Hair wittling impossible with Sharpmaker white stones?

Most of my sharpmaker rods have imperfections on two of the corners and usually at least one face.
I get the hair shaving edge much easier if I avoid the factory bumps on the rods. (2nd sharpmaker setup... both had bumpy rods)
I've been putting in my time and I can now sharpen any blade, with exception of some serrated blades, to a much finer edge than any sharpening assist system that I've tried.
I wasted a bunch of money on systems, apparently.
Bench stones are all I ever needed.
 
I can easily get a hair poppin edge with the stock white stones on my sharpmaker. However it did take a lot of practice to get the technique down. On nearly all my knives I reprofile them to 30 degrees inclusive using coarse wet/dry wrapped around the rods and then move up in the grits until I have a nice polished edge. I then maintain the edge as needed using the 40 degree setting with the fine rods. Even if I've put off sharpening for a while and the edge will barely shave, it usually only takes about 10 very light strokes to bring the it back to hair poppin. Of course some steels will give you a finer edge than others but you should be able to put the knife against your arm hair and use a very light shaving motion and have the hairs fly off your arm and instead of gathering on the blade right next to the edge, they will pop into the air and fall all around the blade.

However like Me2 said, the Sharpmaker is made exclusively for edge maintenance and not reprofiling. If you wish to reprofile you either need to get the diamond rods or wrap the stock rods in wet/dry. Either way still takes a ton of time.
 
you should be able to put the knife against your arm hair and use a very light shaving motion and have the hairs fly off your arm and instead of gathering on the blade right next to the edge, they will pop into the air and fall all around the blade.
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Which is sharper popping or laying on the blade?

However like Me2 said, the Sharpmaker is made exclusively for edge maintenance and not reprofiling.
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I think Spyderco considers it a sharpener:

The Tri-Angle Sharpmaker (204MF) includes two sets of high alumina ceramic stones: A pair of medium-grit (brown) stones for aggressive sharpening and a set of fine (white) stones for professional grade finishing.
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Just saying :)
 
rub only the brown stones together or i mean across each other. then clean both sets with "bar keepers friend" the best scouring powder ive found to work on the stones. and remember to use light pressure. it will take a while to re-profile a blade with the stones unless the stones are wrapped with wrapped with wet/dry finer grit papers. polish it up with the white stones and u should be fine. light pressure and the same straight up and down angle should get it done.
 
cziv said:
Which is sharper popping or laying on the blade?



I think Spyderco considers it a sharpener:



Just saying :)
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You're knife is sharper than normal shaving sharp when the hairs instantly pop off you're arm and fly all over the surounding area, hence the term "hair poppin sharp". When you use a shaving motion and the hairs collect along the edge instead of popping up, the knife could get a lot sharper. Many use the term "scraping hairs" for this.

Yes Spyderco markets the Sharpmaker as a sharpener and says that the brown rods are aggresive however if you're using anything with edge retention greater than 154 cm you're going to spend a LOT of time with the brown rods. Anyone who has tried it will agree with me there.
 
nevermind35 said:
You're knife is sharper than normal shaving sharp when the hairs instantly pop off you're arm and fly all over the surounding area, hence the term "hair poppin sharp". When you use a shaving motion and the hairs collect along the edge instead of popping up, the knife could get a lot sharper. Many use the term "scraping hairs" for this.

Yes Spyderco markets the Sharpmaker as a sharpener and says that the brown rods are aggresive however if you're using anything with edge retention greater than 154 cm you're going to spend a LOT of time with the brown rods. Anyone who has tried it will agree with me there.
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Thanks never knew that :D
 
nevermind35 said:
You're knife is sharper than normal shaving sharp when the hairs instantly pop off you're arm and fly all over the surounding area, hence the term "hair poppin sharp". When you use a shaving motion and the hairs collect along the edge instead of popping up, the knife could get a lot sharper. Many use the term "scraping hairs" for this.

Yes Spyderco markets the Sharpmaker as a sharpener and says that the brown rods are aggresive however if you're using anything with edge retention greater than 154 cm you're going to spend a LOT of time with the brown rods. Anyone who has tried it will agree with me there.
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I dulled my persistence cutting up sausages on a plate last night in a barbecue. It got really dull so this morning, I took out the SM and spending about 30 mins on it and still couldn't get the 8cr13MoV hair splitting. I decided to use my DMT aligner, spent about 15-20 minutes and got it hair whittling.
 
And singular, I just ordered the Sharpmaker off amazon for $45 shipped. Oh well, I guess with the sandpaper, I can get any dull kitchen knife up to snuff and then maintain them (about 7 to 10) and then my Delica and Peristence on the sharpmaker
 
LawyerSam said:
And singular, I just ordered the Sharpmaker off amazon for $45 shipped. Oh well, I guess with the sandpaper, I can get any dull kitchen knife up to snuff and then maintain them (about 7 to 10) and then my Delica and Peristence on the sharpmaker
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Don't worry, you'll enjoy using it every opportunity you get. I could have gotten my persistence hair whittling on it, just needed a little more time (or patience). I do have the UF rods and they do make a noticeable difference in sharpness.

Make sure that you watch the video at least twice before you start using it and after you've had it for a week watch the video again. You'll understand more subtle things that you missed the first time.
 
singularity35 said:
I dulled my persistence cutting up sausages on a plate last night in a barbecue. It got really dull so this morning, I took out the SM and spending about 30 mins on it and still couldn't get the 8cr13MoV hair splitting. I decided to use my DMT aligner, spent about 15-20 minutes and got it hair whittling.
Click to expand...

I actually sold my Sharpie and went DMT Magna Guide. Whether using the holder or going freehand the DMT Diamond hones are amazing. I don't know why I thought I needed a system. I learned to sharpen a knife from my Dad freehand as a little boy and it was hidden away in my brain (must have been a VERY small spot :) ) because I do great at freehand.

I only wish I had started off with big DMT benchstones before trying all of these systems. It's like riding a bike, you never really forget.
 
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