Recommendations on Ceramic Sharpening Kits

BlueFlintHawk

BlueFlintHawk

Joined
Jan 5, 2002
Messages
232
Hey all,

I have had a sharpening stone or two, used a ceramic rod kit... but have never actually asked anyone else for help or a recommendation. I would like your recommendations for a ceramic rod sharpening kit... nothing too complex, something simple - a couple medium grit rods and a couple fine grit rods. I will be using it to sharpen a few knives, one of which is a Busse, and a few ATC tomahawks... Thanks a lot!
 
If you ask a hundred forumites, 90 will answer, "SHARPMAKER!!!" The Spydie Sharpmaker has 2 grits of stones, 2 angles you can set them at for knives and hawks and such, a third angle for sizzors and you can make them flat for sharpening like you would freehand on a hone. I have the older Sharpmaker (203) but the new one is at least twice as hood as the 203. It all folds into itself too, which is great. Look no further than the 204.
 
The diamond rods are now available for the Sharpmaker, so it can (finally) do some reprofiling, too. But they cost as much as the 204 itself.
 
Are the stones on the Sharpmaker fine enough to finish the edge on? I owned a Sharpmaker a while back (right when they came out) and although the knives would get sharper, they would never get "shaving sharp." Was that just because I suck at sharpening (I've always leaned toward this explanation). Being the idiot that I am, I sold it to a friend, but now with all the stuff I'm hearing on the forums, I'm thinking about picking one up again. So do you guys polish with something finer, or is the Sharpmaker pretty much it? The reason I ask is that I generally carry a Kershaw Boa with a recurve which would be a lot easier to sharpen on the Sharpmaker, but if I can't finish up on it as well, it may not be all that good an investment.
 
Spyderco has made some ultra-fine rods recently, I dont know if they have made it into production yet, but there might still be some out there.
 
You can finish up with the standard sharpmaker white rods very well. That's what I do all the time and I can get a shaving edge easily.

Some people are buying the optional rods in ultrafine grit to really polish the edge to scary sharp, but I think that is unnecessary/undesireable for a using knife. The choice is yours.

The 204 comes with a VHS video demonstrating it's proper use.
 
Originally posted by Lurker
Some people are buying the optional rods in ultrafine grit to really polish the edge to scary sharp, but I think that is unnecessary/undesireable for a using knife. The choice is yours.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I would actually need these, but are they actually out yet? I've been running some searches and haven't located them yet. I saw them on the Spyderco site, but do you guys know of any other places have them? Thanks.
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone. Damn... not 1 person suggesting other than the 204. I am ordering one today! Thanks again.
 
ZENGHOST -

The ultra fines were released in a limited run. I don't know if Sal & Co are planning to put them into regular production or not. They rock! If you can find any, buy 'em. Even if you don't use 'em, someone will come along wanting them.

BlueFlintHawk -

I had a Razor Edge System's kit before I got the 204. The RES kit cost 3x as much. Now, it stays in a drawer for the most part. The 204 does most everything I need. To have a really complete system, though, you might want to consider adding the diamond rods as well. But that will add about $90, maybe less. They are really needed when a blade is so dull that it needs to be re-profiled. A cheaper alternative, would be to get a coarse stone or one of those flat diamond jobs. You can lean it against one of the 204's rods and re-profile pretty quickly, with the same angle as the 204.

Is that a Busse Basic #9 behind your JM quote? If so, you'll be just as happy with the 204 as the #9. Neither can be beat for the money.
 
Thanks, guys...I ended up getting a Sharpmaker last week and have gone on to sharpen everything in the house since. The stupid thing is that I had one of the first series (only one angle) and I still wasn't all that good at sharpening so I sold it off. But now, I feel pretty stupid because you'd have to be an idiot not to be able to put an edge on something with this set (my hairless arms can attest to that). I ended up picking up the ultrafine stones from the spyderco site and have not regretted it--maybe I should buy more just in case they stop making them. Now I'm looking for a decent price on the diamond rods since I can't handle $80 right now. Everywhere that was selling it for cheap (~$50) is either sold out or have upped the price (New Graham and Bestknives respectively).

In short, I recommend the Sharpmaker for ANYBODY. Of course it's going to be a bit more difficult to unload my waterstones now that I've been telling everyone how good the Sharpmaker is...

ps...thanks, ReaperVelle...I saw that price after I bought it for $46. either way it's worth the money, though...
 
I dont know if you would want to trust them (I say that cause if they are warped, your SOL), but have seen the diamond stones for the 204 on EBAY for $50.....

ReaperVelle
 
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