Sharpening Newb

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knifezoid

Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
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Just got my Spyderco Sharpmaker yesterday. Briefly watched
some videos on how to use it and read a little here and there
on the internet on how to use it.

I've used the following method. Course Stones first using the
edge of the triangles maybe around 20 strokes total. Then
the flat side of triangle around 20 strokes total. Then the
fine stones doing the same thing. I used lighter pressure toward
the end.

Now on my Hide Away Knife which is 440c and totally straight I
noticed a difference using fine stone only with above method.

But on my Benchmade 42 which was considerably more dull I
did not get great results. I noticed that the straighter part of
the blade got a little sharper, but toward the tip of blade where
it curves, that is not getting sharp at all. On my Sogwinder
which is really dull I got NO RESULTS AT ALL.

Do I need to use more strokes with coarse stones? And do I
keep my blade straight/parallel with the table at all times or
do I rotate the blade where it curves?

Any help would be great. Thanks!
 
You must follow the curve, thats the most likely cause that you tip is not getting sharp. The brown ceramic rods are also not coares or anything close to it, so if you have a dull knife 100+ strokes will most likely be needed or a set of diamond rods. The brown ceramics are closer to 800-1000 grit.
 
Thanks, that's what I wasn't sure if I had to keep blade straight
or go with curve.

Now, does this mean I have to do it 100 times or so with medium
stones on edge, then flat side, then same with fine stones? Or
will strokes be less as I get to flat side and finer stone?
 
First I don't understand why the corners are suggested for use, the high amount of pressure at a very small point is going to do more damage than good. Even is you use light pressure you still putting a lot of force at a very small point. I would always use the flats.

You can wrap coarse sandpaper around the rods or buy the diamond rods but you will without a doubt need something coareser. Take a close look at your edge, you will be able to see where you are grinding and I would bet its not at the edge. The basic sharpmaker is good if you need to touch-up a semi-sharp blade but not for those that are very dull. You will need to remove a good amount of metal when a edge is very dull and that is just something the brown rods are not very effective at. This is the very reason I do NOT suggest the sharpmaker to those just starting out, its not a full sharpening system unless you have all the rods.
 
knifenut1013 said:
First I don't understand why the corners are suggested for use, the high amount of pressure at a very small point is going to do more damage than good. Even is you use light pressure you still putting a lot of force at a very small point. I would always use the flats.

You can wrap coarse sandpaper around the rods or buy the diamond rods but you will without a doubt need something coareser. Take a close look at your edge, you will be able to see where you are grinding and I would bet its not at the edge. The basic sharpmaker is good if you need to touch-up a semi-sharp blade but not for those that are very dull. You will need to remove a good amount of metal when a edge is very dull and that is just something the brown rods are not very effective at. This is the very reason I do NOT suggest the sharpmaker to those just starting out, its not a full sharpening system unless you have all the rods.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. The Sogwinder will definitely need the sandpaper.
What grit should I start at and what is the progression in grit to the point
where I use the rods again?

I read that the Sharpmaker was a good starting point for people just
getting into sharpening and for my budget it seemed like the best choice.

But I'm still open to other ideas, baring in mind I do not have $100 plus
for Apex systems or the like.
 
DMT aligner is always my suggestion because of its ease of use and the many grits available for it. Having a very coarse stone is a must for your sharpening set-up, some 220 grit sandpaper would be a good start or lower if you feel its needed. You could probably jump from 220 to the brown ceramic but you might need something like 400 grit between to do it right.
 
I have a old style flat stone that I picked up at Ace Hardware that I use for really dull knives, hatchets, axes, etc. It is two sided with I believe 600 and 800 grit. I'm not sure how that compares to the Sharpmaker, but I think even the coarse Sharpmaker rods are finer than 800. With a little practice I was able to keep a consistent angle using the flat stone and after I get the edge of a dull knife cleaned up and reasonably sharp I then switch to the Sharpmaker.

