I'm getting a sharpmaker tomorrow and I've been reading around for all the tips and tricks to get a better edge.
My main concern is keeping the edge. I hear people hone their edges and that can make their knife last for a few months. Other people just keep resharpening on the sharpmaker? Would you lose too much steel if you sharpened multiple times in a 6 month span? I just want to make sure I won't act in such a way that I'll ruin my knives sooner than later
With the Sharpmaker's standard ceramic rods, it'll be very difficult to remove too much metal. They're great for refining and maintaining an edge that's already in decent shape, but not aggressive enough to remove metal rapidly. Even if you deliberately tried to, the ceramics will load up (clog with 'swarf', i.e. metal dust) and they will slow down considerably. And if you see that, it's a good sign you're taking it too far, or the edge you have on your blade isn't ready for the fine/uf sharpening of the Sharpmaker, and it needs work on more aggressive hones. The Sharpmaker is a great maintenance tool, and if applied under the right circumstances, usually only a few strokes are needed on it to make an edge really sing.
That aside, if you're using ceramics too much, they'll more likely tend to polish the edge to a point where it'll either round off, or the 'bite' (teeth) will be taken out of it, and cutting performance will degrade. The key to sharpening is watching and knowing when to stop. Find ways to test the edge for cutting performance (by slicing paper, etc.), and keep re-testing it as you sharpen. If you see the cutting performance declining/getting worse as you sharpen, then STOP and think about why that is so. It may be due to bad technique (inconsistent angle control or too much pressure; these WILL happen when first learning), or it may just be over-refining the edge to a point where it doesn't cut as well.
As mentioned by others, stropping is the best way to keep the edge up, when it's already sharp and just needs some occasional TLC. Most light uses of a sharp knife will mainly just slightly roll the edge over, and stropping mostly works to straighten it out again. And using abrasive compounds on a strop will also abrade & polish the edge somewhat. As with using the Sharpmaker, stropping is at it's best when clear, positive results are seen within just a handful of passes. When it gets to a point where stropping won't fix it, then it's time to go back to the hard hones.
David
