Can you get factory edge using Sharp-maker?

O

OmegaA

Joined
Feb 13, 2004
Messages
282
Hi, guys,
I recently bought Delica as a present for my friend. When we started cooking we compared his Delica with mine which I got about 10 months ago and sharpened it several times. I was surprised: my knife barely shaves, so I can say it sharp, but you can easily feel the difference in performance. My knife squashed tomatos while his went easily through the skin and cut. I had to use some force to cut potatoes, whily he did not at all. Now I know that I want a scary sharp Delica, it makes a difference.
How can I sharpen my Delica on Sharp-maker that it had the same sharpness as Delica right from the box?
Regards,
 
OmegaA said:
How can I sharpen my Delica on Sharp-maker that it had the same sharpness as Delica right from the box?
Regards,
Click to expand...


Practice makes perfect.

Read "The Razors Edge" and the sharpening FAQ's here on bladeforums. Practice with your cheap kitchen knives, by following the instructions that came with your sharpmaker and applying what you read.

Once you "get it" you'll be amazed. With experience you can get knives sharper than factory. Then you will be spoiled and have to keep a sharpener set up in the kitchen to keep everything scary sharp.
 
i can get my Delica and Endura sharper than outta the box, believe it or not. it just takes time, practice, and patience. i used to only be able to get my knives "shaving sharp". after a while, practicing on the 204, i am now able to get them hopelessly "scary sharp". however, it definitely takes me longer to get a blade this way, as i go slower toward the end of the process, and pay more attention to what i'm doing.

abe m.
 
Not too much to add except to confirm that practice and patience are the only ways to get comfortable with it.

Ya' jus' gotta find 'da rhythm.
 
Stop before the tip reaches the bottom of the hone (when using the corners) Learn to do the tip freehand, also helps
 
Don't get too close to the tip when using the corners. Its much easier to control the tip on the flats.
 
anomad said:
Practice makes perfect.

Once you "get it" you'll be amazed. With experience you can get knives sharper than factory. Then you will be spoiled and have to keep a sharpener set up in the kitchen to keep everything scary sharp.
Click to expand...

My experience exactly.
 
The one thing I do before I sharpen a knife on my 204 Sharpmaker is to use a fairly rough Norton Diamond bench stone to grind out the worst nicks and bangs. Once you get the "relief" ground into both sides of the blade then the worst of it is done. If Spyderco would offer a really coarse stone to prep a really beat up edge with, I wouldn't even use the Norton stone. I have had superb results with the Sharpmaker. They also have a booklet that comes with the kit. I actually got more out of the booklet than I did with the video. You can't go wrong with the 204 Sharpmaker. It is also an excellent unit to travel with. JD Spydo :)
 
Blades said:
A Spyderco Ultrafine flat stone helps me. :)



Blades
Click to expand...
A big 10-4 on those "ultra fine stones" to go with the Sharpmaker kit. Also go ahead and get the Diamond stones to go with it also. Those ultra fine stones are marvelous for just steeling and touching up a knife that is already fairly sharp. You hit the nail on the head for sure "blades". I will add that to my previous post on the Sharpmaker. :)
 
Yeah "allyourblood" I already do have a set of those "diamond stones" for the 204 sharpmaker. They are indeed a great tool but they do not remove stock as rapidly as those Norton professional grade benchstones do. But like I have been saying the 204 Sharpmaker and it's accesssories are really top notch in most aspects. Like I said earlier the "Ultra fine" stones are indispensable. They work so well when you need to steel a knife or just lightly touching up a blade that is already relatively sharp. To size it all up the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker is the best kit in it's class by far. Like an old TV commercial used to say "I wouldn't leave home without it". :)
 
The Norton diamond bench stone I have is a 325 mesh coarse ( but not extra coarse). Also with the big flat benchstone you can really put a lot more muscle in it than you can with the diamond rods on the 204. Even if they would come out with an extra coarse ceramic. Because the grade of ceramic
they use is really spage age, top notch stuff. I know it's a minor thing but one that I think could really add to the kit. Well look at it this way: They made an " ultra fine" so why not a really coarse stone? :confused: :)
 
An inexpensive way to do coarse work on the sharpmaker -> wrap the white rods with coarse sandpaper and use something like binder clips to secure them in place.

Wish I could take credit for this tip, but someone else posted it here a while back. It really works well for me.

Also, you can use any grit sandpaper to achieve whatever results desired.

The Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker is one of the best products I have ever purchased, but the advice about not using the corners on blade tips is important and not in the instructions or video. Flats and/or freehand only for the tips if you want to keep them pointy.

Chris
 
You can easily sharpen a delica to be sharper than factory-new with a Sharpmaker ... and considering how well Spyderco sharpens at the factory, that's saying something.

A few tips:

- If you need something coarser than the brown stone, but don't have lots to spend on something like those diamond sleeves, just buy some coarse (100 grit or so) wet-dry sandpaper, and wrap the paper around the stones. Works very fast.

- Sharpen to 15 degrees per side (the 30 degree slots), then take just a few swipes in the 40-degree slots to get rid of the burr.

- Basics, basics, basics! Raise a burr, grind it off. http://www.edcknives.com/faqs.html The sharpening FAQ is #9, at the bottom

- If you want your knife to cut tomatos well, once you're all done with the sharpening, consider putting the brown stones back in, and taking a couple of very light swipes per side. This will reduce the hair-shaving performance a tad, but will really up the slicing ability. With a tomato, you need a knife that will slice open the skin so easily that you don't crush the meat inside, and a slightly rougher blade is just the ticket.
 
My breakthrough was finally going BOTH directions on the serrations and about 5 swipes serrated to one .... l i g h t ......delicate swipe on the burred side.

It took 2 times for the blade to settle in to having its edge done on a 204 but now either touchup or complete is very easy

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top