Help! Sharpmaker 204 dulling my BM

C

Cesar

Joined
Nov 12, 1999
Messages
119
I posted this also on the Spyderco forum but maybe I can get responses from this group too if noone minds.

I recently bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 and used it on my semi-dull ATS-34 Mini AFCK and now the knife is duller than a butter knife. I was using the 30 degree angle (was this the wrong angle and what is a back bevel?) and can't seem to get it sharp!

I'm really starting to get worried. What angle should I use for the AFCK (40 or 30) for utility purposes and what's the difference? Please help! Thanks.
 
You probably aren't actually sharpening the edge, yet. Take a black marker, and run it along the side of the edge. After a few strokes on the sharpener, you will be able to see where the marker has been removed. I'm guessing that there will still be marker alont the edge itself. If so, you will just have to keep grinding away until you are actually sharpening the edge.

As for angles, it depends on what you use the knife for. A thinner edge will cut better, but go dull quicker. In some materials, it will still last long enough that the better cutting efficiency is worth it. In some materials, it will go dull so quickly that a thicker edge would be a better choice. Back-bevelling means that the edge itself is at one angle, and just behind the edge, there is another angle. It's sort of in-between the two angles in terms of durability and cutting efficiency.

--JB

------------------
e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
Unfortunately for you, Cesar, you're sort of getting hit with a double whammy here. Although BM makes very good knives, the biggest complaint levied against them around here concerns their propensity for putting an overly obtuse cutting edge on their blades. Many of us find ourselves wanting to reprofile and thin out the edges on BM knives to increase their cutting efficiency.

Likewise, while most are in agreement that the Spydie 203 is a wonderful product, the one area where this sharpener is often found lacking is in its ability to quickly and efficiently reprofile an edge (as reprofiling requires much more stock removal than simply resharpening an existing edge).

So there you are. You have two products which are very good individually, but just aren't overly compatible with one another at this point. If you own any flat stones but aren't too confident with them yet, you may want use them first to do a majority of the reprofiling and then transition to the Sharpmaker to clean up and finely hone the edge. If you don't have any stones, you can certainly do the entire job with the Sharpmaker, but it's going to take a while.

Beyond that, JB's tip on using the marker is a good one. Also be sure you're getting a burr on one side before flipping over to the other side of the blade. Good luck
smile.gif
.

------------------
Semper Fi

-Bill
 
Thanks for the replies. I do have a bench stone and use it for m Kabar so I guess I'll use it for the AFCK.

Semper fi to you too.
 
isnt that ironic? i always thought sharpeners SHARPEN knives, not dull them.
hmmmm.

------------------
bu then again,what do i know???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top