How to tell the difference between sharpmaker UF and Fine rods?

L

linguini3

Joined
Feb 21, 2011
Messages
28
Recently put the rods in the washer after a lot of sharpening and when I got them out the Ultra Fine rods had lost their red coating.
Now I'm stuck and can't tell which is which :grumpy:. Has this ever happened to anyone, and does anyone know a quick way to tell the differences?
 
That's a really good question. I recently bought the UF rods and wondered how I'd figure that out myself, if the red tips wore off. Because they're so hard, it would be tricky trying to mark them in some way. I wonder if a permanent marker would mark the ends well enough that it would stay on there for a while. Not sure how you'd tell them apart AFTER you've lost the red coating, though. :-(
 
Use the edge of a knife.

Like you would when sharpening run the edge down the stone, one will feel much smoother. Usually you can tell just by feeling them but sometimes its not that easy. Beyond that you would need to compare scratch patterns.
 
Feel them. One is fine the other is ultra fine. Sorry I had to be the first. Glad you posted this before I put my f and uf rods into the dishwasher. I'll try the sharpy and let you know.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, if I can manage to find them out I'll start taping them or something before I toss them in the washer next time :p
 
knifenut1013 said:
Use the edge of a knife.

Like you would when sharpening run the edge down the stone, one will feel much smoother. Usually you can tell just by feeling them but sometimes its not that easy. Beyond that you would need to compare scratch patterns.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: You should be able to hear the difference. The UF feels more like glass. Test them on the edge of the spine on an old kitchen knife and you should hear, feel and see the difference.
 
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