I just recently received the Sharpmaker in the mail and have been working the blade on my Kershaw Ken Onion. I probably should've practiced on some other knives first but I was impatient to get the edge back on my carry knife so I jumped right in.
I've managed to get it decently sharp with the 30 degree setting (and without having ground off half the blade, as I feared that I might). Not really shaving the hair of my arm, but if I scrape the first couple of layers of skin off the hair comes with it. It's sharper than it was NIB, anyway. I'm feeling more comfortable with the whole movement and am even using the rods, freehand, for little adjustments. Basically, I'm having fun. It's relaxing, meditative. I was just looking for the easiest method (under $125) but I might have found more than I was hoping for in the whole process. Maybe some stones next, eh?
My problem is with the tip. It was pretty bad. I had to reshape it slightly to get a point back on it and am pretty happy with the result, but I'm having problems getting an even edge to the tip. The bevel surface is narrower as it nears the tip (am I making sense?), which seems necessary to get a good point, but it's uneven. I'm having problems at the tip of the blade as I pull it against the sharpening rod, seems that I'm pushing the point sideways against the rod as I reach the end of the movement. Am I pushing too hard or is this something that I'll just have to teach myself to adjust for? I'm brand new to sharpening (had a stone with my hollow-handled $10 survival knive as a kid that I used to pretend to sharpen my knife with) and would greatly appreciate any tips that you guys can give me to help me start putting dangerous edges on everything around me.
THANKS.
I've managed to get it decently sharp with the 30 degree setting (and without having ground off half the blade, as I feared that I might). Not really shaving the hair of my arm, but if I scrape the first couple of layers of skin off the hair comes with it. It's sharper than it was NIB, anyway. I'm feeling more comfortable with the whole movement and am even using the rods, freehand, for little adjustments. Basically, I'm having fun. It's relaxing, meditative. I was just looking for the easiest method (under $125) but I might have found more than I was hoping for in the whole process. Maybe some stones next, eh?
My problem is with the tip. It was pretty bad. I had to reshape it slightly to get a point back on it and am pretty happy with the result, but I'm having problems getting an even edge to the tip. The bevel surface is narrower as it nears the tip (am I making sense?), which seems necessary to get a good point, but it's uneven. I'm having problems at the tip of the blade as I pull it against the sharpening rod, seems that I'm pushing the point sideways against the rod as I reach the end of the movement. Am I pushing too hard or is this something that I'll just have to teach myself to adjust for? I'm brand new to sharpening (had a stone with my hollow-handled $10 survival knive as a kid that I used to pretend to sharpen my knife with) and would greatly appreciate any tips that you guys can give me to help me start putting dangerous edges on everything around me.
THANKS.