Ready to give up on the white sharpmaker stones

chickenfried

chickenfried

Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
1,065
I've had my sharpmaker for ~1 year. Using the corners then flats, of the brown stones. My knives get sharp enough to shave hair. When I switch to the white stones my knives can no longer shave. Tried multiple knives, making sure stones were clean, and using a very light touch(after searching on bladeforums). But I always end up redoing the knife on the brown stones. Any other hints or tips?
 
Maybe there is something wrong with your stones? That doesn't sound right at all.
 
I'm giving it one more try............

Here's a stupid question :o . Is it possible, even though it can't shave hair it's still sharper?
 
Thanks for the link, I've been looking for that. Can't find the encyclopedia section of bladeforums.
 
Definitely sounds like a problem with the stones. Are the white stones warped at all? What sort of knives are you sharpening? The blade should shave hair easier after it's sharpened on the fine stones.
 
Try using only the 30-degree slots, don't use the 40-degree slots at all. On the white rods only use the flats. Do 95% of your sharpening with the dark rods and only a few final strokes on the white rods. Be sure that you do all your honing while alternating sides left-right-left-right etc.
 
Thanks for replies, guys :) . I'll answer em one by one.

They aren't warped as far as I can tell. 710 M2 which responds the best to being sharpened on the sharpmaker. Sebenza, Manix, and Native in S30V.
cerulean said:
Are the white stones warped at all? What sort of knives are you sharpening?
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I'll try switching to the flat whites after the flat browns. I'm a little reluctant to try the 30 degree slots after reading what a pain it is with M2 and S30V on here.

I do alternate left-right.
Jeff Clark said:
Try using only the 30-degree slots, don't use the 40-degree slots at all. On the white rods only use the flats. Do 95% of your sharpening with the dark rods and only a few final strokes on the white rods. Be sure that you do all your honing while alternating sides left-right-left-right etc.
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Yes, on both sides. However I should have said doesn't shave as well, rather then doesn't shave in my original post.
Cliff Stamp said:
On both sides?

-Cliff
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Thanks for the detailed response, Chicken Fried! :)

It sounds like you're mostly having problems with S30V? If so, there could be micro chips in the edge that the white rods can't remove (and may even create).
 
I have the same problem. I like my knives on the brown stones, but the white stones just dull the blade.
 
Does the edge from the brown rods shave cleanly on both sides? What do the fine stones feel like if you run your finger tip down them?

-Cliff
 
Hi Chickenfried,

use a lighter stroke on the white corners and pay special attention to keep the knife perpendicular to the table. If you use the white flats, an even lighter stroke.

The white stones are very hard and have no problem "pushing" the very thin edge around.

sal
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. Yes, the edge from the brown shaves on both sides. I wouldn't exactly say cleanly, shaving cleanly makes me think of shaving with a straight razor. Here's my popeye forearm after I've sharpened my knives. Okay it's my leg. :p
293402117_6d7b70c73c.jpg



The white stones feel very smooth. No abrasiveness to them, that I can tell/feel.

Cliff Stamp said:
Does the edge from the brown rods shave cleanly on both sides? What do the fine stones feel like if you run your finger tip down them?

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Wow! I can't believe the founder of the company is answering my question :thumbup: . I'll take your advice and try a few more times.
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Chickenfried,

use a lighter stroke on the white corners and pay special attention to keep the knife perpendicular to the table. If you use the white flats, an even lighter stroke.

The white stones are very hard and have no problem "pushing" the very thin edge around.

sal
Click to expand...
 
chickenfried said:
Wow! I can't believe the founder of the company is answering my question :thumbup: . I'll take your advice and try a few more times.
Click to expand...

Aint he great:o
I probally wouldn't be the Spydie fan I am if it wasn't for the feeling of having a direct line of comunication with the big guy himself.

But, back to the topic... I used to have the EXACT same problem, my white rods seemed to dull the edge after using the browns. Now I only use the whites very lightly after getting the blade shaving sharp on the browns.
 
With relatively obtuse honing angles like 20-degrees per side you may be relying on slight edge raggedness to grab onto your hair when you shave. When you remove the raggedness (microserrations) with the white stones the edge slides over the hair shafts rather than digging into them. With a lower honing angle a smooth edge will bite into the hair shafts. I use more like 12-degrees per side to get decent shaving action with a smooth edge. If you are going to use 20-degrees per side keep using the medium rods. They will probably work better for you in several different ways.
 
Tweakmeister said:
Sharpmaker DVD mentions cleaning the stones from time to time too. Might just be a buildup of metal.
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Clean them often. I almost always clean them with every knife, unless I am doing a marathon seesion for family or friends. I recently got the Spyderco benchstones and with thier larger surface area they are much less prone to burring and loading up, and you can lean them against the sharpmaker stones for an angle guide.
 
As the edge gets sharper the strokes need to be lighter and very accurate. That edge is sharp because it is thin which makes it easy to bend side to side and eventually break off.
 
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