More often than not, factory edges on most knives initially come pretty 'thick', with wide edge angles and/or thick grinds behind the edge. Trying to sharpen such edges on the Sharpmaker often generates the very same questions and frustrations from many who try. Usually, it's due to not fully apexing the factory edge; sometimes that's due to the thick edge geometry being outside the 40° inclusive limit of the Sharpmaker, and other times it may just be due to not taking it far enough to reach the apex. That's where the 'Sharpie method' will prove useful, indicating whether or not you're grinding all the way to the apex of the edge.
AUS8 steel is usually easy to deal with; Cold Steel's AUS8 seems to have a good reputation, so I wouldn't be distracted by worrying about the steel itself. The thickness of the edge grind is more likely the issue here. As an example, SOG made good use of AUS8 in some of their older knives; I have an older SOG folder (Twitch XL) with a very thin hollow grind in AUS8. Combined with the very thin grind on that knife, the AUS8 is a breeze and a joy to sharpen, and takes a great edge. For thicker edges, more time will need to be invested to thin the edge grind down a bit (I'd go for 30° inclusive or lower), after which tuning it up on the Sharpmaker should be much, much easier.
David
