Comparing two pull through sharpeners?

B

Buck268

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Nov 5, 2006
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So normally I use my sharp maker (or, much less frequently bench stones) but I wanted something I can put in my BOB or micro-travel kit that would offer the easiest sharpening. Likewise I almost never use pull through type sharpeners for obvious reasons. Anyways, I found these two almost identical sharpeners from Accusharp of the pull through type (pn 336 and 017c). Super compact and what draws my attention is that neither uses a carbine blade destroyer. Both have "fine" ceramic finishing rods but one is a diamond "coarse" rod and the other a ceramic "coarse" rod. I figure when near-new the diamond will likely be a little more aggressive but any suggestions or thoughts on longevity of the diamond vs the ceramic versions? The rods are not removable not do they rotate so we are looking at a fairly finite lifespan either way I'm sure.

Interestingly, I have the 336 (ceramic, orange below) version already and it matches the factory bevels on my BM 940 perfectly.

334_SharpNEasy2.jpg



017_pkg-b.jpg
 
I had something similar years ago and the biggest problem I had was the ceramic rods loaded up and there was no easy way to clean them
 
Aside from the versions with the carbide 'blade destroyer' inserts (apt description), my other reservation about these has to do with the blade's edge bottoming out in the intersection of the crossed inserts. To me, that leaves the edge vulnerable to rounding or blunting of the apex, if the held angle isn't perfectly maintained. In other words, tilting the blade angle just slightly one way or the other, the insert on one side will only touch the shoulder of one bevel, while over-rotating the apex into the insert on the other side, leaving that side of the apex rounded, rolled or otherwise blunted. That's very limiting, in my mind, in how sharp an edge can be made in using these. It was my largest frustration, when I'd tried these types years ago.

I'd rather use one that leaves a gap between the base of the two inserts, so that if/when you hold a little too shallow on one side (contacting only the shoulder), you don't have to worry about damaging the apex from the other side in the same pass.

Edited to add:
I also have reservations about the direction of abrasion, using these. Due to the designed manner in which they're used, the scratch pattern runs parallel to the cutting edge, instead of raked or perpendicular to it. That tends to dampen the aggression of the resulting edge finish, taking the bite away and leaving the edge with not much 'tooth' left. And at coarser grit, as with the diamond inserts, the parallel scratches might be deep enough to significantly weaken the cutting edge, making it prone to quick failure by rolling over.
 
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Dmt card is nice. About the size of a credit card for on the fly sharpening. I keep the 325 in the truck. I also have a venez small 1200 grit for polishing.
 
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