OK guys, here's the deal. I'm looking for an idiot-proof sharpening method for my knives that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg (after all, I'll need those to test the hair shaving sharpness of my blades hopefully!) And when I say idiot-proof, trust me, I mean it, I'm totally new to sharpening. I would have liked to learn how to do it on traditional benchstones, but I don't think there's any hope for me there, so I'm turning here for advice. Thanks for any suggestions.
Idiot-Proof Sharpening Help
- Thread starter freekboi
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- Dec 20, 2006
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It's hard to go wrong with the Spyderco Sharpmaster. I had been sharpening freehand ever since I got my first knife (around 1945 I think). I got a Sharpmaster recently and now use it for almost everything except kitchen cutlery. The device is designed for 30° and 40° bevels, which is adequate for all the knives I have.
Richard
Richard
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- Nov 20, 2006
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I got a Spydie Sharpmaker with the ultrafine stones as a gift a long while back. Great stuff. Now my dilemma.
I just acquired a beautiful custom damascus Gyuto. Problem is I'm afraid to use it because it'll get dull eventually and it's sharpened to 10 degrees per side, which the sharpmaker can't handle. And my freehand sharpening skills can't handle that either.
Are there any sharpmaker add-ons or mods that could help me with this?
I just acquired a beautiful custom damascus Gyuto. Problem is I'm afraid to use it because it'll get dull eventually and it's sharpened to 10 degrees per side, which the sharpmaker can't handle. And my freehand sharpening skills can't handle that either.
Are there any sharpmaker add-ons or mods that could help me with this?
gunmike1
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Just use the sharpmaker at 15 degrees per side to add a microbevel. It will sharpen in only a few strokes, and you will be very happy with the results. IMO this is where the Spyderco Sharpmaker comes into it's own, just adding a microbevel. The microbevel will be so small you won't be able to see it or sense any loss in cutting ability. After several microbevel sharpenings you will need to reset the whole bevel again to 10 degrees per side, but it won't be that often, maybe every couple months, or every year depending on how much you use and sharpen the blade. After being on the forums here for a while, and particularly when Cliff Stamp answered a few of my sharpening questions I figured out for myself that microbevels are the best way to sharpen. It minimizes the amount of steel you remove per sharpening, and the ease of sharpening goes up tremendously.
FYI, from Jeff Clark's posts I learned that if you put a rod under the sharpmaker base in the middle and tilt the whole base you get about 10 degrees per side. In my pre-DMT X coarse benchstone days I used that method, along with my Diamond Sharpmaker rods to reprofile to 10 degrees per side, and my trig says the edge was right around 10.5 degree per side, so it definately works.
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It's so easy even I could use it.
It's about $40-50 depending on where you shop, but if you don't want to learn freehand sharpening straight out of the gate, it's unbeatable.
It's about $40-50 depending on where you shop, but if you don't want to learn freehand sharpening straight out of the gate, it's unbeatable.
gunmike1
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Very easy, follow the instructions (watch the video) to get used to it, and remember that light pressure is all it takes. Pressing harder makes your results worse. It can be found for just over $40 at various places online.
It's not that I don't want to learn freehand sharpening, just the opposite actually, I'd learn to love to sharpen freehand on stones just like my grandfather used to. It's just one of those skills I never really picked up. The last time I attempted it I seem to have turned an already dull knife into a superdull butterknife!
I don't really know what I'm doing wrong, as there's no one around to coach me, and on the above mentioned poor college student budget I really can't afford to ruin my knives and go buy new ones. So I'm therefore looking for something even I can't mess up.- Joined
- Nov 16, 2002
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- 9,948
The problem is that anyone can mess up any knife with any and every sharpening method out there. They all remove steel so that potential exists.
The Sharpmaker removes very little steel and you operate it by holding the knife so its edge is pointing straight down as you run the knife across the hones. It works great for regular blades, curved blades, serrated blades, and all sorts of tools with cutting surfaces (scissors, clippers, potato peelers, chisels, gouges). There's all kinds of info in its accompanying video (DVD these days; vhs when I got mine) and you can learn how to adapt it to fine-tune your edges by searching out posts from Jeff Clark in this The Toolshed subforum.
My comments about not wanting to learn freehand right out of the gate meant you want a sharp blade now and want to learn handsharpening later. The Sharpmaker will do that by working now and get your hands acquainted to skills which will matter when you do graduate to freehand sharpening (holding a steady position and developing a light touch).
The Sharpmaker removes very little steel and you operate it by holding the knife so its edge is pointing straight down as you run the knife across the hones. It works great for regular blades, curved blades, serrated blades, and all sorts of tools with cutting surfaces (scissors, clippers, potato peelers, chisels, gouges). There's all kinds of info in its accompanying video (DVD these days; vhs when I got mine) and you can learn how to adapt it to fine-tune your edges by searching out posts from Jeff Clark in this The Toolshed subforum.
My comments about not wanting to learn freehand right out of the gate meant you want a sharp blade now and want to learn handsharpening later. The Sharpmaker will do that by working now and get your hands acquainted to skills which will matter when you do graduate to freehand sharpening (holding a steady position and developing a light touch).
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There is always a learning curve on any new skill you want to acquire. Even though the Spyderco Sharpmaker makes sharpening relatively easy, you still have to develop your hand dexterity to sharpen on the Sharpmaker. Just take your time, watch the Sharpmaker video and you should be okay.
Trust me, I know that no skill worth mastering is totally easy and idiot-proof. I'm just looking for something that will help to cut down on the learning curve a little and maybe help me save my knives. I think I will go with the sharpmaker. I have a few old beater knives I can use to practice on and save my better blades. Thanks for the advice guys.