How sharp can you get a knife with the sharpmaker??

That seems downright incredible when you consider its edge came off the the mediums. (Thinned down or not)

Those of you buying the UF stones should remember they are usually sold individually(read close).
 
GTP2K1 said:
That seems downright incredible when you consider its edge came off the the mediums. (Thinned down or not)

Those of you buying the UF stones should remember they are usually sold individually(read close).
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I've had a bit of practice with the mediums since I like to polish my back bevels and microbevel on the mediums so I still get an aggressive edge but with purty bevels. :)
 
singularity35 said:
I've had a bit of practice with the mediums since I like to polish my back bevels and microbevel on the mediums so I still get an aggressive edge but with purty bevels. :)
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I haven't been able to get my knives to do that yet, but everything else they do with ease. I agree with you, although I own all 4 sets of stones, I can do some damage with the brown stones.

On another note, I have the Spyderco 8'' brown stone as well. It does a pretty good job at polishing a back bevel as well, but I like the SM for the real precision work. YMMV
 
L2bravo said:
I haven't been able to get my knives to do that yet, but everything else they do with ease. I agree with you, although I own all 4 sets of stones, I can do some damage with the brown stones.

On another note, I have the Spyderco 8'' brown stone as well. It does a pretty good job at polishing a back bevel as well, but I like the SM for the real precision work. YMMV
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Can you do it with the fine stones or UF? It's really just the same technique but you do have to have a very light touch on the mediums. That's why I said it's fussy to do with the 20CP. It's much easier to do with say, VG-10 or M4 for instance. I'm guessing though that with a very light touch, the mediums aren't acting like mediums anymore.
 
LOL, no Sir, I can't seem to get them to whittle hair, not with any. I am not saying I'm perfect, but my technique is pretty solid. I can get some burning edges that are amazing. But that one thing escapes me.

On another note, I am highly impressed Sir. Job well done!!! I am inspired!
 
L2bravo said:
LOL, no Sir, I can't seem to get them to whittle hair, not with any. I am not saying I'm perfect, but my technique is pretty solid. I can get some burning edges that are amazing. But that one thing escapes me.

On another note, I am highly impressed Sir. Job well done!!! I am inspired!
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Thanks, sharpening is really mostly just understanding what is happening at the edge while you are abrading the steel. :)
 
singularity35 said:
Thanks, sharpening is really mostly just understanding what is happening at the edge while you are abrading the steel. :)
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I think several on here would be interested to hear you briefly describe your technique. Anything you do which you found helped you get that "little something extra" out of the sm? Like L2Bravo said, I am able to get some extremely sharp edges with the sm, but I can't yet achieve that level. I don't really do much "light touch" sharpening at the end. That may be part of it.

Thanks in advance
 
And on another note, I realize that Lance has good reason for a SE. I also realize they can cut like hell. However, I have zero confidence in sharpening a SE blade on an SM, or anything else for that matter.

I guess I envision them rounding offf the edges, more than honing. Just my fear, for whatever it's worth. I find little value in a partial serrated blade. It's either all or nothing. But would possibly be up for it.

Lance, can you tell us a little more about your technique? I got your last post, but am interested. Thanks, Josh

Edit: As in which stones, angle, how much pressure, and such. You now have me wanting an SE bladed Spyderco.
 
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L2bravo said:
And on another note, I realize that Lance has good reason for a SE. I also realize they can cut like hell. However, I have zero confidence in sharpening a SE blade on an SM, or anything else for that matter.

I guess I envision them rounding offf the edges, more than honing. Just my fear, for whatever it's worth. I find little value in a partial serrated blade. It's either all or nothing. But would possibly be up for it.

Lance, can you tell us a little more about your technique? I got your last post, but am interested. Thanks, Josh

Edit: As in which stones, angle, how much pressure, and such. You now have me wanting an SE bladed Spyderco.
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Funny, I JUST finished sharpening my pac salt. I avoided buying anything serrated over sharpening concerns until I got the sharpmaker. It's much much easier than I expected. The sm does a great job of it.

