Feeling frustrated with the Sharpmaker

F

fockewul

Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
20
I have a Sharpmaker that I bought to sharpen kitchen knives. I also bought the diamond rods, since I had about a dozen knives that were extremely dull and needed rebeveling.

After reading the instructions and watching the DVD I started to sharpen my knives (or at least try to). Then frustration began :( I can’t get my knives sharp enough. They are sharper than they were, but that is no big surprise. When I put the knives through the tests showed on the Sharpmaker DVD (paper cut, arm hair shaving, etc..), they all fail miserably and when I use them, I realize that they could be sharper.

Even though I don't have a very steady hand, I was told that anyone could get a sharp edge with a sharpmaker, that it was basically idiot-proof.

I must be doing something wrong, since everyone on the internet seems to agree this is a very good sharpening system. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I try to slide down the knife as vertically as possible, making about 20 passages on each side, sometimes more. However, as I said, I don’t have a very steady hand. I thought that with time and practice my results would improve, but I see no improvement whatsoever. The result is always a mediocre edge.

Any thoughts on what I’m doing wrong? Thank you.
 
Last edited:
It does take practice, more for some than others. Some hints to work on:

1. Be very gentle. Do not press the blade hard against the rod.

2. Instead of alternating strokes from rod to rod, since you have an unsteady hand, do five strokes on one rod then five on the other. this will help you get the angle and pressure right.

3. Hold the knife in a sabre grip, that is, with your thumb extended out over the back of the blade. Stroke downwards with the tip of the blade slightly elevated.

4. Set it up so that your elbow is about the level of the Sharpmaker. I find, for example, that I do my best with it if I'm standing with the Sharpmaker on the kitchen counter.

5. I never got the diamond rods. Gentle and continued work with the coarse rods has done it for the worst knives I had. The diamonds are an improvement over this only if you do it right: even strokes, not too hard, getting that bevel the same width from top to bottom.
 
fockewul said:
I have a Sharpmaker that I bought to sharpen kitchen knives. I also bought the diamond rods, since I had about a dozen knives that were extremely dull and needed rebeveling.

After reading the instructions and watching the DVD I started to sharpen my knives (or at least try to). Then frustration began :( I can’t get my knives sharp enough. They are sharper than they were, but that is no big surprise. When I put the knives through the tests indicated on the Sharpmaker DVD (paper cut, arm hair shaving, etc..), they all fail miserably and when I use them on the I realize that they could be sharper.

Even though I don't have a very steady hand, I was told that anyone coulll be fined get a sharp edge with a sharpmaker, that it was basically idiot-proof.

I must be doing something wrong, since everyone on the internet seems to agree this is a very good sharpening system. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I try to slide down the knife as vertically as possible, making about 20 passages on each side, sometimes more. However, as I said, I don’t have a very steady hand. I thought that with time and practice my results would improve, but I see no improvement whatsoever. The result is always a mediocre edge.

Any thoughts on what I’m doing wrong? Thank you.
Click to expand...
It is idiot proof, but not idiot, and bad technique proof. Im sure you will be fine after a few times getting used to what to look for. Try the sharpy trick with the bevels at 30deg to see where on the knife your removeing metal from.Next do not stop until you remove all of the sharpy, then follow the instructions untill finished.
 
Welcome to the forums.
If the knives are very dull it will probably take more then 20 strokes. Try using the diamond rods until the knives are sharp at the 40 setting. Then use the brown at 30 and go to the white after. Very dull knives that need reprofiling may take a long time with the sharpmaker. Esav has a good idea with alternating after 5 or so strokes. The diamond stones will cut the fastest. Once they are sharp they will be much easier to keep that way.

Good luck:)
 
Last edited:
fockewul said:
I have a Sharpmaker that I bought to sharpen kitchen knives. I also bought the diamond rods, since I had about a dozen knives that were extremely dull and needed rebeveling.

After reading the instructions and watching the DVD I started to sharpen my knives (or at least try to). Then frustration began :( I can’t get my knives sharp enough. They are sharper than they were, but that is no big surprise. When I put the knives through the tests indicated on the Sharpmaker DVD (paper cut, arm hair shaving, etc..), they all fail miserably and when I use them on the I realize that they could be sharper.

Even though I don't have a very steady hand, I was told that anyone could get a sharp edge with a sharpmaker, that it was basically idiot-proof.

I must be doing something wrong, since everyone on the internet seems to agree this is a very good sharpening system. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I try to slide down the knife as vertically as possible, making about 20 passages on each side, sometimes more. However, as I said, I don’t have a very steady hand. I thought that with time and practice my results would improve, but I see no improvement whatsoever. The result is always a mediocre edge.

Any thoughts on what I’m doing wrong? Thank you.
Click to expand...

