and won't inspire a lot of confidence in results. So try both sides of each piece of leather you find, and see what suits you.

 

[Hashishiin]

I got the Sharpmaker! Here at last!

 

[scottc3]

Remember Hashishlin, You have options. Idahone's equidistant triangular 1/2"x7" coarse stones are 100 to 200 grit, plenty coarser then SM's medium stones, Spyderco's has diamonds, or you could get some Congress triangular Mold Maker SIC 1/2"x6" from 80 to um-like 600 or 800. Thingyverse has 3D printing files for the Sharpmaker if you can find someone to print them, like a bunch of 777 Edge's SM inserts or two blocks, changing angles 1 degree per slot for 20 to 60 inclusive. For any form factor of diamond's, no thicker then about 1/4-ish inch, like your DMT 6 inchers- just figure a way to attach to rod: paper clips, 3M 2 sided tape, etc.
-above is copied n edited from another post-

 

[Hashishiin]

Remember Hashishlin, You have options. Idahone's equidistant triangular 1/2"x7" coarse stones are 100 to 200 grit, plenty coarser then SM's medium stones, Spyderco's has diamonds, or you could get some Congress triangular Mold Maker SIC 1/2"x6" from 80 to um-like 600 or 800. Thingyverse has 3D printing files for the Sharpmaker if you can find someone to print them, like a bunch of 777 Edge's SM inserts or two blocks, changing angles 1 degree per slot for 20 to 60 inclusive. For any form factor of diamond's, no thicker then about 1/4-ish inch, like your DMT 6 inchers- just figure a way to attach to rod: paper clips, 3M 2 sided tape, etc.
-above is copied n edited from another post-

I heard that CBN does the same thing as Diamons (in the sharpmaker) but they do not "Strip" from the stones so easily and become useless. I am thinking of ordering CBN, I'll need it once I get to the harder steels. I have 1 micron diamond strop liquid coming, and am still thinking about what stone and guided system to get. And then what stones FOR the guided system, haha. So many great recs on here though.

Thank you for all those recs. I will definitely be using those low grit stones to start reprofiling when that time comes, and also, I will be GETTING my sharp edge on low grits, that is my plan, and only moving up if edge is sufficiently sharp. Is this accurate?

Good to know that you can get aftermarket stones for the Sharpmaker. Angles and all are still a lot for me, if I was to use my sharpmaker like this, an Opinel, a Mercator, a RAT, and then a BD1N PM2, do you think I could just keep the stones in the 30 degree slots? This goes out to everyone.

 

[Hashishiin]

Yo, I sharpened! I turned a dull Case in Trusharp into a working edge Case in Trusharp! Holy cow!
Anyone have any tips on how much pressure to give it? Should I go easier on the ceramics? I'm gonna try to give the Case a razor edge. Is that possible with Trusharp? Has to be.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Yo, I sharpened! I turned a dull Case in Trusharp into a working edge Case in Trusharp! Holy cow!
Anyone have any tips on how much pressure to give it? Should I go easier on the ceramics? I'm gonna try to give the Case a razor edge. Is that possible with Trusharp? Has to be.

Good to hear it's working for you.

Regarding pressure, ALWAYS go light - very light - with the finishing / refining passes. I trained my touch for it by imagining I'm just brushing dust from the rod's surface with the blade's edge. Literally no heavier than that. Ceramic hones tend to create burring issues if they're used with pressure that's too heavy. See if you can train your hands to feel for brushing contact at the apex itself. I always start a pass on the hone with the angle a bit low, so I'm contacting only the shoulder of the bevel. Then, as I begin the pass, I very gently raise the angle and pay attention to the change in feel, as the apex comes into contact. Don't raise the angle any further, once you notice that. Do this on each & every pass.

Case's Tru-Sharp takes great razor-sharp edges. To me, it's one of the easier steels with which to do this. Setting edge geometry to 25°-30° inclusive is a great way to start.

 

[Hashishiin]

Good to hear it's working for you.