Ok, first of all, as far as wearing down the serrations and what not....I'm sure it will happen over time. How much time is yet to be seen. I use the knife a lot so it gets several touch ups a week. At that rate, yeah, eventually I will wear em down to the point where they don't function as well. But i think it will take a lot of years. My way of handling that concern is to just not care! ;-). It's a $65 working knife and I'm going to use the crap out of it. If it gets too worn down in a few years I'll bet you dollars to donuts that Sal and company will take care of me one way or another.

Now as far as my technique, hehe, it's kind of caveman style so I don't know if you want to copy me or not. It's quick and seems to be pretty effective though. I use the 40 degree side. I think the trick is to work a small enough area of knife that the rod has time to go in and out of all the serrations. That's why I kind of work the long pac salt blade in thirds. I also work the edge on the downstroke and the upstroke. I think this helps cover the whole serration too. So I pull down and towards me then mirror the action and push up and away. I work the heel section then middle then tip. I do like three or four passes on each section then I make a couple of passes on the back side to remove any burr. On the backside, I tilt the knife and hit it around 5-10 degrees (instead of 20). I'm trying not to remove too much metal from that side. For a touch up I repeat the whole process two or three times and that's all it takes. I haven't let it get dull, so I don't know how much work that would take, but I don't think it would be that big a deal.

One other thing. I think it's important to go relatively slow so as not to "jump" any serrations. I don't get carried away though. I only spend about 3-4 minutes on the whole process and it gets shaving sharp.

Ok, hope some of that made sense. I'm not claiming this is the best way to go about it, but it's what I've been doing and I'm getting pretty good results without a ton of effort.
 
I recalled a member on the spyderco.com forum does the serration sharpening well. Can't search right now, will post when I found it.
 
Chris "Anagarika";12517506 said:
I recalled a member on the spyderco.com forum does the serration sharpening well. Can't search right now, will post when I found it.
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Would love to see it! Thanks Chris
 
Lance, I agree, it's a $65 knife. If I had to buy one a year, because of my use.....who cares. What made you get the SE to begin with? White rods, or brown ones?

I saw those big nasty Kings that you were holding. How did the knife work on them? Thanks again, Josh
 
Honestly, I got a se just to give it a try. I also got it because I catch so many mackerel and thought it would work well cutting steaks. Boy does it! It cuts through the mackerel like a chainsaw.

Btw, Those aren't kings, they are huge Spanish mackerel. I say "huge" cuz the world record is 13 pounds.
 
Wow, those are some giants then! I didn't hawkeye them that close, just figured size = kings. Wow.
 
Pord said:
Hello, I am new to the forums!

Can anyone confirm what was said here? I have been able to get some nice edges with the SM with a few knives, but some dull knives don't seem to budge at all with it!
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Pord, I sharpened a couple of knives this evening. A full size Grip, and an Endura. Every once in a while, I knock down the edges with my fine Norton India stone. I usually have it around 30 ish degrees, or less. Then, I polish that edge with my Spyderco medium Bench Stone. When I do this, it will shave, but the fun is just starting.

I then use my brown rods, @ 30 degrees, and do the corners/flats, for about 75 stokes per side. This is getting your edge trued up. Next, head to the 40 degree setting, with about 30 - 50 strokes on the corners/flats.

I strop on bare leather, between each step. When I am done with this, it will burn hair, like a lazer. As an added bonus, it is VERY easy to maintain. 25 strokes on the 40, and a little stropping, and it is back to new.
 
L2bravo said:
Pord, I sharpened a couple of knives this evening. A full size Grip, and an Endura. Every once in a while, I knock down the edges with my fine Norton India stone. I usually have it around 30 ish degrees, or less. Then, I polish that edge with my Spyderco medium Bench Stone. When I do this, it will shave, but the fun is just starting.

I then use my brown rods, @ 30 degrees, and do the corners/flats, for about 75 stokes per side. This is getting your edge trued up. Next, head to the 40 degree setting, with about 30 - 50 strokes on the corners/flats.

I strop on bare leather, between each step. When I am done with this, it will burn hair, like a lazer. As an added bonus, it is VERY easy to maintain. 25 strokes on the 40, and a little stropping, and it is back to new.
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I stopped counting strokes a long time ago. I just go on with the sharpening until it gets to a level that I'm satisfied with. Only then do I change grits. :)
 
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