I have had my sharpmaker for several weeks now and have seen very good results both maintaining good sharpness and bringing dulled blades back up to usable quality edges. Currently, I have the standard rods that came with it. What are others' thoughts on the diamond rods and the ultra fine rods? My understanding is that the diamond are used for severely dulled blades and for changing edge angle and the ultra fine rods are to get a level of sharpness even higher than the normal fine rods can attain. Is it worth buying either of the extra rods? Also, why are the UF rods not sold in pairs?
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Diamond and Ultra Fine Rods Worth It?
- Thread starter John_0917
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The diamonds will allow you to remove chips and re-profile much quicker.The uf will refine your edge, but not to a mirror like finish(still see scratches).The standard stones will result in a nice working edge.I would purchase the diamond first.Some knife bevels are so far off from the factory it will literally take you days to find the apex with the brown stones.A solution I found was to re-profile new knives out the gate to 30 of 40 with the diamonds then refine and maintain my razor sharp edge with the other stones.Get the diamonds and use the rods you have for now as they will put a very nice working edge on your blade.This has been my experience with the SM.Some steels like S30V work better for me with a toothy edge(brown stones).
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I've owned both for a while now. For my needs they've been helpful. The diamond rods do a decent job of re-profiling
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But the key is to go slow and use light pressure. The Sharpmaker will never be as fast as some of the other more expensive systems. The diamonds work great for fixing damaged edges and I think they're good additions. The ultra fine stones are also nice but not as valuable as the diamond rods. I used to spend a lot of time polishing everything up with the ultra fines, but anymore I find myself just using the brown stones or regular white fine ones. I agree with salmon killer, sometimes I just use the brown ones for a toothier edge as it seems to work better on some of my knives. As long as you take your time and keep your bevel and micro bevel steady, any of the included ceramic rods will leave you with a very sharp edge.
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As the above posters stated, diamonds are a must; the uf rods are fun but not necessary.
They are the only rods I use. The 1000 grit brown rods are worthless once they glaze over (note I never use the skinny edge of any of these stones). I use the diamond rods, then 600 grit paper placed over my strop, then my strop with black emery compound.
If I want a toothy edge I'll do diamonds/paper then the UF stones in the SM and skip the strop step. It's a system that works well for me.
If I want a toothy edge I'll do diamonds/paper then the UF stones in the SM and skip the strop step. It's a system that works well for me.
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Sounds like you've found a good system for you and keep on rocking it :thumbup: Just a heads up for other readers, all you have to do is scrub the ceramic rods with some scouring powder and a sponge and it's back to new in less than a minute.
I'll give the Wife's cleanser a try but I think the exposed grit on the surfaces of the stone are just worn flat. Nothing's clogged.
Reminds me of why Jap waterstones are made to wear down - always exposing fresh, sharp grit.
I have used the narrow edge of the brown stones in an edge trailing stroke to establish a quick, toothy edge on occasion and they do work so so for that.
But to try to remove the scratch marks from the diamond stones with the 1000 grit brown stones - an exercise in futility compared to freehanding on 600 grit paper. And the paper lasts a very long time for that application.
Like you said though, lots and lots of workable methods.
Reminds me of why Jap waterstones are made to wear down - always exposing fresh, sharp grit.
I have used the narrow edge of the brown stones in an edge trailing stroke to establish a quick, toothy edge on occasion and they do work so so for that.
But to try to remove the scratch marks from the diamond stones with the 1000 grit brown stones - an exercise in futility compared to freehanding on 600 grit paper. And the paper lasts a very long time for that application.
Like you said though, lots and lots of workable methods.
(Disclaimer: Don't own the sharpmaker, I just hang out in the maintenace forum way too much lately.)
For the clogged up stones barkeepers friend like someone else posted as well as comet and other things like that will help remove the embedded swarf and glaze. Barkeepers friend being the best. If it's not that bad some dish soap and a toothbrush or something of that nature should help for regular maintenance on keeping it clean. I normally keep a clean shop towel near me to wipe off the swarf on my DMT's with it after every minute or so of sharpening to keep the swarf buildup down and that trick should also carry over to the diamond rods and possibly the ceramics (never used a ceramic).
Use a sharpie on the bevel to make sure your hitting the bevel if your not already doing so. If it doesn't hit it completely you can either reprofile the knife which may take awhile or prop up the sharpmaker on one side side if the presets don't work for you or adjust the angle of the knife in your hand.