Regarding pressure, ALWAYS go light - very light - with the finishing / refining passes. I trained my touch for it by imagining I'm just brushing dust from the rod's surface with the blade's edge. Literally no heavier than that. Ceramic hones tend to create burring issues if they're used with pressure that's too heavy. See if you can train your hands to feel for brushing contact at the apex itself. I always start a pass on the hone with the angle a bit low, so I'm contacting only the shoulder of the bevel. Then, as I begin the pass, I very gently raise the angle and pay attention to the change in feel, as the apex comes into contact. Don't raise the angle any further, once you notice that. Do this on each & every pass.

Case's Tru-Sharp takes great razor-sharp edges. To me, it's one of the easier steels with which to do this. Setting edge geometry to 25°-30° inclusive is a great way to start.

Thank you guys all for your advice!

I am trying to think of the easiest thing to put a razor edge on.... a thin, thin BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut kitchen knife, the Case, or a X70 carbon steel like an Opinel, K55 or the razor-like Higonokami. Crazy this is working, though, can't wait to refine this craft.

I still hardly understand setting a bevel. Is the bevel the new, straight line that the edge appears to take after I run it across a few times? Also, should I lubricate anyways to help with this? Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting metal off. Trying to go light, though!

I'm trying to get a feel for when the edge is on the stone, as well as looking for shadow/holes between the edge and stone.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thank you guys all for your advice!

I am trying to think of the easiest thing to put a razor edge on.... a thin, thin BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut kitchen knife, the Case, or a X70 carbon steel like an Opinel, K55 or the razor-like Higonokami. Crazy this is working, though, can't wait to refine this craft.

I still hardly understand setting a bevel. Is the bevel the new, straight line that the edge appears to take after I run it across a few times? Also, should I lubricate anyways to help with this? Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting metal off. Trying to go light, though!

I'm trying to get a feel for when the edge is on the stone, as well as looking for shadow/holes between the edge and stone.

The 'bevel' is each side of the V-shaped 'secondary' grind pattern forming the sharp cutting edge. The 'shoulder' of each bevel is the transition line between the blade's overall 'primary' grind (extending all the way to the spine of the blade) and the 'secondary' grind at the edge forming the bevels. The different grind pattern of the 'bevel' can be seen along the upper portion of the blade grind in the picture below:

In 'setting a bevel', this is what's done when that secondary edge grind (from cutting edge to shoulder of the bevel) is completely redone, either to change the edge geometry (edge angle) or to repair heavy damage to the edge. This isn't something best done with the Sharpmaker, but instead with larger, coarser stones. There's a lot of grinding to be done, in setting new bevels. For the time being, in your situation, I wouldn't worry about doing that. But instead, focus on using the SM to make the existing edge as sharp as you can.

 

[Hashishiin]

The 'bevel' is each side of the V-shaped 'secondary' grind pattern forming the sharp cutting edge. The 'shoulder' of each bevel is the transition line between the blade's overall 'primary' grind (extending all the way to the spine of the blade) and the 'secondary' grind at the edge forming the bevels. The different grind pattern of the 'bevel' can be seen along the upper portion of the blade grind in the picture below:

In 'setting a bevel', this is what's done when that secondary edge grind (from cutting edge to shoulder of the bevel) is completely redone, either to change the edge geometry (edge angle) or to repair heavy damage to the edge. This isn't something best done with the Sharpmaker, but instead with larger, coarser stones. There's a lot of grinding to be done, in setting new bevels. For the time being, in your situation, I wouldn't worry about doing that. But instead, focus on using the SM to make the existing edge as sharp as you can.

Okay, I have an idea of this now. Also, got some of the kitchen knives from dull by regard of non-knife family, bouncing off my fingernail, to shaving hair sporadically and cutting paper in curves. Not bad. I still am trying to "FEEL" out the edge, that is a thing, right, feeling it? I "broke it in" by rubbing the stones together, I think that and a combination of right angle made it "stick" to my hair more.

Ah. Think I just gots to keep practicing with this thing. Taking a break now to avoid fatigue, but boy, this thing is great. Ordered CBN stones.

 

[Spats McGee]

There is something fascinating about being able to run a piece of steel across a rock and have it come out sharp.