No more Sharpmaker

H

houtex

Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
286
My father in law has taken my sharpmaker and won't give it back,so now I'm looking for something new. I was happy with the sharpmaker but is there something else I should consider? Grinder,paper wheels?
 
houtex said:
My father in law has taken my sharpmaker and won't give it back,so now I'm looking for something new. I was happy with the sharpmaker but is there something else I should consider? Grinder,paper wheels?
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Have you thought about hiring a hit man .... ;) :)

Slightly more seriously, have a look at the Apex Edgepro. I'm pretty happy with mine. You could always get another Sharpmaker too. I have both and they are perfect for different tasks.
 
If the Sharpmaker has helped with your angle control, you might consider going to benchstones. As long as you dont have any serrated edges, I find benchstones to work just as well. I've recently started using my King coarse/fine combo stone and a strop and getting sharper edges than from the Sharpmaker. I use the Sharpmaker for touch ups in between, and my bench stone angles are slightly less than the Sharpmaker angles for microbeveling with the Sharpmaker. This cuts sharpening time a lot. Of course, you can always strop after the Sharpmaker too. Many people swear by the Norton combo bench stones and the edge they get from a Fine India stone. It will shave and even whittle hair with practice, and has quite a bit of tooth left. The combo stones are about half the price of a new Sharpmaker, and will rebevel knives as well as do final sharpening.
 
Can't hurt the F-I-L,love him like he was my own Dad. Though I have thought about it.
I have several knives in my EDC rotation,so after using one up,it goes to the back of the line and waits for a touch up. Most of my knives are Kershaws which mean recurves and some are serrated. The SM has been good but just haven't looked at anything else since I've had it. I can get a good edge with it but I don't think anything has ever come up SCARY sharp. I didn't mind using the SM but it did seem to take a little,very little time to set up,use and then clean. Then I would use the back of a notebook to finish it off. Can I eliminate some of these steps with another product?
 
I don't know your situation or why a grown man took something away from you but what is to say it won't happen again?

It seems like if there is a chance your sharpening equipment could be taken away from you again that you would want something cheap and easily hidden.

I would usually suggest the paper wheels but that takes a dedicated work area for the most part. I would suggest a cheap bench stone and learn to freehand or start putting a convex edge on your knives and using a mouse pad and sand paper.

However, I would really suggest you go have a man to man talk with the father in law and keep a cool head and address the reasoning behind him taking your property. If it is because you are young then make sure you don't do anything to lose your cool and let him know you are mature enough to be using your own tools. To me, this seems like the main problem that needs to be addressed.

Good luck.
 
If you were happy with your Sharpmaker, buy another.

For Christmas, give your father-in-law the box the old one came in. :p
 
My father in law liked the sharpmaker sooo much that he just had to have it. He kept borrowing it so finally I said keep it. He was very grateful. I was just thinking am I missing out on something else. I got alot of reading to do now on paper wheels. Thanks for the replys everyone.
 
if you want to save yourself some reading send me your number and i'll give you a ring. i can fill you in on the wheels and answer any questions you might have.
 
richard j said:
you mentioned the best option in your first post. go read how many guys have went to the wheels. check out the vids at my website if you havent already. http://sites.google.com/site/richardjsknives/
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I'm going to launch into a bit of homespun philosophy, let's call it it 'Zen and the Art of Sharpening'. :)

While I'm certain that the wheels give an excellent result in the shortest amount of time, and those of you looking to do that should definitely talk to Richard, (who is, by all accounts a great guy), I have a different mindset on sharpening. To me it's also the journey, as well as the destination. I like setting up the tools and slowly getting that polished edge and hair splitting sharpness after which I clean and pack everything away. Relaxing, refreshing and clears the mind.

I'm thinking of getting some good quality water stones and learning how to use those properly. The next stage into the zen state of relaxation. :)
 
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