How good an edge can you get with JUST a Sharpmaker?

Glock Guy

Glock Guy

Joined
Jul 28, 2012
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This is my FIRST post on this awesome forum, and I wanted to make this somewhat of a "Goal" thread for myself.

I'm new to knives and sharpening. I recently picked up the Spyderco Sharpmaker with the UF stones, a strop, 45x loupe (and Sharpie!), and have been sharpening pretty much every knife I can get my hands on for practice.

I've heard a lot of great things about the Sharpmaker system, and even a FEW longtime knife enthusiasts saying that this setup is basically all you'll ever need.

I was wondering if some of you who are "Sharpmaker Masters" could post some pictures of the edges you get using JUST a Sharpmaker, UF Stones and possibly a strop, so I could visualize how high the bar actually is.

Also, if there are any real "Tricks" that helped you attain that edge, posting them here would be a GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
if you want all youll ever need then you need coarse or diamond stones and a mousepad with 220 320 400 600 and up wet/dry sandpaper just sayin

welcome to the forums
 
No pix for you, but I can tell you that a SM and a couple of strops are all that I ever use anymore. I had an Edge Pro and sold it. If I'm in the woods for a few days or a week, I'll take a small Double Stuff Spyderco stone and then use my leather belt for stropping. I don't try to polish my whole edge. I usually put on a 40 deg microbevel and that's the part I maintain. It's a bit shinier than the rest of the edge (the back bevel), but for me, the proof is in it's performance. My edges work the way I want them to, so I'm happy with them coming from a SM and a strop or two.

Sounds like you have everything you need to start with and you're even starting off right by practicing as much as possible to develop your technique. My only suggestion for the future is to think about adding some diamond rods or stones for quicker work when you need to remove some serious steel. You can do this with diamond SM rods, diamond rods or sleeves made by other companies, or diamond stones that you can lean up against the rods to maintain the SM angle.
 
dalefuller said:
No pix for you, but I can tell you that a SM and a couple of strops are all that I ever use anymore. I had an Edge Pro and sold it. If I'm in the woods for a few days or a week, I'll take a small Double Stuff Spyderco stone and then use my leather belt for stropping. I don't try to polish my whole edge. I usually put on a 40 deg microbevel and that's the part I maintain. It's a bit shinier than the rest of the edge (the back bevel), but for me, the proof is in it's performance. My edges work the way I want them to, so I'm happy with them coming from a SM and a strop or two.

Sounds like you have everything you need to start with and you're even starting off right by practicing as much as possible to develop your technique. My only suggestion for the future is to think about adding some diamond rods or stones for quicker work when you need to remove some serious steel. You can do this with diamond SM rods, diamond rods or sleeves made by other companies, or diamond stones that you can lean up against the rods to maintain the SM angle.
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where may i get these sleeves you speak of
 
buckmaster96 said:
where may i get these sleeves you speak of
Click to expand...

Congress makes them, IIRC, www.congresstools.com. And from their web site, it looks like they are rods like the current Spyderco rods. I think my confusion about sleeves was that the earlier Spyderco diamond SM products were sleeves that fit over the existing SM rods. Anyway, Congress makes rectangular and triangular shaped stones, some of which are said to fit the SM base. My own diamond rods are Spydercos but there are a few threads here on BF from people that have used the Congress products.
 
You'll need a coarse stone of some kind. I've been using a green King 220/1000 stone for a while now. Before that I used a coarse DMT stone.

The Sharpmaker will give you an edge that will shave hair above the skin, whittle head hair, fillet paper, push cut newspaper, etc. The UF stones will give an even sharper edge, but I've not used/needed them. I rarely use a strop any more. However, I agree with the above that the Sharpmaker shines when using microbevels. I set a back bevel with my coarse stone from 3-5 degrees lower than the one I use on the Sharpmaker. Then the Sharpmaker only has to refine/polish a very narrow strip of edge, about 1/64" wide or even less.
 
One trick I've been employing recently with my SM, when sharpening a semi-dull blade, is using a back-and-forth "scrub-a-dub" motion on the gray stones. You can get the idea from this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MHe_8wTHmg&list=PLB95E1C271CE6654B&index=23&feature=plpp_video It's faster and it also makes it easier for me to maintain a consistent angle.

After that, I go back to more traditional downward strokes to smooth it out, and then on to the fine and UF stones.

Andrew
 
Depends on how dull. On a knife that's got a pretty decent edge that needs a little work, with good technique and a strop, you should be able to get a scary sharp edge. I suppose there is a limit based on the grit of the stones.

If your edge is very dull, damaged, downright blunt, or in need of a major re-profile, the Sharpmaker will take a month of Sundays to get you there.
 
Thanks for the info so far guys. I really appreciate it.

I have been using the search function a TON, but wanted to narrow the focus quite a bit more with this post.

I DID pull the trigger on some Ruby stones (320 grit) to help out with the problem you mentioned. They were cheap, and from the vids I saw it looks like it will really help out with reprofiling a blade, which seemed to be the biggest limitation with the Sharpmaker.
 
Glock Guy said:
... reprofiling a blade, which seemed to be the biggest limitation with the Sharpmaker.
Click to expand...

Correct. That will be your biggest chore with the SM. Lots of folks use diamond bench stones that they lay up alongside a SM rod to get the 30 degree angle, then swtch to the various rods to refine the edge and add the microbevel. I've tried that. I prefer using rods that actually fit the base whether Spyderco or Congress, just becuse it's quicker and easier.

'Course... you might want to try freehanding the back bevel (the main part of rebeveling a knife blade), then switch to the SM for the 40 degree finishng or microbevel. That could get you some practice freehanding. I used to do that, but my hands aren't steady enough anymore. The SM is a good crutch because I can still hold a pretty straight vertical angle.
 
I just bought a sharpmaker and while they are awesome they don't have enough gusto to rebevel a knife so what I like to do is convex my knives on the worksharp then add a .5 mm or smaller microbevel(40 degrees on choppers and 30 on slicers and man they get sharp ill upload a pic of my 15's egde when I get home
 
Can get hair whittling edges off the brown stones without much problem so I would say more than sharp enough.
 
Thanks for the input so far guys.

I've heard that the UF stones WILL polish a bevel pretty nicely, but have never really seen it done on the SM.

Does anybody have any pictures of some mirrored (or close) edges they have gotten with *just* the SM?
 
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