Round or Triangle?

I have not used either but if I was sharpening a knife I would want to use the triangle ones because they are going to have more surface area,I think the rounds ones are for sharpening serrated knives.
 
For V-crock type sharpeners, I have a slight preference for round rods overall. I have about 6 - 8 different types & brands of them accumulated over a couple decades' time, including the Sharpmaker. I usually reach for the round ones first, when I do use them at all.

I've never much liked using the corners of triangular rods, as they just focus pressure too much against a knife edge. Using the flats of those rods is fine, however.

I also bias my choice on how each particular ceramic handles the job; meaning some of them add a certain 'bite' to an edge, better than others might, regardless of the shape of the rod itself. That factor alone is probably enough to make the rod shape essentially moot, to me.
 
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wade7575 said:
I have not used either but if I was sharpening a knife I would want to use the triangle ones because they are going to have more surface area,I think the rounds ones are for sharpening serrated knives.
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Or for recurved blades. I just pick up a rounded rod by Lansky to sharpen my Kershaw Chive and Scallion but I didn’t try cuz I didn’t need yet. When I’ll do I will write my first impressions.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
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I've never much liked using the corners of triangular rods, as they just focus pressure too much against a knife edge. Using the flats of those rods is fine, however.

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Do you think that the contact area is actually larger for a round rod vs the corner of the triangle? It seems to me that the blade only meets at a point on the surface in either case. I also wonder how many people are able to keep the blade straight enough on the flat of the triangle to not just slide down one of the corners.
 
I can't tell much difference, I've used round ones (and still do use a round DMT ceramic 'steel'), and Spydie triangles. They all work. They all handle recurves too. Main difference is the Spydie triangle corners are handy for serrations.
 
ToddS said:
Do you think that the contact area is actually larger for a round rod vs the corner of the triangle? It seems to me that the blade only meets at a point on the surface in either case. I also wonder how many people are able to keep the blade straight enough on the flat of the triangle to not just slide down one of the corners.
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If there was always just ONE contact point, even on a flat stone, I'd see the logic there. But with many blades, on a flat & wider surface, there'll often be two points of contact with the blade, if not also a wider footprint of each contact, with straight-edged blade profiles on a flat surface. Much easier to distribute pressure that way.

In pure theory, it makes sense there's only one tiny point of contact against any radiused surface, at the first, lightest contact. In reality though, with the slightest microscopic flex or conforming of the softer surface (in this case, the steel of the blade's edge) against the harder one (the hone) under some pressure, the 'bending' or yielding of the softer surface against the harder one will create a wider area of contact with the radiused & harder surface. The wider that radius is to begin with, the sooner and more widely the pressure will be distributed.

For me, it's easier to conceptualize if thinking of it in very large terms, like exerting a fixed amount of pressure to bend a wooden stick around a very narrow-radiused and very hard & strong object, like a 1" diameter steel pipe; or, doing the same against something of equal hardness and strength, but with a larger radius, like a steel pipe of 6" diameter. Against which one will there be a higher likelihood of permanent damage to the stick? Or put another way, which one will more easily break the stick with a given amount of pressure, if that's the objective? It's easier for the stick to lightly conform and withstand pressure against the wider-radiused surface without being damaged, whereas the narrower-radiused surface is more likely to permanently deform or break the stick under the same exerted pressure.
 
I would think it is just what one gets used to or a personal experience of better results with one early on in learning. Not sure one is better than the other.

Myself I prefer round rods ... never got good results with the Sharpmaker no matter how I tried the flat edges or corners ... but for me round rods I can use and het great results easily.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
I would think it is just what one gets used to or a personal experience of better results with one early on in learning. Not sure one is better than the other.

Myself I prefer round rods ... never got good results with the Sharpmaker no matter how I tried the flat edges or corners ... but for me round rods I can use and het great results easily.
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I guess what I am wondering if anytime I see variables if the shape is the determining factor or it is just happenstance?
 
The only thing I will say about that is if you are sharpening a recurve ... it can be done on a triangle edge or even a stones edge ... but IMHO a round rod is much easier ... now some will say otherwise ... it's just what you get used to I think ...

I also think for a beginner if you are looking at a guided rod system like crock sticks or a Sharpmaker ... that round rods are a bit more forgiving ... you can hold your angle and even if you blade tip rotates slightly youre still close ... I found on the triangles you have to be much more consistant just as free handing with stones.


Robert Ptacek said:
I guess what I am wondering if anytime I see variables if the shape is the determining factor or it is just happenstance?
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Robert Ptacek said:
Just curious,who prefers round rods vs. Spyderco's triangle?Inquiring minds want to know.
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Triangle for sure, the corners get into some serrated blades and for regular plain edges they apply more force to an edge to correct damage faster . . . then change to the flat sides to refine and carefully polish the final edge.

I can't get enough of the Ultra Fine for touch up on some of my harder blade alloys like M4 and M390 . . . works for some of the other less tough alloys . . . when it doesn't work is when it forms a bur and I can't take off the bur . . . usually on less hard basic stainless steels. Just depends; gotta just try and see how it does on a particular steel.
 
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