It sounds like you are using the Sharpmaker as the DVD instructed. After you get a good edge on your knife then you may only need a few swipes on the white rods to get back to hair popping sharp.

I like the Sharpmaker and get pretty good results. The main issue I've had is deciding which angle setting to use for various knives. I posted a question regarding that topic hear a few days ago and got some good advice. You might want to take a look at it.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=677173

Good luck
 
Greetings Knifezoid: I would not attempt to compare my highly limited sharpening experience with the expertise of Knifenut1013. However, because I am a relative new comer to sharpening, perhaps my personal experience with learning to use the Sharpmaker may be of assistance. You may wish to use the sharpening system that you already have at least until you get the opportunity to follow an expert's advise. The Sharpmaker is not the best tool for the job but it can be used to sharpen or even re-profile a dull blade. It may seem to take hours in order to get good results because it does. It is very fast at refreshing a slightly dull edge or maintaining one that is already fairly sharp. Having been too ignorant to know better, I re-profiled three s30v blades just using the Sharpmaker. Automotive grade sandpaper attached to the rods will speed the process but if you are not careful to use light pressure the paper can be easily cut. Only stroke the blade on the FLATS of the paper covered rods. Also one slip against the low grit paper and you will have some interesting scratches on the upper portion of the blade. Time and many many repetitions using just the rods can produce a VERY sharp edge. It also develops muscle memory which make future sharpening easier. I believe the Sogwinder is Aus 6 or 8 steel. It is not exceptionally hard to sharpen. Clean the rods often. they will cut faster. Use the Sharpie marker trick to make sure you hitting the edge. OldDude1
 
Thanks for the additional help. The Sogwinder is 440 and it is
very dull. I think I will go to the hardware store and get some
coarse sand paper 220 to 400 then to the brown stones as
suggested by knifenut. We'll see how that goes. The marker
is a good idea too.
 
If you get the sandpaper tight enough and use light enough pressure you should be able to do it edge leading but you will most likely need to do the strokes edge trailing so you don't cut the sandpaper. Either way it will be a big help, remember to watch the scratch pattern on the bevel, its like the crystal ball of sharpening.
 
Just make sure to wrap the sand paper real tight around the stone's.Use zip ties,or something similar at the top,and bottom,to hold the paper in place.
Go slow and take your time,cuz you don't wanna scratch the blade to sh!t,just like any other stone.

I just don't see the point in doing thousands of swipe's on the brown stone's.It just seems ridiculous.:jerkit:

Grab yourself some sand paper and you'll get your blade reprofiled in ten mins :thumbup:
 
Guys the help has been... well very help full :)
I followed the advice of following the contour
of the blade and being very slow and methodical
in keeping my strokes even and making sure the
edge was making full contact at the right angle.
I'm using a 30 deg angle and finishing lightly with
a 40 and that seems to be working.

It took a while, but some of my blades that were
not even able to cut paper cleanly are now shaving
hair with ease. Though I still have not found an
explanation to give to people when they see a
huge patch of missing hair on my shin...

One small problem I'm still having is I'm still not getting
the last part of the tip (maybe a third of an inch) of my
knives sharp. It's getting sharper, but just not keeping
up with the rest of the blade. Any suggestions?
 
Is there a specific stone set you guys are talking about using? i haven't sharpened a knife before and i have a Benchmade Griptilian that I'd like to sharpen, but not even sure what to buy to do that!!!
-matt
 
Greetings Mgothers: This entire thread references the current Spyderco Sharpmaker sharpening system. The stones are actually triangular shaped ceramic rods of two different grit grades, held at fixed angles by a plastic base. It is probably the easiest to use without prior sharpening experience. It can be time consumptive if the blade is very dull. About $50.00 with the medium and fine grit rods. There are diamond rods available at additional cost. OldDude1
 
Knifezoid,

Glad to read you got the success you and your edges deserve. For the sharpener's mange, explanations won't work too well, so take to wearing long sleeves when you can and shaving hair from your legs when you're not wearing shorts.
 
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