Sharpening oil on a ceramic rod system?

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BLM4L

Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
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I got a new Spyderco Rod sharpening system. I swear, I swear, I read the book, saw the video multiple times, tried very carefully to sharpen my knives the way it said to do, but.......... not only did I not get the knives sharp, although steel was removed, but I also managed to wear nicks and chunks out of both sets of rods in short order. On another forum someone suggested using sharpening oil on a rod system just the same as with a stone.
Anyone tried this?
Any thoughts on this subject?
Also, anyone try using oil on a diamond "stone" like a DMT?
 
It is hard to imagine wearing nicks and chunks out of normal Spyderco rods in short order. I have been successfully using a Sharpmaker for years and have yet to replace a rod for anything other than breakage by dropping them on a hard floor.

Losing a noticeable amount of steel from the blades suggests prolonged sharpening and/or using alot of pressure. It's been a long time since I read the instructions or seen the video but I believe light pressure is recommended.
For what it's worth, thats the way I do it. The only exception is when reprofiling with the diamond coated rods.

Maybe you have a defective Sharpmaker?

I can't answer about using oil on the rods; I don't. But for a DMT diamond 'stone' water is usually what's used. It carries the away the steel filings very well.
 
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's not recommended to use oil on the ceramic rods or diamond hones (I have used water on the dmt stones though)

As for the nicks and chunks (unless you're trying to sharpen a serrated blade on the wrong side) it sounds like you're exerting way to much pressure on the knife and rods on the sharpening stroke.

Have you used a marker to color the edge of the blade? This shows you exactly where you're removing metal from, and if you're not on the exact edge of the blade it would explain why the knife isn't getting any sharper. Not all knives are set to the 15 and 20 degree angles of the sharpmaker and may require a reprofile for them to be sharpened effectively on it.

Good luck
 
BLM4L said:
..... not only did I not get the knives sharp, although steel was removed, but I also managed to wear nicks and chunks out of both sets of rods in short order. On another forum someone suggested using sharpening oil on a rod system just the same as with a stone.
Anyone tried this?
Any thoughts on this subject?
Also, anyone try using oil on a diamond "stone" like a DMT?
Click to expand...
"nicks and chunks" .... now that ain't right! I've used diamond hones to true up ceramic rods, and even the brown medium Spyderco is real slow going. If there are nicks and chunks missing from yours from sharpening as you say, they almost surely are defective.

I've experimented a little with water, soapy water, and WD40 on ceramic rods and hones, and I find no benefit. The fine white ceramic, which I believe is about 1200 grit, will put a very fine edge on a blade when used dry .... the secret is to use very little pressure.

Diamond hones work fine dry, most of the steel removed during sharpening falls off as a fine, gray dust. What adheres to the hone easily washes off with soap and water. I have used diamond hones with water, even under running water, and don't find it improves sharpening noticeably - doesn't hurt it either, though it could promote rusting while sharpening. Oil on a diamond hone IMO would cause the steel "dust" to stick, probably not a good thing.
 
You gave me a good thought here.
I was using quite heavy pressure with the rod system thinking that it would speed up the process. Maybe that was part of my problem.
Do you know of other good choices in the rod system other than the Spyderco?
 
Go light and easy on the ceramic rods. The cutting edges of a knife are quite delicate and pushing too hard on them will break them and or roll the edge over. Knife edges are not too strong laterally, and if you were to measure that tiny foot print of steel that actually contacts the ceramic rod, the forces exerted by pushing hard on it probably measures in terms of hundreds of pounds per square inch.
 
BLM4L - IMO you should always use only light pressure with a Sharpmaker or any similar rod-type sharpener. Just consider how small the contact area is between the blade and the sharpening rod, it's very easy to apply too much pressure and wind up damaging the steel. (Edit to add: yeah, exactly what Bufford said just minutes before I posted.)

I have an old CrockSticks v- sharpener that was sold under the Case name years ago. One thing I like about it is the rods are longer than the Sharpmaker. Also the rods are very smooth, some of the Spyderco rods lately seem to have problems. I believe Lansky sells the CrockSticks products now, but I can't tell you how good they are. A.G. Russell also has one that looks very similar to the Lansky:

http://www.agrussell.com/accessories/sharpening/a_g_russell_ceramic_sharpener.html

Since IMO all these ceramic v-sharpeners aren't really suited to reprofiling or removing heavy edge damage, having only the fine white rods isn't much of a drawback. After reprofiling or reworking an edge on a 240-280 grit bench stone, I go directly to the white ceramic and apply a microbevel with only a few strokes. You really don't need anything in between.
 
I'm a knifemaker (and user) and I've been using a Spyderco Sharpmaker for years. Those same rods have easily sharpened over 500 knives and are still going strong. I use light pressure, and wipe the rods (either set) with a rag soaked in Hoppes #9 gun solvent (avail at any Wal Mart) every 10 strokes or so. Use a clean part of the rag every time. Its unbelievable how much black junk comes off with each wipe-down. You can definately feel a huge difference in the cutting action after the wipe-down. After another ten or so strokes, you'll feel the cutting action start to diminish, and the knife blade will seem to glide rather than drag over the rod. Time for another wipedown.
Hope this helps,
Scott

p.s. For reprofiling I use a GATCO diamond system on the 19 deg setting (coarse then med. hones only). It removes material much faster when you need to. After that I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker to finish the edge off.
 
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