Can't seem to get a good edge on my sharpmaker

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ExtraTang

Joined
Jun 17, 2015
Messages
57
Hey guys, knife noob here.
So I bought myself a spyderco sharpmaker after reading thousands of good reviews on Amazon. But for some reason, it just doesn't work on my kabar BK11. Kabar says on their site that the edge is 15 degrees, so using the 40 degree setting should work. I'm doing the process correctly, but the blade still refuses to properly cut paper. I used some sharpie to mark up the blade and witnessed that the very edge was not coming in contact with the sharpener. What do I do to ensure sharpening success?
 
Welcome to Bladeforums, Mr. Tang. I can't use the Sharpmaker either. So that makes two of us. But almost everyone else on the planet seems to do fine with it. I switched over to the Edge Pro Apex, but I am interested to see what others say. My prob with the Sharpmaker is user error no doubt.
 
you have to keep removing more metal until your new bevel reaches all the to the edge. Your other option would be to switch to a more obtuse angle.
 
Your going to have to reprofile the blade to match the desired angle. The other option is to prop up the sharpmaker or adjust the angle in your hand to match the angle the bevel is at since it's doubtful it will perfectly match either the 15 or 20degree setting. Or use it in benchstone mode to aid in getting the proper angle in which case I prefer it in the normal upright position and just have 1 stone on one side in that way.

Your best bet is to just reprofile it to the proper angle to ease in it's use, though with the default stones thats a painful exercise. So you can use some wet or dry sandpaper rubberbanded to the stones and do a edge trailing technique. Buy the diamond or CBN rods which cost around $50. Or buy a 6x2 DMT diamond stone in which case I reccomend a coarse or a double sided coarse/extra coarse and than put a towel or drawl liner underneath it so the opposite side contacting it with the double side won't sand down your ceramic rod over time with use.

Having been playing with the Sharpmaker quite a lot and trying to perfect my technique by reprofiling several knives on it recently and buying the diamond rods, and using sanpaper/silicon carbide stones/4in dmt stones I think the 6x2 DMT stone is the best bet preferably the coarse/extra coarse and some practice with something like a cheap drawl liner and a ruberband to secure it in place (I've been busy the last 2 or 3 weeks in owning it, trying to find what works for me). The diamond rods are on par with a DMT coarse, not far off in my experience but the downside is small surface area so it still takes some time but it's multiple times faster than the included medium stone. Sandpaper works and you can go stupidly coarse with it but requires a change in technique. Using other stones works well but there is a small amount of play in it so it require a small change in technique to prevent this with stones wider than the sharpmaker rods, but it's not a big deal.

I listed several ways to go about reprofiling it with something coarser, go ahead and try to pick something that works and you can look into it more as quite a few people have been doing what I listed off. And I forgot there are also Moldmaster silicon carbide rods for it, though it's not designed for it so don't expect a perfect fit but it should work.
 
ExtraTang said:
kabar BK11. Kabar says on their site that the edge is 15 degrees, so using the 40 degree setting should work.
Click to expand...

I would not believe a word manufacturers are saying, I have so many knives that came with 2 different bevel angles, even Spyderco, the show side is always nice and even and set at 15 degrees, the other side is a different story, my most recent purchase, the techno is like that... Show side is perfect 15 degrees, but very narrow edge width so it looks really nice but that's just awful practice, the lock side is 40 degrees @@!

You have to set the primary angle properly so the edge is in the middle with both sides the same edge width and then do your micros, since the sharpmaker only gives you 2 set angles, you might as well spend some time and being the edge to 15 dps, use it and touch up with 20 dps
Once this is done, sharpmaker is amazingly wonderful to use.
I would say the sharpmaker a superb touch upper than a good sharpener, it lacks the ability to profile a blade easily
 
I re-profiled my Leatherman Squirt PS4 yesterday, it took a long time to do and it's only 420HC SS. My CRKT Minimalist Wharncliffe neck knife has an uneven bevel as well. I think I'm going to get the diamond tri-angle stones soon, very pricey though.
 
If you're not reaching the apex with the 40-degree stone (as you note with the Sharpie), the apex is steeper than 40 degrees. Basically, you have to reprofile the edge, and that's not easy with the Sharpmaker. You could get some diamond stones for the Sharpmaker to make the process faster. Or you could get a more capable sharpener, such as the EdgePro or Wicked Edge or Lansky on the cheaper end.

You could also send it to a pro on the forum and have a 30-degree bevel put on it. Then you can sharpen it quickly and easily at the 40-degree setting.
 
