Sharpening help with Spyderco Tri-angle

[fan of fanboys]

So I have a small sebenza 21 with the sv35n and a Spyderco tri-angle sharp maker

I'm not good or experienced at sharpening knives.

Any tips? I don't feel like the knife is getting any sharper. I hope I'm not dulling it.

Which side/angle of the sharp maker is best to use? How hard do I press into the rod? Roughly how many swipes per side is a good number?

My g/f bought her grandfather a Spyderco delica for Father's Day other week and it made me realize how dull my sebenza was. It was razor sharp and easily shaved hair on my arm compared to my sebenza which removes zero hair

Is the tri-angle a good enough sharpener? Do I need different rods for it? A different sharpener?

Thanks!

 

[Corytr]

I love the sharpmaker. Make sure that you are getting the very edge of the bevel. You don't need to get the whole bevel as it is somewhat convex and that would prove tedious, just get the edge. As CRK sharpens by hand to around 20 degrees per side the actual angle can vary. If you set the rods on the 40 degree setting, you will be close but may need to tilt the blade away from the rod to make sure you are getting the very edge. If you keep the knife sharp, you should be able to easily maintain with only half a dozen swipes on the white rods, it doesn't take much. If you let it get dull, you will have more work ahead of you with the other rods, etc.... Did I mention to make sure you are getting the very edge?

 

[Peter Hartwig]

Mark the edge with a black magic marker(sharpie) and you will be able to see if you are getting the edge