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

I have had a Sharp Maker for a while and then got a Wicked Edge last Christmas. I still use the Sharp Maker for touch ups. I find it great for keeping a knife sharp. However, it takes some time to re-sharpen a bad edge and/or reprofile an edge. Based on ease of use and value for the money I think the Sharp Maker is excellent.
 
Assuming that you have the white and brown stones it came with, you need to buy two things. 1. The diamond rods for the SM, and 2. a DMT coarse stone.

You can use the DMT, to slim down the profile a lot quicker than you can with anything else. Then progress to the diamond stones @ 30 degrees. From there, you can go through the stones, and polish this bevel, or leave it rough. I find myself liking the coarse grinds these days.

When this is done, go to 40 degrees. Start with your brown stones. This is going to hit the very edge of your blade, also known as the apex. The very edge of your blade will have a bevel of it's own. Also known as a micro bevel. The beauty of this, is when you dull your knife, which is in essence damaging the blade, it's only on the very edge. A quick trip to the brown stones, and a little strop, and boom, shaving again. The micro part, is pretty quick. You should not spend more than 5 or ten minutes on that. You are not trying to cut a huge bevel on the blade.....just a micro one! Lol, hence the name.

I know you seemed a little confused earlier, and I am sure frustrated. This isn't hard! Yes a little tricky to get at first, but when you do, it'll be the cat ass for you. I hope this helps a little! Feel free to ask away, if you have more questions.
 
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Yeah Pord, techniques can vary, but if you will do what L2bravo is suggesting, you will get your knife extremely sharp. The important (and hard) part is getting that 30 degree primary bevel set with a good apex. Once you have that though its a cakewalk. Switch to the 40 degree angle and put that micro bevel on. L2bravos suggestion of 5-10 minutes is probably extremely conservative. If you have good 30 degree primary with an apex, you can do your micro bevel in just a couple of minutes. But if you start trying to mess with the micro bevel before you have your primary bevel established or before you've brought it to an apex, you'll be met with failure and frustration. Getting that shaving edge is the easy part. It's the prep work that you've got to get right. Hope all this is making sense.

P.S. once you've got everything sharp, you can just re-hone the micro bevel from time to time. Takes like a minute!
 
I'm not a fan of sandpaper. Some use it with good luck, I'm not one of them. Look at your knife angle on the 30 degree setting. Make sure it's there, or a little less, when on the stone. There is a lot of muscle memory involved, which takes a lot of passes to get the "feel" of. When you are free handing, consistancy is the key. Sharpie the edge, and you will see that you are/are not hitting the blade in full, on your passes.

I suggest you buy the stuff listed, and you'll have the right tools. Get yourself a beater knife, and work on it. That way you won't be tearing up your good stuff. This will also help you get your diamond rods/stone, broken in. If you want to do this, spend a little money, and do it right. If you cut corners to save a dime, you will get what you get.
 
Whatever you got. Get an old Spyderco if need be. That way you can tell if you are doing right, by at least having decent steel.
 
Pord said:
Rather than a diamond rod couldn't you just use sandpaper wrapped around the stones as an alternative?

Also, how do you know what degree you are holding your blade when you sharpen with a stone? Also, is there a technique you recommend.
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With sandpaper, you have to wrap it tightly because if it's loose, it rounds your edge. If you want a cheap alternative to the diamond rods, you can buy a pair of 240 grit moldmaster stones to clip to your rods. There are triangular stones too but it's iffy if it will fit the sharpmaker base.
 
In case you want something else than sandpaper, this wooden thing can perhaps help:
2012-02-09203742.jpg

If you have a sliding mitre saw like I do, it doesn't take long to build such a thing...
The angle is 30 degrees matching the Sharpmaker setup.
Now any type of stone can be used for the initial grinding.
The extra pieces of wood help accommodate smaller stones, but they are loose, so I can put in larger stones as well.
For the time being, I use some diamond plates bought in a supermarket - they were cheap and cut fast.
 
Very nice work. Well thought out! I don't know about the states, but wood has gotten so dang expensive here in Costa Rica, you'd probably come out cheaper buying the rods.

Nice work, seriously. I love seeing a little ingenuity at work! I'm just being old and grumpy and complaining about inflation. It's what we do when we get old. ;)
 
You can't cut a tree here without a government permit! If one gets hit by lightening or blows down, you can use it. You'd be surprised how often trees just "fall" down here. ;)
 
Nice work Haffner. Very creative, and I am sure that gives you a lot of alteratives. You have me thinking.
 
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