Questions about Spyderco sharpmaker and diamond stones getting dull

[maximus83]

Ok, so I took what I decided was the "general consensus" of the advice and I ordered a DMT 2-side 10" stone (coarse/extra-coarse) for heavy sharpening and re-profiling duties. Initially, I thought the 8" would be enough (and it would, for MOST of my knives), but then I saw multiple people in other threads say sharpening goes easier with a 10" stone, and also that the extra-coarse grit would come in handy, so I went with the 10".

Hopefully this was a good choice, kinda pricey, but then, it seems like most good sharpening options get spendy in a hurry. My general thought here was to get something that could do some aggressive cutting/profiling in a hurry when needed, then I can use my existing Sharpmaker (with the included stones, plus I have both diamond and ultra-fine stone sets as well) to finish up and put nice edges on stuff. Ultimately, I guess we all have our preferences, I'm not a professional so I don't strictly NEED a dedicated electrical sharpener, and I really liked the idea of learning to sharpen by hand with stones. I already kind of enjoy using Sharpmaker, altho as I said above, on tough jobs, it takes a bit too long.

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/DMTW250CXWB/dmt-w250cx-wb-10-inch-duosharp-bench-stone/

Thanks for all the advice, gents.

 

[MTHall720]

What skyhorse said.Also I never use the Sharpmaker for removing much metal.I use it only for touching up an edge.For reprofiling an edge I use diamond benchstones.

Same here. For really dull knives, or doing anything like a little reprofiling I use a coarse DMT Benchstone, then the Medium DMT, and then go to the Sharpmaker.