Considering Getting the Sharpmaker

E

egroeg555

Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Messages
77
I pretty much only have one quality knife, a mini-griptillian and I'm considering getting a Spyderco Sharpmaker because I hear that it is really easy to use. Will I be able to get a really good edge with this or do I need to get a bench stone?

The Sharpmaker is advertised as having 30 and 40 degree sharpening angles, but I hear lots of people talking about sharpening at much lower angles. Is this a problem?

I'm also planning on getting another knife very soon, probably a Becker BK7. Any tips on sharpening this knife or my mini-griptillian would be much appreciated.
 
I would recommend getting an inexpensive two sided silicon carbide stone to go with the sharpmaker. You can use it to quickly cut a low angle relief, then apply your 30 or 40 degree microbevel. The 30 and 40 are inclusive-15 and 20 degrees per side.

Sandpaper is also an alternative.
 
hardheart said:
I would recommend getting an inexpensive two sided silicon carbide stone to go with the sharpmaker. You can use it to quickly cut a low angle relief, then apply your 30 or 40 degree microbevel. The 30 and 40 are inclusive-15 and 20 degrees per side.

Sandpaper is also an alternative.
Click to expand...

Amen. Not being able to reprofile is the main shortcoming of the Sharpmaker, when you use a benchstone to cut the thin relief and use the Sharpmaker for microbevels you will be very pleased with your purchase.
 
gunmike1 said:
Amen. Not being able to reprofile is the main shortcoming of the Sharpmaker, when you use a benchstone to cut the thin relief and use the Sharpmaker for microbevels you will be very pleased with your purchase.
Click to expand...

Good advice. I like the satisfaction I get sharpening freehand but the Sharpmaker does an excellent job. My son says I am old fashioned doing it freehand when the Sharpmaker is so easy to use.
 
hardheart said:
I would recommend getting an inexpensive two sided silicon carbide stone to go with the sharpmaker. You can use it to quickly cut a low angle relief, then apply your 30 or 40 degree microbevel. The 30 and 40 are inclusive-15 and 20 degrees per side.

Sandpaper is also an alternative.
Click to expand...

I'm really new to this so I'm going to ask some really basic questions.
silicon carbide stone - Can someone recommend a stone of this type or does it really not matter what the brand is?
relief angle - I assume this is the angle edge that you see and the microbevel is a secondary edge added to that. Let me know if I'm wrong.
I'd like to eventually be able to get a really good edge freehand, but I realize that takes a lot of time and practice. So, I want to get the Sharpmaker in the meantime and hopefully learn a bunch by using the Sharpmaker.

When using a bench stone how do you know what angle you are at. Just make a good guess or what?

What relief angle and microbevel would you suggest for my Benchmade mini-griptillian and the Becker BK7? Their steel is 154CM and 0170-6C respectively.

Is there a general sharpening tutorial somewhere I could read through? Also, any other tips or suggestions are definitely appreciated.
 
here's a couple

http://www.knifeart.com/sharfaqbyjoe.html
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036

I use a silicon carbide stone I got from Sears, cost $8. It'll dish out eventually, but it isn't like spending ten times that on large-ish diamond plates. You can get to that later ;)

The angle of the relief doesn't have to be precise, just lower than your microbevel. But you can get close. Measure the width of your knife, then divide to get the height you want from the surface of the stone to the center of the blade spine- W/6=10 degrees, W/5=12, W/4=15, W/3=20 (per side, double to make inclusive). It's an approximation, I think the 2 numbers would actually need to be factors of 58 to be more correct, but 60 is close enough at these small measurements.

I'd probably go with the 30 on the grip and the 40 on the Becker if you are gonna pound on it.
 
I see. So, the quality of the stone used to make the relief doesn't really matter? Just a higher quality one like with a diamond surface will remove material faster and take less time to get the required relief angle. Let me know if this is wrong.
 
Yeah, that is about right. Don't want an ugly relief grind though so I usually polish it up the same as the edge, or get it slightly frosty looking with about a 2000 grit waterstone, just for the visual effect. Well, if you are cutting softer, thick materials that will rub against the relief grind, then polishing it will reduce friction an help it cut.
 
I use the Sharpmaker, and I'm satisfied with it. I can get push cuting edges with it, and it's easy to use.:)
 
It you want to get close if not exactly to the edge angle of your knives, get a EdgePro. Other than that, get the Sharpmaker and the optional diamond rods if you want to take off some metal faster. The Sharpmaker is fast, not messy, easy to use, and inexpensive (except for the optional diamond rods which are pricey).
 
I love mine! More of an edge maintainer than a true sharpening system. If you want one I got stuck with an extra, brand new - $45 shipped CONUS.
 
That it's more of an edge maintainer than a true sharpening system
is a pretty good description of the Sharpmaker.

It's great for blades that are sharp out of the box; but when I want
to get something sharp that's never been very sharp - or that's dulled
significantly - I use the GATCO system. Including their extra-fine hone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top