First time using the Sharpmaker. What I think

[bladeboss]

I just received a sharpmaker earlier today for Christmas.
I have never used one, held one, etc.

It all comes in a case, which ends up being the base.
Comes with a GREAT manual. Lots of pictures and numbered steps.
And a video

I sharpened 3 knives with it. (I wouldnt say they were dull, but they were used.) It took me around 2.5 hours.
I sharpened:
Spyderco Delica VG-10 normal Sabre grind
Kershaw Chive 420HC Shallow Hollow grind
Benchmade Adamas D2 Thick Sabre grind

I read the book, but did not watch the video.
I followed the 4-steps. 20 strokes per side-per step.

The Spyderco was first.
I went through the steps twice for this one.
The VG-10 didnt give much feedback.
It got shaving sharp around halfway through the second round.
Stropping made it pretty good.
After stropping, the knife was consistently shaving with low pressure.

The Kershaw was second. My cousin owns it and he sure isnt afraid to use his knives.
It had some bad rolls.
Went through the steps once. Went a bit faster with this one.
The 420HC provided good feedback.
I didnt have to strop much.
The end result was shaving my arm with little effort.
A big improvement compared to prior sharpening.

Lastly was my Adamas.
I almost didnt sharpen it tonight because I figured it would take a while.
I was surprised.
Prior to sharpening, it was sharp but not shaving. It takes me a LONG time to produce a shaving edge with my Lansky Turnbox.
But I went for it anyway.
Went through the steps slowly, once.
Lots of stropping.
End result slices paper as good as a 5mm blade can.
Shaves too.
It got sharpened MUCH better than my Lansky does.

Each knife has a somewhat polished edge. Under bright light, you can still see the manufacturer's grainy bevel, but it is hidden.

I believe my Delica has an uneven bevel.
The left side is shiny but the right side is grainy.......hmmmmm. Might have to try the sharpie trick or something.

All in all, it works good. Night and day difference compared to my Lansky for sure.
Honestly, Im not 100% sure Id reccomend this sharpener to a newbie. Maybe as a second sharpener, after the basics are learned.
Im sure that if a newbie did buy it, he could figure it out easily, but it surprised me on how complicated it is, contrary to looks.
I dont think that there is a chance of ruining your knife, but bevels can be ruined if you just go fast and get sloppy.
It takes alot of patience, alot of time, and a steady hand.

Go slow, get a sharp knife.

I think its a good sharpener, for sure. :thumbup:I trusted it enough to use it on my favorite knife (Adamas), so that should say something.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

The Spyderco Sharpmaker was my first sharpening system other than a Smith TriStone I used it a lot and although it worked reasonably well I wound up using it it more for my kitchen knives than anything else, also I used the fine ceramic rods free hand to knock off the wire edge.

It's a great system but in my opinion it is limited by the fact that as a novice your restricted to the 2 angle the base provide.

As a free hand hone they are great for quick touch ups but reprofiling can be a bear and very time consuming, still the Sharpmaker has it's place.

 

[frito]

I need to pick one of these up.

 

[Bladenoobie1]

The sharpmaker is a good system. I'm one of those few people for whom it didn't work well, but it may have been because most of my knives were unknowingly over a 40 degrees inclusive bevel. I sold a fully decked out sharpmaker with congress ruby rod and UF rod a few months ago at a steal of a deal. Perhaps I may get a sharpmaker again sometime in the future as I have this recurve blade on my leatherman supertool that I can't sharpen >.>

 

[zombywoof]

I've found it works very well, but:

1. You must be sure you are working to the very edge of the entire blade along both sides (check with sharpie)

2. Getting your blade down to a 30/40 degree inclusive angle (so you are working the edge as above) in a reasonable amount of working time might require rigging your sharpmaker with coarser media in one way or another - diamond Spyderco stones, sandpaper clipped around the stones...I use small DMT diamond stones leaned against the rods.

Just my experience...I agree that patience is very important.