I just got the Spyderco Sharpmaker!!!

The Sharpmaker is great for maintaining edges, but the grits are too fine for sharpening a really dull knife in a reasonable amount of time, or for changing edge angles. I tried the diamond rods and wasn't very impressed, ended up getting an Edge Pro. Years later, for serious edge re-work, I use the Edge Pro or my stationary belt sander, but the final edge is always on my Sharpmaker. When I've already used on of the "fast material removal" sharpeners, the Sharpmaker is all that gets used. :)
 
The sharpmaker is great. You can get other stones from Congress Tools that make reprofiles a breeze. You can get hair whittling edges on the sharpmaker it just takes practice. With a strop you can get them super sharp after using the stones.
[video=youtube;mIaUDA4c-Gw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIaUDA4c-Gw[/video]
 
Best advice I have is to listen to the sound the knife is making running down the stones. If it sounds slick, you're in. If it is grinding and skipping, you are making the knife dull.

Took me about 5 tries to get the technique down, now it's easy
 
Yo Mama said:
Best advice I have is to listen to the sound the knife is making running down the stones. If it sounds slick, you're in. If it is grinding and skipping, you are making the knife dull.

Took me about 5 tries to get the technique down, now it's easy
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! I just tried your listening technique on a quick touch up and it worked like a charm! This is some of the best advice I've read about the sharpmaker so far.
 
Yo Mama said:
Best advice I have is to listen to the sound the knife is making running down the stones. If it sounds slick, you're in. If it is grinding and skipping, you are making the knife dull.

Took me about 5 tries to get the technique down, now it's easy
Click to expand...

If you are using proper technique you should NEVER be actively making the knife dull. At worst you would be "non-sharpening," but you should never actually be dulling the edge...

Here's my technique with the sharp maker. I still use it to this day, and many hundreds of people have told me that my method works excellent for them. :)


[video=youtube;-MHe_8wTHmg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MHe_8wTHmg[/video]
 
If you are using proper technique you should NEVER be actively making the knife dull. At worst you would be "non-sharpening," but you should never actually be dulling the edge...
Click to expand...

If you overextend the angle, the edge is then rubbing across the stone more perpendicular.

Thanks for the tip! I just tried your listening technique on a quick touch up and it worked like a charm! This is some of the best advice I've read about the sharpmaker so far.
Click to expand...

Good to hear. I love the sharpmaker, fits most of my needs, even in the field sometimes.
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
If you are using proper technique you should NEVER be actively making the knife dull. At worst you would be "non-sharpening," but you should never actually be dulling the edge...

Here's my technique with the sharp maker. I still use it to this day, and many hundreds of people have told me that my method works excellent for them. :)


[video=youtube;-MHe_8wTHmg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MHe_8wTHmg[/video]
Click to expand...
I am testament to this. Lol
 
I love my sharpmaker it's a great system for maintaining a sharp edge. Perhaps they should call it the sharpkeeper. It might be my inexperience in sharpening, but I can never seem to get my edges as sharp as I would like even after a stropping. I'm thinking of either getting some stropping compound or getting the ultra fine rods in the near future to see if that will give me the scary sharp edge that I'm looking for.
 
FoxholeAtheist said:
The Sharpmaker is great for maintaining edges, but the grits are too fine for sharpening a really dull knife in a reasonable amount of time, or for changing edge angles.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. I'm perhaps hindered because I have the older sharpmaker that only has one angle. I bought a DMT coarse/xtra coarse stone and cut a block of wood to hold the DMT very slightly steeper than the sharpmaker. I use the DMT to reprofile an edge and/or do rough sharpening on something that is very dull. Then I finish it on the sharpmaker. I'm not an expert but this system gets me to a usable edge.

DSC_6642b.jpg
 
Exactly, that's not using the system properly.
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Question is how to know you're doing it correctly, which is what I was referring to. There is a way to know if you're in or not.
but you should never actually be dulling the edge...
Click to expand...
I was trying to discuss how you could dull edge with improper technique. . Maybe I was unclear. Thanks.
 
The sharpmaker was my only sharpener for about three years. I used it and a leather strop and got some damn good edges. I mostly use an Edge Pro now but still use the Sharpmaker sometimes when I want a quick, sharp edge. Fantastic tool from Spyderco:thumbup:
 
FoxholeAtheist said:
The Sharpmaker is great for maintaining edges, but the grits are too fine for sharpening a really dull knife in a reasonable amount of time, or for changing edge angles. I tried the diamond rods and wasn't very impressed, ended up getting an Edge Pro. Years later, for serious edge re-work, I use the Edge Pro or my stationary belt sander, but the final edge is always on my Sharpmaker. When I've already used on of the "fast material removal" sharpeners, the Sharpmaker is all that gets used. :)
Click to expand...

I just got my Sharpmaker and I love it. I'm still getting the hang of it but it really does work. I could never sharpen an knife before, now I'm consistently getting phone book paper slicing edges with just the stones that it came with. I think after a few more blades I'll get even better, plus I still need to get the ultra fine rods and a strop.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it yet, but there are a few others things you should get to go along with your Sharpmaker. Get a set of the ultra fine rods, a nice strop, and some sandpaper. You will then have a complete system that can tackle almost any sharpening job.

Actually the Sharpmaker can be utilized to reprofile an edge by just wrapping 150-220 grit sandpaper around the stones. It's much much cheaper than buying the diamond stones, which a lot of people don't care for anyways. I reprofiled my Paramilitary 2 with a back bevel of 30 degrees and micro bevel of 40 degrees. It went very quickly using 220 grit sandpaper. Here are a couple vids that describe the technique.

[video=youtube;IK4K0Ox347k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK4K0Ox347k&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;FemYXS8p_tI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FemYXS8p_tI&feature=plcp[/video]
 
I have bought a Sharpmaker recently but, have yet to try it out. Thanks to the OP and all of you who posted all of this great info.
 
I realized that my post might have seemed damning of the Sharpmaker, so I want to amend that a bit. The SM is a great sharpener, as long as it works with the bevels your knife already has. The only failing I find with it is if you need to perform more rapid material removal. I do some sharpening for pay on the side, and for anyone who asks about doing it themselves, I push them towards the Sharpmaker. I've also given several as gifts, and the recipients love them. :)
 
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