Reviving a tip on the sharpmaker?

[danseifert]

My sharpmaker arrives tomorrow (long overdue) and I was hoping to get a few pro tips from folks. I've watch a few videos and it looks really easy to use. That being said, I've got a few user blades with a tip that is slightly blunted, but not seriously damaged. Is there a technique on the sharpmaker that I can use to bring back a needle tip? The main blade in question is a standard clip point mini grip in 154cm. I use this little knife hard and will inevitably damage the tip from time to time, but want to be able to bring it back since its so much more useful to me as a cutting tool with a needle like point.

I've heard of some people using the course sharpmaker stones on the flat side where you can lay them side by side to gently shape a tip. They basically flip the knife over and sharpen the spine area near the tip after sharpening the edge normally. Since its a beater I'm not overly concerned with how it looks, but I dont want to damage it either.

Also, any tips on not damaging an already ridiculously sharp tip, like on my para 2s?

If this is all covered in the instructional dvd I'll just hold out.

 

[Komitadjie]

The instructional DVD will really help there, Sal covers it fairly thoroughly. In a capsule, though: Don't take the point all the way across the stones to avoid rounding it off, end your stroke with the point still on the stone.

You can easily use the flats of the rods to polish the spine a bit to restore the needle tip, but if there's any real damage (like an actual broken tip more than a few thousandths) you're probably going to need something a tad more aggressive. Just a sheet of wet-or-dry sandpaper on a piece of glass or a hard countertop works well for that.