I've got a sm and a wicked edge... I would recommend getting the diamond stones if you can swing it for the sharpmaker.
My mother says I have a lot of patience... Because I never use any of it.
Take care and enjoy
 
Just send it off to somebody here in BF to rebevel to a more acute angle. There are a few sharpeners here who do a great job. Maintaining your edge on the SM should be a breeze after that.
 
I tried many different sharpening systems.... And as a result , I don't use the Sharpmaker any more. It never seemed to work well for me and was not any fun using it. I am not an expert but like sharp knives.

I suggest you get some stones and try freehand. Much more fun and you can sharpen knives of any angle. It is not that difficult to do. I also tried the Edge Pro and while it was good... It was also not much fun and I don't use it anymore.

From your question... You seem to be following the instructions for the Sharpmaker but need more understanding of sharpening process. Learn about the "burr" and you will have sharp knives. I recommend freehand and stones.... The Sharpmaker can be used as needed for touch ups or you can use the Sharpmaker as a paper weight. :)
 
Wow! I didn't think that I would get so many replies! I will certainly do more research into angles and such, and look into buying a diamond triangle rod. Those YouTube tutorials made the sharpening process look so much easier than reality-those bevels must've been close to 30-40 degrees. I see that some of you recommend sending my knife to a pro on the forum. Could one of you recommend one to me? Thanks!
 
Sharpmaker Diamond rods are pricy but they will last longer than you will. In that sense, if it only lasted 10 years that means coat is a few dollars per year and you can do a lot more with them. Sharpmaker was produced mainly for kitchen knives that are normally between 17-22 dps,, tactical and outdoor knives are normally 25 - 30 dps
 
Twindog said:
If you're not reaching the apex with the 40-degree stone (as you note with the Sharpie), the apex is steeper than 40 degrees.
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Is the apex the edge of the knife? If the apex edge of the knife is steeper than the 40º angle on the sharpmaker, wouldn't the edge come in contact with the sharpener?
 
wiredbeans said:
Sharpmaker Diamond rods are pricy but they will last longer than you will. In that sense, if it only lasted 10 years that means coat is a few dollars per year and you can do a lot more with them. Sharpmaker was produced mainly for kitchen knives that are normally between 17-22 dps,, tactical and outdoor knives are normally 25 - 30 dps
Click to expand...

Is the dps the angle of the bevel?
 
Yes DPS - degrees per side.
So a 15 dps is 30 degree V - we call this 30 degree V: inclusive edge angle/bevel
 
Jason B is one of the resident pro.

You can check Magnanimous (ducha123fly) youtube on reprofiling using diamond sharpnaker rod. It does take a while.
 
Even with a Wicked Edge it takes a while to remove a lot of metal. I find a cheap $20 Norton crystolon stone to be far superior for removing a lot of metal. There are tons of different stones out there that are probably superior to that one. In any case I suggest removing material by hand on a stone and then using the Sharpmaker. Practice practice practice.

I love my Sharpmaker for touch ups and it is awesome for that, but if the bevels aren't set properly the Sharpmaker brown stones won't get you anywhere. You could wrap the stones in very coarse 3M wet/dry silicon carbide sandpaper if you want. Otherwise I'd say get a benchstone.
 
ExtraTang said:
Is the apex the edge of the knife? If the apex edge of the knife is steeper than the 40º angle on the sharpmaker, wouldn't the edge come in contact with the sharpener?
Click to expand...

Correct. If you think of the edge of the blade as a triangle, the apex of the triangle is the point where the two sides meet to form the cutting edge. When we say that the apex isn't being reached, we mean that the abrasive isn't touching all the way down to the cutting edge. Rather that you are grinding on the back part of the edge bevel. This is usually because the sharpening angle is at a SMALLER angle than the edge bevel is currently set to. So if your BK-11 has an edge angle of 25 degrees per side and you try to use the SharpMaker's large setting (40 degrees total, which is the same as 20 degrees per side), then it will only touch the back part of the edge bevel. Thus "not reaching the apex", until you do a lot more grinding to reset that edge bevel to 20 degrees per side.

As has been mentioned, you can reset the edge bevels with several methods including:

1. Bench stones free hand.
2. Another guided system like a Wicked Edge, set to match the angle of the SharpMaker (20 degrees per side)
3. Diamond rods designed for the SharpMaker.
4. Coarse sandpaper wrapped around the rods of the SharpMaker.

Once the blade is sharp *and* set to the same (or smaller) angle as the SharpMaker, it becomes VERY easy to use the SharpMaker to keep a blade sharp. Getting to that point does require some effort on some blades like your BK-11.

Brian.
 
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