Proper Use of the Sharpmaker

[tim8557]

After reading a number of these posts I purchased a Sharpmaker and am very pleased with the results. My question is,when resharpening a knife that is still fairly sharp, is it necessary to go through all of the 4 steps with the Sharpmaker or just strop it on the flat side of the "White" rods?

You guys are a lot more knowledgeable than I, so I thank you in advance for your replies.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Once you've gotten your knives sharp, you may only need the Sharpmaker for maintenance. An occasional touchup with just a few strokes on the white rods is fine.

 

[fulloflead]

My question is,when resharpening a knife that is still fairly sharp, is it necessary to go through all of the 4 steps with the Sharpmaker...

No.

...or just strop it on the flat side of the "White" rods?

You could do that...

BUT... (and it's a big one ) I'm willing to bet that the Sharpmaker will get your knives FAR sharper than you're used to and that YOUR definition of "fairly" sharp means that you should start from the beginning.

 

[Hawaiian]

Many knives will not meet the angle of the shapmaker. The first time on a knife, you have to shape the angle and raise a burr. After this is done once, the white stones are fine for touching up a still sharp edge. If it is slightly dull, then the flats of the gray stones will quicken the job, and then on to the whites for the polishing. The gray flats will give you a shaving sharp edge. Not as smooth as the whites, but it will shave.

 

[klattman]

It depends. If your strokes on the whites are really hitting the absolute edge of the blade, then it's fine. If they are not, you need to back up and remove more material.

Use the marker trick. 'paint' the edge with a permanent marker and see where you are sharpening. Marker is easily removed with rubbing alcohol.

If the edge is too dull, you'll be removing material from the edge bevel or the 'shoulder' of the bevel and not the very edge. If you only use fine at this point, you may not be helping the edge/sharpness at all. Then you need to go to a coarser stone.

 

[tim8557]

Thanks for your help guys.