Just got a new Sharpmaker...

B

Billmanweh

Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
606
It's the kit that includes the medium and fine grit stones. I'm going to practice on some dull kitchen knives and SAK knives.

I'm wondering which of the two angles I should use, and would the extra fine or diamond rods be useful?
 
It sort of depends on what kind of sharpening you need done. If the knife is completely dull, it's going to be difficult to properly remove enough metal to raise burrs with the medium and fine grit. The ceramic stones are excellent for touch-ups and maintenance, but you'll need the knife's edge to already have a reasonably sharp edge and geometry for the ceramic to work, otherwise you might just be spending a long time trying to remove material.

You'll most likely want to use the 30 degree setting most of the time, as the acute 20 degree angle would not be touching the actual edge of most production knives.

Diamond rods are much more coarse and better at removing metal, but I personally prefer to use a simple benchstone for any heavy profiling and metal removal.

The ultra fine rods are good to use if you are aiming for a highly polished edge. Though it will probably be better to buy a strop if you want to really finish off any edge from the fine ceramic. The ultra fine just help to polish out the scratches and bridge the gap between the fine stone and a very fine abrasive from stropping.
 
Nice pic!
A little practice and your knives will get scary sharp.
 
If it came with the dvd, then you should watch it a couple of times and alot of questions will be answered. If it didnt come the the dvd, try Youtube and you will find the videos on there.
 
If you have a Sharpmaker system, you should consider the diamond and ultrafine rods "missing" from your system and should buy them immediately. The Sharpmaker is incomplete without them, in my opinion. They will run you back about $60, but you won't regret the purchase. Here's why: the major complaint you will hear from novice Sharpmaker owners is that it takes too long to sharpen a very dull knife (or to reprofile a blade), and the major complaint you will hear from experienced Sharpmaker owners is that the system is better for maintaining edges than for creating edges. Both complaints are addressed by buying the diamond rods. The ultrafine rods are a great addition, too, and really bring an edge to the legendarily high level of refinement characteristic of Spyderco's ultrafine ceramic (in the 306UF bench stone, for example).

Buy them! :D :D :D
 
Cait_Sith said:
You'll most likely want to use the 30 degree setting most of the time, as the acute 20 degree angle would not be touching the actual edge of most production knives.
Click to expand...

The settings are actually 30° (15° each side) or 40° (20° each side).
 
In lieu of the diamond stones (if you are cheap like me), you can wrap the standard "stones" with various grit sandpaper cut to the right size (if you have a really dull blade).

I used twist ties from bread bags to secure the top and bottom, and could carefully slide the different sandpapers on and off the stones.

I want to get the diamond stones at some point, but the sandpaper trick worked on a particular stubborn blade and now the standard stones are fine.
 
Billmanweh said:
I think you talked me into it

:thumbup:
Click to expand...

No worries :) I guarantee you won't regret it. One tip: use less pressure than you think you need with the diamond rods. The diamonds will do all the work themselves, and if you use too much pressure, you can dislodge the diamonds. Patience and light strokes, and you'll very quickly reprofile an edge! :D :D :D
 
I got my diamond and ultra fine rods today. I noticed that the ultra fine looks and feels exactly like the fine. Hmmm

And how are you choosing which angle to sharpen with??
 
The ultra fine and fine stones are actually the exact same stone. It is just the final finishing process for the ceramics that makes the ultra fine a lot more finer in grit.

Believe me, just stick with the 40 degree angles as you probably won't be hitting the edge of the knife with the 30 degree setting.

If you want to make sure you're actually sharpening the knife, just mark the entire edge with a sharpie and try to sharpen the knife on whatever setting you think it is closer to. If the edge isn't being hit, then either you'll need to re-profile the geometry behind the edge to a thinner profile, or use a more obtuse angle, hence use the 40 degree setting.
 
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