Sharpmaker @ 30 degree

krazichinaman

krazichinaman

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For those that sharpen their knives on the sharpmaker at the 30 degree mark, what do you guys/gals do to back bevel?

In the video, it says that when you sharpen at 40 degree, you back bevel at 30 to remove the shoulders. Well since there isnt a degree lower than 30 on the sharpmaker, what do you people do to backbevel and remove those shoulders that get built up from sharpening at the 30 degree setting over time?

I've been sharpening my knives at the 40 degrees every since I purchased my sharpmaker and I'm happy with my results. I just see that almost everyone here(Spyderco forums as well as BM forums) sharpens at 30 so I feel like I'm missing out on the true performance of my blades. I have the UF as well as the Diamond rods for the sharpmaker.

Thanks for any input!

*Note say that you can only back bevel on the sharpmaker. What tricks do you use?
 
You don't have to be overly precise in thinning the relief of your knife. Just lay it flatter than it would be at 30 degrees on whatever hone you are using (diamond, water stone, aluminum oxide etc) and thin it sufficiently so that when you do use the 30 degree slots on the Sharpmaker you'll be able to sharpen the edge rather than working on the shoulders.

A coarser hone than is available on the Sharpmaker is recommended for this work.
 
If I want 30 to be my final edge, then I'll freehand the back bevel on my DMT stones. On my Ritter Griptillian, I'll use the thumbstud as reference for the angle I try and keep. Of course my thumbstud is starting to look worn from all the contact with the stone. I try to not let it drag so much.
 
You don't have to back-bevel if you don't want to. You can simply do all of your honing at 30 degrees. I back-bevel (do most of my honing) at 20 degrees (10 degrees per side) and finish at 25 degrees. To do my back-bevel I lay one of the triangular rods cross-wise under my Sharpmaker base. As I hone the left-then-right sides of my blade I tilt the base right-then-left. That subtracts about 5 degrees per side from my honing angle. This sets my 10-degrees-per-side back-bevel angle. For a few light finish strokes I move my cross-wise rod under first the right end then under the left end of my base as I hone the left-then-right side of my edge. That gives me about a 12.5 degree per side finish edge.

Actually the last little bit of edge is flexible enough that I can't see a distinct secondary bevel at 12.5 degrees. It pretty much looks like I honed my edge at 10 degrees per side (20 degrees in Sharpmaker terms).
 
Blues said:
You don't have to be overly precise in thinning the relief of your knife. Just lay it flatter than it would be at 30 degrees on whatever hone you are using (diamond, water stone, aluminum oxide etc) and thin it sufficiently so that when you do use the 30 degree slots on the Sharpmaker you'll be able to sharpen the edge rather than working on the shoulders.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I do. Just tilt the spine of the blade slightly towards the stone instead of holding it perfectly vertical, don't worry about getting the angle perfect, it's just relief.
 
For those that haven't done this before and lack the practiced hand, put a little masking tap on your blade above the edge to be sharpened on both sides of the blade. This will prevent the unwanted accidental scratches that will undoubtley occur if you get to close to the spine of the blade. Obviously, it's easier if you practice on a throw away Chinese special, but that's your call!

NJ
 
I remember reading somewhere that you could use a rubber band at the top of the 2 rods when they are set at the 30 degree mark. Would this be suffcient enough of a change to remove the shoulders that are built up at the 30 degree mark?
 
i have a home made jig with lots of increments that allow me to set up my diamond hones at any angle i want.
then go to the sharpmaker after.
 
I have opt'd for the 40*/30* that Sharp Maker recommends. I am very please with the results and longevity of the edge. The only other thing I do is to use a loaded strop for final polishing. In other words, some of us are sticking with the instructions.
 
pinetree said:
I have opt'd for the 40*/30* that Sharp Maker recommends. I am very please with the results and longevity of the edge. The only other thing I do is to use a loaded strop for final polishing. In other words, some of us are sticking with the instructions.
Click to expand...

Same here. 30 back bevel and 40 micro bevel. Works for me. :thumbup:
 
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