Shapener to buy

If you're like me, and happy if you can sharpen knife to cut hairs on arm or shave paper nicely, you can forego the Sharpmaker (unlike me) and all the more expensive stuff, and KISS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQCkKPGSOtA

The best video I've seen. I don't have 2000 grit sandpaper but I do have 'SuperFine' sandpaper (I noticed that's only 500 grit) and after viewing this excellent youtube video only now am I coming close to passing paper-cutting test with 20 wt. copy paper and my used Spyderco Endura Wave 4. Kudos to that young man!
 
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I bought the Edge Pro Apex 3 last week and within a few minutes was able to put a near perfect edge on some knives that had been butchered by other methods. Moved up to my two EDC's after that. It was surprisingly easy to set up and use.
 
Go with the EdgePro Apex and you'll not need anything else ! Perfect results on any knife from the beginning !
 
Sagittarius said:
I have a Sharpmaker and a Gatco with diamond stones.
I could never sharpen Jack S**t with the Sharpmaker while everyting I used on the Gatco came out shaving sharp. :thumbup:
If I were getting a new unit, I would go with the EdgePro. :thumbup:


Sag.
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Likewise, I am disappointed with the SharpMaker. I'd return it if I could, but too much time has passed and I bought it on ebay.

I've tried, tried, tried, read the manual, watched the video and segments thereof numerous times-a highly overrated product in my view.

My Endura Wave 4 can not be trusted to cut a tomato.

I think I'll send the knife back to Spyderco-see if they can do anything with it. Otherwise, I love the knife. But my inability to sharpen it sufficiently to pass a simple paper test has me all frustrated.
 
The sharpmaker is an excellent tool to hone the final edge but the E4 has a thick edge and you may need to thin the edge by rough grinding on a coarse hone. Then the sharpmaker can be used for maintenance.
 
Robert Ptacel said:
The sharpmaker is an excellent tool to hone the final edge but the E4 has a thick edge and you may need to thin the edge by rough grinding on a coarse hone. Then the sharpmaker can be used for maintenance.
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I agree 100%, the sharpmaker like any ceramic rod is a maintanance tool.

Just a quick touch when the edge is already almost perfect.
 
If the Sharpmaker is making proper contact with the edge of a knife, it will get sharp (and quick)...Try the Sharpie Trick, it's surprising how many knives I've owned that came with too obtuse an angle from the factory to be used successfully on the Sharpmaker...don't be like me and think the ceramic rods will "eventually" reprofile a blade...you will just make yourself (and possibly your spouse) crazy...:)
 
Robert Ptacel said:
The sharpmaker is an excellent tool to hone the final edge but the E4 has a thick edge and you may need to thin the edge by rough grinding on a coarse hone. Then the sharpmaker can be used for maintenance.
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So, I purchased the Razor Edge Book of Knife Sharpening. Will take it from there. GGGeeesssssh.. what a PITA.
 
ifilef said:
Well that's very nice you like yours. I HATE mine so I guess that makes us even. ;) What a piece of crap. :thumbdn:
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Ifilef: the Sharpmaker is nothing more than thin benchstones lifted from a normally horizontal position to a few degrees from vertical. It is, without a doubt, your technique that is faulty. I mean that constructively.

With that said, the Sharpmaker does have a few limitations that make it less than ideal:
- it only has slots for 15 degree and 20 degree (30 and 40, inclusive) angles;
- the medium rods are not coarse enough (approximately 600 grit);
- the coarse diamond rods needed to do what the medium rods will not will set you back about $65 or more, I think.

For those advocating the purity of benchstones, well, I admire them and their skill, BUT - in reality, that's precisely what the Sharpmaker is: an inverted benchstone. Imagine you're in your shop. Your favorite benchstone (Arkansas, diamond, ceramic, whatever) is on the bench. You're bending down trying to look under the knife blade...between blade and stone....trying to get an idea how close you are to the angle you want. You lift the stone from one end, the other end stays on the bench, and you peer down between stone and blade. You just gave birth to a Sharpmaker.

Try the sharpie marker technique that others have said. I use it all the time. There are ways to rebevel (NOT "reprofile") the edge to say, 12.5 degrees (25 inclusive), that will enable you to use the 30 degree setting just for adding a micro-bevel. You can do this without buying the diamond stones by using wet/dry (120 grit through about 320 or 400) clipped to the stones. Like someone else said, most ALL factory knives come with too obtuse a bevel for the Sharpmaker, let alone for my tastes.

I'd recommend you don;t give up on your sharpmaker - just work on technique. At a minimum cost of $45, it's too expensive a tool (and too good of a tool) to dismiss without understanding it.
 
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Shaman said:
I've really liked the KME Sharpener for mid sized knives with drop points.
I'm using the Sharpmaker for medium and smaller knives and clip points.
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I'm using a KME also. It does a great job at re-beveling and heavy sharpening. For edge maintenance I use a leather strop with compound.
 
dmt to remove metal fast, finish with sharpmaker. this is the least exspensive, quickest, dummy proof way to sharpen i have found yet. oh yea also most portable.
 
ifilef said:
Well that's very nice you like yours. I HATE mine so I guess that makes us even. ;) What a piece of crap. :thumbdn:
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Another vote for technique.

When I first got my Sharpmaker I couldn't do diddly with it, either. Now, just a couple days ago, I gave it another go. Had to. My Delica 4 is over two years old and was beginning the resemble a pointy butter knife :p. My Boker Trance is over a year old and was damn near as dull. Much to my surprise the Delica sharpened right up. Then, a couple days later, I remembered "Oh yeah, you're supposed to use the flats of the stones, too." Now it's dry-shaving sharp again. So's the Trance. The Trance took all of 10-15 minutes. The Delica 4 would have, too, had I got it right the first time.

Here's a secret: Go gently. I'm kind of remembering my 1st go at it, a couple years ago, and kind of thinking I was applying much more pressure. This time I didn't apply much more pressure than was needed to keep the edge on the stone. Here's another thing I discovered: Starting out, and as you go to each, successive finer stage, you can feel it rough, initially, and smooth-out which each stroke.

I finish up with a couple light strops on each side with a charged leather, to knock off any remaining wire edge. I do that at a much higher angle than the sharpening, so it also serves to knock the edge down a bit.

Jim
 
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