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Can't seem to get a good edge on my sharpmaker
- Thread starter ExtraTang
- Start date
ejames13
Basic Member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2015
- Messages
- 801
Lots of good responses already, but I'll add my experience. I had trouble with the Sharpmaker at first as well and I think there are prob two things at play here.
First, you need to get an el cheapo knife with some kind of soft metal to practice with and develop your technique on the Sharpmaker. I followed all the instructions to a "T" but still wasn't getting sharp edges. It's somewhat of an art and you have to get a feel for it. You'll start to be able to feel when you're sharpening the apex properly because it just feels "right".
Second, you NEED to get the diamond stones for the Sharpmaker. It's nearly useless without them except, as others have said, for touch ups. Since getting my diamond stones I've successfully reprofiled most of my knives and now touch ups with the brown/white stones are a breeze.
First, you need to get an el cheapo knife with some kind of soft metal to practice with and develop your technique on the Sharpmaker. I followed all the instructions to a "T" but still wasn't getting sharp edges. It's somewhat of an art and you have to get a feel for it. You'll start to be able to feel when you're sharpening the apex properly because it just feels "right".
Second, you NEED to get the diamond stones for the Sharpmaker. It's nearly useless without them except, as others have said, for touch ups. Since getting my diamond stones I've successfully reprofiled most of my knives and now touch ups with the brown/white stones are a breeze.
I'm definitely looking into a cheapie knife for practice-maybe a Kershaw or Ontario. Would it be considered reprofiling if the edge is 33 degrees, and I use the 40 degrees setting on the sharpmaker? Then, once it becomes 40 degrees, it would be considered sharpening not reprofiling?
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2015
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Yes, every time you change edge angle, it's a re-profile. Putting a 40 degree apex on the 33 degree edge is called micro bevel. Unless you are turning the edge wall to 40 (20 dps)
I would practice on taking the 33 into 30 and the run the blade at 40 degree 5-10 very light passes on sharpmaker to get that micro bevel
Okay. I have a CS Recon 1 that is significantly easier to sharpen than the Becker, but I've already sharpened it at 40 degrees but am unsure as to how the edge is shaped, I just know that it's sharp. I shall run it through its paces on the Sharpmaker at the 30 degrees setting and then try a 40 degree microbevel. EDIT I looked around and it seems the edges are 22-25 degrees each side so it'll be a pain to reprofile at 30 degrees.
EDIT 2: WAIT-So the sharpmaker is only good if the blade is 30 or 40 degrees?
EDIT 2: WAIT-So the sharpmaker is only good if the blade is 30 or 40 degrees?
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The Sharpmaker works great is the bevels are under or right at 30 degrees or 40 degrees inclusive. So if they're 14 degrees per side you can easily use the 30 degree setting. If they're 18 degrees per side you can easily use the 40 degree setting.
Like others have said before in other threads, the Sharpmaker is really the Sharpkeeper. It's not ideal for reprofiling, but it is one of the best tools out there for sharpening a knife that is already at the right angles. If you need to shape the bevels (reprofile) then I highly suggest using something else.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2008
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- 1,647
I love my Sharpmaker! To this day after years of practicing it is still the benchmark of what quality edge I can achieve without going to a strop after. That is for the Diamond rods which feels like my used coarse DMT. So on a good day, my freehand edge on the DMT coarse is similar to the Sharpmaker edge but often not.
The beauty is that you can use one or two good quality stones (DMT benchstones or the recently often mentioned Shapton glass stones) to be used freehand and then you use the Sharpmaker for the final touch. Result is an insanely sharp and crisp apex.
The beauty is that you can use one or two good quality stones (DMT benchstones or the recently often mentioned Shapton glass stones) to be used freehand and then you use the Sharpmaker for the final touch. Result is an insanely sharp and crisp apex.
But if the edge is too steep, like way less than 30 or 40 degrees, there would be problems sharpening.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2015
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- 279
Of course you could buy ruby triangle stones from Congress tools. I have them in 150 grit and 300 grit and have address some profiling issues. Keep them wet and they will take care of your problem. I will admitt that the sharpmaker has a learning curve and is not really very good at changing angles. That is why I bought a KME. With the diamond stones this system is awesome and much cheaper than the edge pro or wicked edge. I have added a couple items to make it more accurate and away we go.
The Sharpmaker comes with brown stones and white stones. They are not aggressive. They will be awful at doing reprofiling. You need diamond stones, CBN stones, or at the very least some coarse wet/dry sandpaper attached to the stones. Like I said earlier and I'm repeating myself here, you should use a bench stone or some other method to reprofile, and then once that is accomplished you can use the Sharpmaker for touch ups and edge refinement. It is an excellent tool but it is not an all in one sharpening system out of the box. That said I love mine and I would not hesitate to recommend it as long as people understand its limitations.
I am definitely looking into a 6 inch DMT stone (as another person suggested) and rubberbanding it to one of the triangles, to correctly set the angle.
I tried that. There is a lot of wobble, about like a taxi ride with a drunk driver. I think the Sharpmaker is best kept within it's limits.
Buy some wet/dry sandpaper and attach it to the rods with rubber bands. There are videos on youtube showing this. It's cheap and one pack of coarse sandpaper will make a LOT of strips to use so it ends up really cheap.