Keep in mind that the higher grit stones don't actually make the knife sharper but they refine the edge more. Your goal should be to make an acute apexed edge that is burr free to get a sharp knife. When it is left a coarser grit it is toothy and imagine it acting like micro serrations or saw teeth and they work better for slicing motions. A more refined or polished edge which uses the higher grit stones don't have as pronounce micro serrations if you will and is smoother and will work better for push cutting motions. Both have their uses and neither is better than the other find out what works for you.
Just a little tip you should be able to shave arm hair off their coarsest grit, if your not your either not done or need to improve your technique. If you haven't practiced with it yet try doing so and see how far your technique improves and how sharp you can get your knives as you may surprise yourself as there is a learning curve to everything. I find kitchen paring knives to be perfect candidates due to being thin, cheap, and you typically have several on hand your willing to use or can buy locally for quite cheap.
From my understanding even the diamond rods can be a bit slow for reprofiling so if you feel the need to get that done quicker there is always free hand or a guided setup you can use to speed things up. I personally own the DMT Aligner and found using the clamp from it combined with a cheap Norton Economy Stone (silicon carbide, crystolon) which set you back $10-15 for the clamp and another $6 for the stone can help you reprofile your knives very quickly and should be able to do the majority of the work before switching over to the Sharpmaker. Though it does take some skill to do I find it to be quite a bit more faster than using the small diamond stones included with the aligner. The downside is with that particular stone you have to flatten it typically when you first get it and use something like an old mouse pad or drawel liner to help secure it in place would be highly recommended.
Though I have to side with everyone else the diamond rods are far more useful than the UF, get those first. After that I would recommend a 10x jewelers loupe and pair that up with the sharpie and a good light source so you can more easily see if your fully apexing the edge and where you need improvements, etc. I just spend $10 on a triplet 10x loupe which works decently well and has allowed me to get my knives sharper and put a better edge on it one of the first times using it as I can more easily see what I am doing. Is it OCD, just a tad but so is investing this type of money into sharpening by most peoples standards so you mine as well take it to the extreme and make the best of it.
For the clogged up stones barkeepers friend like someone else posted as well as comet and other things like that will help remove the embedded swarf and glaze. Barkeepers friend being the best. If it's not that bad some dish soap and a toothbrush or something of that nature should help for regular maintenance on keeping it clean. I normally keep a clean shop towel near me to wipe off the swarf on my DMT's with it after every minute or so of sharpening to keep the swarf buildup down and that trick should also carry over to the diamond rods and possibly the ceramics (never used a ceramic).
Use a sharpie on the bevel to make sure your hitting the bevel if your not already doing so. If it doesn't hit it completely you can either reprofile the knife which may take awhile or prop up the sharpmaker on one side side if the presets don't work for you or adjust the angle of the knife in your hand.
Keep in mind that the higher grit stones don't actually make the knife sharper but they refine the edge more. Your goal should be to make an acute apexed edge that is burr free to get a sharp knife. When it is left a coarser grit it is toothy and imagine it acting like micro serrations or saw teeth and they work better for slicing motions. A more refined or polished edge which uses the higher grit stones don't have as pronounce micro serrations if you will and is smoother and will work better for push cutting motions. Both have their uses and neither is better than the other find out what works for you.
Just a little tip you should be able to shave arm hair off their coarsest grit, if your not your either not done or need to improve your technique. If you haven't practiced with it yet try doing so and see how far your technique improves and how sharp you can get your knives as you may surprise yourself as there is a learning curve to everything. I find kitchen paring knives to be perfect candidates due to being thin, cheap, and you typically have several on hand your willing to use or can buy locally for quite cheap.
From my understanding even the diamond rods can be a bit slow for reprofiling so if you feel the need to get that done quicker there is always free hand or a guided setup you can use to speed things up. I personally own the DMT Aligner and found using the clamp from it combined with a cheap Norton Economy Stone (silicon carbide, crystolon) which set you back $10-15 for the clamp and another $6 for the stone can help you reprofile your knives very quickly and should be able to do the majority of the work before switching over to the Sharpmaker. Though it does take some skill to do I find it to be quite a bit more faster than using the small diamond stones included with the aligner. The downside is with that particular stone you have to flatten it typically when you first get it and use something like an old mouse pad or drawel liner to help secure it in place would be highly recommended.
Though I have to side with everyone else the diamond rods are far more useful than the UF, get those first. After that I would recommend a 10x jewelers loupe and pair that up with the sharpie and a good light source so you can more easily see if your fully apexing the edge and where you need improvements, etc. I just spend $10 on a triplet 10x loupe which works decently well and has allowed me to get my knives sharper and put a better edge on it one of the first times using it as I can more easily see what I am doing. Is it OCD, just a tad but so is investing this type of money into sharpening by most peoples standards so you mine as well take it to the extreme and make the best of it.
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