While the diamond rods are useful for aggressive cutting, I have never had much luck with them for rebeveling. They are just too slow for me, and too inaccurate for my wavering hand to get a flat and precise edge. Instead, I use a DMT guide, a protractor, and a coarse diamond stone to rebeveling my knives to 30 degree. I use a Sharpie to mark the edge, ensuring that the rebeveling is not overkill but still complete and thorough. After that, I finish with the Sharpmaker and it works as intended. That's just what works for me. Your mileage might vary.
 
SOLEIL said:
Welcome to the forums.
If the knives are very dull it will probably take more then 20 strokes. Try using the diamond rods until the knives are sharp at the 40 setting. Then use the brown at 30 and go to the white after. Very dull knives that need reprofiling may take a long time with the sharpmaker. Esav has a good idea with alternating after 5 or so strokes. The diamond stones will cut the fastest. Once they are sharp they will be much easier to keep that way.

Good luck:)
Click to expand...

You probably meant using the diamond rods at 30 degree, then use the brown and white rods at 40.
 
Quite a bit depends on the steel the knives are made of as well. There are some stainless steels out there that can be a nightmare to sharpen once they get very dull as you say some of yours are. As has been said, easy strokes, concentrate one making each stroke the same (it can get very zenfull...lol). I prefer to be above my work far enough that I can look down and watch my blade angle to make sure I am maintaining it correctly so instead of the kitchen counter I use the table standing but that is personal preference, try a few positions and use what feels best to you.
 
There are also several good YouTube videos showing the proper technique to use with the Sharpmaker.

(Plenty not-so-good ones too.)
 
Absintheur said:
There are some stainless steels out there that can be a nightmare to sharpen once they get very dull as you say some of yours are.

I prefer to be above my work far enough that I can look down and watch my blade angle to make sure I am maintaining it correctly so instead of the kitchen counter I use the table standing ...
Click to expand...

My parents had an old set of vanadium kitchen knives that were like diamond.
In the old days, I couldn't do a thing to them to sharpen them. :)

I agree with looking down on the work. I think that's what my countertop allows me to do.
Sitting level with the Sharpmaker always made my arms tired.
 
Lots of good advice given.

I will add "Sharpie".

Mark the bevel of the blade with a sharpie. Take a few strokes. Closely examine the black area to see where there is still black and where there is bright metal.

If the very very edge is still black, you are still grinding the bevel and are not yet sharpening the edge. Sharpen on the coarsest rod you have, (diamond I believe?) until you can do the sharpie check and see bright metal at the very edge. Then you are sharpening and can progress to the next smoother stone.

BTW. Welcome to BladeForums!
 
Bah! I need to get a newsharpmaker. In the old days our sharpmakers had one angle and we liked it. :grumpy:

None of this fancy smancy 30 and 40 degrees to get confused on... :D
 
Don't forget to clean the stones. They don't sharpen well when loaded with steel.
 
I do not have a sharpmaker so I do not know, but do they suggest sharpening one side until a burr is raised?

A lot of times if a burr is never raised (with other methods) a blade will never get really sharp. Could this be a problem he is having?
 
Probably not. That's not how a Sharpmaker works: it sharpens both sides at the same time, first stroking down one rod and then the other.

A burr is simply a very sharp edge, so sharp it is too thin to stand up against even light cutting, so it folds over. It is perfectly possible to get an edge to the point just before it develops that exessively sharp edge. This is what the Sharpmaker does, by getting sharper incrementally.
 
Esav Benyamin--

Thanks for your reply to FlaMtnBkr. My thinking was the same as his. For a long time I've thought that a burr had to be raised for a blade to get sharp.

Definitely learned something today and have more respect for my Sharpmaker (I've always liked it).

Thanks again! :thumbup:
 
Raising a burr is also a function of the angle you're sharpening at and the steel itself. It's not something to worry about either way, though.

If you do get a burr or wire edge using the Sharpmaker, go right back to the rods, stroking down first one, then the other, but ... instead of holding the knife vertically, match the angle to the rod opposite the one you're stroking. This should break the wire edge (gently) and leave the edge sharp and durable.
 
Extremely dull knives take an extremely large number of strokes to sharpen. You may need to use 10x more strokes than you are currently using. Take just one of the knives and sharpen using only the diamond hones until you can slice paper. Even with diamond hones this might take 100 strokes on an extremely dull knife. Only after you can cut paper with the diamond rods should you move on to the brown rods. You probably want to do 50 strokes on the brown rods to smooth your edge after the diamond rods. At this point your knife should be sharp. Anything you do after this is refining. I would use alternating strokes on the left and right rods at all times. You really don't want to end up with a burr when you are done and alternating strokes will do the cleanest job.
 
Where do you live fockewul? It is not important to sharpening, but maybe you have forum friend near by that might be an encouragement to you.

My suggestions are for right now:
-Work on a 3 inch paring knife first.
-Stay on the corner of the diamond rods until you have all of the sharpie marker removed and that the edge will not slide when drawn across your thumbnail or the Sharpmaker base.
-This will show that you have set the edge (met the two bevels together on the full length of the )
-Then you are ready to sharpen it out as instructed on the dvd.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top