Looking for advice or suggestions.

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TheEdge01

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Apr 3, 2015
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Hey guys, I currently use the Spyderco Sharpmaker and it does a decent job, but I would like to get my knives sharper. I can get the edge sharp enough to shave hair and slice through paper easily. I also plan on getting some ultra fine rods eventually but I am really wanting to try the honing paste. Unfortunately, nobody around here seems to keep it in stock.
Are there any substitutes that I can use in place of the honing paste, or is it something that I will have to order? I looked around SMKW and they didn't have any, I checked with a couple sporting goods stores I frequent and they didn't have any. An employee at one of my sporting goods stores said toothpaste can be used in place pf honing paste. I haven't tried it because I don't know if the other ingredients in it would have an affect on my blade steel. Does honing paste really help with sharpening or should I just practice with what I have and become more efficient?
 
As long as you apex you should be able to shave. Then get a strop with compound or paste/spray or whatever.

What steel are you sharpening. Cause if you got super steel you could try SiC rods from another place, or spyderco also has cbn or diamond rods which you have to be very gentle with so the abrasives don't fall off.

In any case. If your not getting your knives sharp it's cause your not apexing. This could be because the angle of your blade is not he same angle the sharp maker is set to. And as mentioned a strop is necessary. A strop will remove the bur or wire edge. Once that is gone it should cut great.

Note getting diamonds or cbn won't make your knife sharper. It just cuts faster. They are very coarse. So unless you have super steel there is no need to get them. SiC works well and is more affordable. Anyway, I'm sure there will be more great posts below with some more great advice.
 
Mo2 said:
As long as you apex you should be able to shave. Then get a strop with compound or paste/spray or whatever.

What steel are you sharpening. Cause if you got super steel you could try SiC rods from another place, or spyderco also has cbn or diamond rods which you have to be very gentle with so the abrasives don't fall off.

In any case. If your not getting your knives sharp it's cause your not apexing. This could be because the angle of your blade is not he same angle the sharp maker is set to. And as mentioned a strop is necessary. A strop will remove the bur or wire edge. Once that is gone it should cut great.

Note getting diamonds or cbn won't make your knife sharper. It just cuts faster. They are very coarse. So unless you have super steel there is no need to get them. SiC works well and is more affordable. Anyway, I'm sure there will be more great posts below with some more great advice.
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I have knives with different blade steels such as Elmax, 154cm, etc. I can get them pretty sharp with my Sharpmaker, but I would like to get them even sharper. At this time, I only have the medium and fine ceramic rods it came with. I strop with a plain leather strap with no compound. I would like to get some compound to strop with but none of the stores in my area seem to carry it. Is it worth the trouble to order some, or can I substitute it with something that is more common and easier to find?
 
It's worth buying compound online. But I think I found some at ace hardware I would assume some of the other big hardware stores may carry some, but I dunno.

Congress tools offer a variety of SiC rods that fit the Sharpmaker. online tho. Search congress tools to find the size and info. If u can't find it lmk I can search for it for you. 154cm should be fine with without them tho. if you want to go through multiple different grits on the Sharpmaker this is a good option. They don't offer that fine in SiC tho. You'll have to find another option like the Spyderco fine and ultrafine rods.

Elmax has some vanadium in it which u could help with different stones. Then use the fine spyderco sharp maker stone to finish and then strop with compound.

You could get three strops (don't use the different compounds on the same strop and don't put them on top of each other) , get 3 micron, 1 micron and point 5 or point 25 micron. That should mirror up your edge.

But regardless of that. As long as you apex your edge it should be sharp enough. Refining the scratch pattern with multiple different grits will make it less toothy, but still be sharp. Some folks get to a point where they can shave hair or fishing line. I assume that's what you want?
 
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Mo2 said:
It's worth buying compound online. But I think I found some at ace hardware I would assume some of the other big hardware stores may carry some, but I dunno.

Congress tools offer a variety of SiC rods that fit the Sharpmaker. online tho. Search congress tools to find the size and info. If u can't find it lmk I can search for it for you. 154cm should be fine with without them tho. if you want to go through multiple different grits on the Sharpmaker this is a good option.

. Elmax has some vanadium in it which u could help with different stones. Then use the fine spyderco sharp maker stone to finish and then strop with compound.

You could get three strops (don't use the different compounds on the same strop and don't put them on top of each other) , get 3 micron, 1 micron and point 5 or point 25 micron. That should mirror up your edge.

But regardless of that. As long as you apex your edge it should be sharp enough. Refining the scratch pattern with multiple different grits will make it less toothy, but still be sharp. Some folks get to a point where they can shave hair or fishing line. I assume that's what you want?
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Thanks for the info. Yes, I would like to move from a hair shaving edge to a hair splitting edge. I have improved my knife sharpening skills quite a bit the past year or so. Now I am getting bored with my current knife edges and would like to improve some.
 
I didn't think about checking with a hardware store. There is a lowes on the next county about 40 minutes away. I checked online and Lowes carries sharpening compounds. What would be a good brand to start with? For best results what should I apply the compound to?
 
Well I'd you want more options you can get actual stones that can go up into very fine territory and learn freehand (if you don't already know how) or get a guided system that has a plethora of stone choices too and get precise edge geometry. Sharp maker is kinda limited to the rods available for it.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
There is very little skill to using a guided sharpener.
Learn to freehand sharpen.
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This. I still like my Sharpmaker, it's what I got started with, and still has its uses. For instance, the triangle rods make it really easy to sharpen serrated home tools like bread knives, and recurves if you have any blades. Also I used the ceramic rods handheld to sharpen some of my knives freehand.

But OP, you said you want to get a higher level of sharpness. The way to take it to the next level IMHO is not to keep trying to wring it out of Sharpmaker, because it's a jig-based system that only gives you 2 angles and those tiny little rods and a limited set of sharpening abrasives and grits to choose from. It's an ok system for basics, but is inherently limiting. To take it to the next level, as Bill said, it's time to learn freehand. :-)
 
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