Idahone V Pro vs. Sharpmaker

T

TedGamble

Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
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I have an EdgePro Apex and a Sharpmaker (with the UltraFine rods). Has anyone ever used the Idahone V Pro unit shown here? http://www.restreview.com/item_reviews/review08.php

Overall, I have been pleased with the S/M, but the extra length of the Idahone rods seem very tempting.

I'd be curious as to how the grit of the stones compare between the Idahone and the S/M, and also the advantage/disadvantage of round vs. flat rods.
 
I've read here at BF that round sticks make it hard to keep from rounding off the tip of your knife. I haven't used round ones like those crock sticks so I can't say from experience, just repeating what I've heard.
 
I used to have one of the first crock stil sharpeners. I don't recall having any trouble with the tip but you have to make sure you stop your stroke just before it slips off of the stone.
 
The system looks nice, but I think the round rods would be a pain. I've rounded a tip or two when I've used the corners on a Sharpmaker before. I think the longer rods would be nice, but I don't think that functionality would outweigh the cost of possibly rounding a tip or two. I just don't think one can beat a Sharpmaker in the crock stick class of sharpening systems. I'd really like to know how it works out if you buy one.
 
I start slow and move the knife down the rod so as the knife touches the base just as the tip reaches the edge of the stone. It takes a little practice but you will get the hang of it pretty quick. I am retired so I just take it slow and easy.:D
 
Rounding tips is not an issue, as I'm very proficient with the Sharpmaker.

I am more curious as to the stability of the rods in the base, the grit comparisons and finished edge vs. the Sharpmaker, and (other than the potential of rounding tips) the advantages/disadvantages between round and triangular rods.
 
I have owned about a half dozen V-rod ceramic hones, including a Sharpmaker, 3 of the standard size Idahones, and one of the big V Pro Idahones. Currently I have one of the standard Idahones in my desk at work and a Sharpmaker and a big V Pro in my kitchen.

Every couple months I lead a group from my church in preparing food at the local soup kitchen. I bring along about 40 kitchen knives. For quick work on long knives the V Pro does a nice job. The medium grit rods are coarser than you find on smaller hones and hence cut faster. Since I have a large number of knives to sharpen and I expect them to get abused I am not a perfectionist about how I process these 40 knives. I do them as intended in the Idahone design. I put the medium rods in the more acute holes and the fine rods in the slightly less acute holes. I do about a dozen strokes on the medium rods with moderate pressure and about 8 strokes on the fine rods using very light pressure (to get a microbevel). It averages out to around 1 minute per knife with some knives needing more work than others. I think the setup is great for kitchen knives. About once a year I rework the knives on my belt sander to keep the bevels thin.
 
Jeff, would you mind commenting on how the grits of the Idahone medium and fine rods compares with the grits of the Sharpmaker medium and fine rods please.
 
Note that the Idahone V Pro is coarser than the smaller-sized Idahones and my following comments relate to the V Pro.

The V Pro medium rod feels like it is around twice as coarse as the Spyderco medium rods. It feels more like a medium aluminum oxide hone than a ceramic hone. I would guess that it feels like 500 grit. It is a totally different beast. It feels distinctly coarser than the edges of the Spyderco rods.

The V Pro fine rod feels a little coarser than the Spyderco fine rod, but it is hard to compare. The round rod has more bite than the flats of the medium Spyderco rods, but less bite than the edges of the medium rods. It really could be anywhere between the medium and fine Spyderco rods.

In general round rods apply more concentrated force on the edge that you are honing than the flats of Spyderco rods and less concentrated force than the edges of the Spyderco rods. This confuses comparisons.

Anyway, the length and the coarseness of the V Pro rods cut faster than the Spyderco rods. They will also leave you with a slightly rougher finish. If you are careful the V Pro rods will leave you with an edge that works well in either slicing or push cutting. It will not leave you with as nice a shaving edge.

Postscript: I thought I should comment on the angles on the V Pro. The lower angle holes (marked with a black dot) are angled at 16.6 degrees (33.2 degrees included angle). The higher angle holes (marked with a white dot) are angled at 21.8 degrees (43.6 degrees included angel). These are slightly less accute than Spydercos nominal 15 degrees and 20 degrees.
 
From Jeff's excellent discussion, I would conclude that the Spyderco is preffered for the average person like me, who just has a few kitchen knives to sharpen, while the Idahone Pro V is better suited for sharpening lots of knives quickly. Is this accurate? How does the small Idahone compare with the Spyderco?
 
I like the results that I get with the Sharpmaker better than the results with the smaller Idahone. I started off with an Idahone and didn't expect to see much difference with a Sharpmaker. I was surprised that I seemed to get better results with the Sharpmaker once I got one. I use the Sharpmaker on most knives most of the time. I have a small Idahone that I got at a garage sale in my office desk. It works well, but if I got a Sharpmaker at a garage sale I would retire the small Idahone.
 
TedGamble,

Out of curiosity are you saying that you like the sharpmaker better then the apex. I have been looking at and apex for a long time thinking that it is what I want but haven't yet pulled the trigger.
 
Are you saying that you like the sharpmaker better than the apex?
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Not at all. I love them both, but the Apex is simply too much to go through for quick touch-ups. A touch-up for me typically requires only 3-5 light passes on the medium rods, followed by 5-10 light passes on the fine rods. This minimal effort is all that is necessary to restore the edge.

I resort to the Apex when the edges require some reprofiling. If I'm going to go through the effort of getting out the Apex, soaking the stones for 30 minutes, then the cleanup afterwards, I need enough work to justify that much effort.
 
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