Do you like your Spyderco Sharpmaker?

S

sunandsteel

Joined
Oct 23, 2013
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The reason I ask is I've had one for over a month and I can see myself already starting to get tired of the whole 40 strokes on one side of the knife and 40 on the other side. Than you have to do that 4 times which is 160 strokes on each side for one blade.
 
I treat that more of a guideline than a concrete rule.

I find my self free handing with the rods more often. I get a more consistent edge stroking horizontal as opposed to vertical.
 
On the bottom of the contraption there is an indentation the put both rods next to one another with the flats up. Kind of annoying to do it that way though because there is about an inch of space from the rods to end of the plastic and you can't get the whole blade on it especially with thumb studs handles getting in the way.

I don't do that. I just hold the knife and run the rods along it horizontally free handed. Kind of like a hone and kitchen knife.
 
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The Sharpmaker was my first "real" sharpener.... I picked up and edge pro here on the forum and traded off my SM. I then went on to get a Wicked Edge... I love them all but I eventually wound up getting another Sharpmaker, in my opinion nothing beats the SM for a quick touch up. Taking off material with the SM can be a miserable experience! I'll usually reprofile with the Edge Pro or the Wicked Edge depending on the blade shape. Once my edge is where i like it, Usually just a quick touch up on the Sharpmaker is all that is needed.

The great thing about the Sharpmaker is how fast you can set it up and touch up your blade. Takes a bit longer and the set up process longer with the Wicked Edge and the Edge Pro.

So to sum it up....Material removal with the SM = BAD. Sharpening and touching up keeping the same angle = FANTASTIC.
 
I think I'm going to look at some instructional videos on how to sharpen the knife horizontally honing.
 
The Sharpmaker does not excel at establishing basic tapers on super steels, especially if you are changing the angle of the dangle (edge). I made my own jig that mimics the angles of the Sharpmakers that enables me to remove large quantities of material when reprofiling the edge of harder materials. When the tapers are established and partially polished, I switch to the Sharpmaker.View attachment 388003
 
I have a wicked edge that I use to reprofile and major re sharpen. I have a sharpmaker too, it is nice to have for a quick touch up or adding a microbevil. It is easy and quick to set up and use. I thought I could live without it when I got the WE, but I ended up buying another.
 
sunandsteel said:
The reason I ask is I've had one for over a month and I can see myself already starting to get tired of the whole 40 strokes on one side of the knife and 40 on the other side. Than you have to do that 4 times which is 160 strokes on each side for one blade.
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You shouldn't have to do all the steps unless your knife is dull. If you just want to touch it up after a day use or whatever, you should be able to just use the fine rods. Also, as someone has mentioned, their process isn't written is stone or a rule, there are many ways to use it. Some folks do one side at a time til a burr forms then switch to the other side. Quite a few vid's on Youtube showing different ways! :)
 
I was having my doubts about the SM till I upgraded with the diamond and UF rods. Now it will remove material to reprofile and the UF rods do a good job getting that great edge.
Two more steps now but well worth it.
 
I love mine. I think it depends on how you sharpen. If you like to use your knife for weeks at a time until it becomes very dull before sharpening, you will probably get frustrated if you only have a sharpmaker. If you are the type (like me) who likes to keep your edges very sharp and touch them up several times a week then the sharpmaker is an excellent tool. I can touch up a micro bevel with the sm in less than a minute. I have no problem doing that a few times a week. IMO, it's easier than doing a major sharpening job once a month, and as a bonus my knives are always screaming sharp. :D
 
Ernie1980 said:
I have a wicked edge that I use to reprofile and major re sharpen. I have a sharpmaker too, it is nice to have for a quick touch up or adding a microbevil. It is easy and quick to set up and use. I thought I could live without it when I got the WE, but I ended up buying another.
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I also use a WE when I need to re-profile or remove a decent amount of steel. I did however keep my SM and I am glad I did. I still use the SM for touch ups. Lately for touch ups I have used the flat side of the SM ultra fine stones. When I have lots of time I then strop on the WE with 5/3.5 diamond paste. This has worked great for keeping edges very sharp. This approach also not not appear to be removing much steel at all. I am looking at the WE 1200/1600 ceramic stones and these might be good for touch ups but not sure I will spend the extra money. When I touch up with the WE and the SM I don't mind the time it takes to setup both systems. Sharpening is kind of relaxing for me.
 
sir_mike said:
You shouldn't have to do all the steps unless your knife is dull. If you just want to touch it up after a day use or whatever, you should be able to just use the fine rods. Also, as someone has mentioned, their process isn't written is stone or a rule, there are many ways to use it. Some folks do one side at a time til a burr forms then switch to the other side. Quite a few vid's on Youtube showing different ways! :)
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Fine rods meaning the grey stones or white? :p
 
Forget about the "40 strokes on one side, then ...", it is the same with the sharp maker as with any other sharpening method. For the most part, sharpen until you have a burr, flip the burr etc. etc. I love the Sharpmaker and when you have the diamond rods and the right technique, you can even remove quite a bit of metal. Here is a link to a youtube video that shows the technique that I use (ignore all the rambling though):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MHe_8wTHmg

Cheers
 
tiguy7 said:
The Sharpmaker does not excel at establishing basic tapers on super steels, especially if you are changing the angle of the dangle (edge). I made my own jig that mimics the angles of the Sharpmakers that enables me to remove large quantities of material when reprofiling the edge of harder materials. When the tapers are established and partially polished, I switch to the Sharpmaker.View attachment 388003
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Nicely done. I always liked the sharpmaker setup....but the lack of courser rods has always been a major flaw....for me. I like how you created a solution. Sure would be nice if sal would get us some courser diamond rods for real reprofiling.
 
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tiguy7 said:
The Sharpmaker does not excel at establishing basic tapers on super steels, especially if you are changing the angle of the dangle (edge). I made my own jig that mimics the angles of the Sharpmakers that enables me to remove large quantities of material when reprofiling the edge of harder materials. When the tapers are established and partially polished, I switch to the Sharpmaker.View attachment 388003
Click to expand...

That's nice! I dont suppose you would wanna make me one of those for my stones! :D
 
I don't have time to make another one, but I would be happy to tell you how to make your own.
 
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