- Joined
- Aug 23, 2009
- Messages
- 119
I've been using the GATCO system for about 2 months now. I bought the basic kit with the all metal clamp. I also bought the course diamond hone to save wear on the stones + the finishing hone. I watched and read everything I could find on the GATCO before I bought it - most basically contained the same info. My early results were terrible. I've found a few tricks that worked for me, hopefully someone here will find them useful.
1. Turn the whole thing upside down. The typical way to use the GATCO is with the stones/diamonds facing down. This approach has the obvious flaw of not being able to see what you're doing very well. You might ask - "It's a guided system, what do you need to see?" It makes a big difference, especially in the blade belly/tip area. I think it's important to have as much of the hone in contact with the edge as possible at all times. This prevents rounding the tip, and is also makes it much harder to rock the hone - much more stable and repeatable in general. Turning the whole assembly upside down gives you the same view as if you were using a bench stone. It is awkward at first, but has made a huge difference for me.
2. The bur. I'm a noob sharpener, but I suppose it's common knowledge that you don't want to form too large of a bur. Just get to the point where you can barely feel it - then switch sides. Then progress through the finer hones. Too big a bur won't smooth out, it will chip. Less is more.
3. The diamond hones. The one i received was very uneven, with some diamonds so high that they butted against the edge and wouldn't move. Again, it's common knowledge that some diamond hones require a break-in period. My advice - don't use a new hone on your edge. Run it against the spine of your blade, or a piece of scrap to knock down the high spots first.
4. Use a magnifier after each stage. Maybe not necessary for some, but critical for those in the learning stages - like me. Checking your progress as you go will save a lot of wasted time and effort. I use a 10x lighted magnifier and it is more than enough to see any scratches or chips.
5. Checking the bevel. I made a small 20 degree wedge out of an old credit card glued to a match stick. The base of the wedge is about 1/4" long. Placing the wedge against the blade/hone vertex allows me to gauge my progress towards my personal preference of a 40 degree inclusive bevel.
My current system is to use the GATCO to set the edge bevel, and the Sharpmaker for touch-ups. I think this is a good approach for noob sharpeners. My thanks to everyone here, I have learned a lot on this forum.
1. Turn the whole thing upside down. The typical way to use the GATCO is with the stones/diamonds facing down. This approach has the obvious flaw of not being able to see what you're doing very well. You might ask - "It's a guided system, what do you need to see?" It makes a big difference, especially in the blade belly/tip area. I think it's important to have as much of the hone in contact with the edge as possible at all times. This prevents rounding the tip, and is also makes it much harder to rock the hone - much more stable and repeatable in general. Turning the whole assembly upside down gives you the same view as if you were using a bench stone. It is awkward at first, but has made a huge difference for me.
2. The bur. I'm a noob sharpener, but I suppose it's common knowledge that you don't want to form too large of a bur. Just get to the point where you can barely feel it - then switch sides. Then progress through the finer hones. Too big a bur won't smooth out, it will chip. Less is more.
3. The diamond hones. The one i received was very uneven, with some diamonds so high that they butted against the edge and wouldn't move. Again, it's common knowledge that some diamond hones require a break-in period. My advice - don't use a new hone on your edge. Run it against the spine of your blade, or a piece of scrap to knock down the high spots first.
4. Use a magnifier after each stage. Maybe not necessary for some, but critical for those in the learning stages - like me. Checking your progress as you go will save a lot of wasted time and effort. I use a 10x lighted magnifier and it is more than enough to see any scratches or chips.
5. Checking the bevel. I made a small 20 degree wedge out of an old credit card glued to a match stick. The base of the wedge is about 1/4" long. Placing the wedge against the blade/hone vertex allows me to gauge my progress towards my personal preference of a 40 degree inclusive bevel.
My current system is to use the GATCO to set the edge bevel, and the Sharpmaker for touch-ups. I think this is a good approach for noob sharpeners. My thanks to everyone here, I have learned a lot on this forum.
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