Sharpmaker difficulties

S

Scott.123

Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
17
Hi,
Ive been having a tough time sharpening my benchmade rittergrip using the sharpmaker. Specifically the curve of the bade up to the tip. I can get the flat belly of the blade super sharp but the curve up to the tip refuses to get sharp. Is it my technique? Any pointers? Thanks in advance. :confused:
 
First, welcome to the forum.

Second, this probably should be in the Maintenance subforum.

Third, there are lot of things that could be causing this problem. It is not uncommon for the edge angle to change between straight and curved sections on a factory grind, so there is a good chance you are reprofiling that curved section (changing the edge angle). If that is one of the M2 Ritters, that is going to take a very long time to do on a Sharpmaker.

Suggestion: paint the entire edge bevel with a Sharpie marker, then take a couple of passes on the Sharpmaker. See where the marker has been removed. If it has been removed from the entire bevel, your angle matches and you just need to keep going. If it has been removed from just the very edge, you are working a microbevel and it shouldn't take long to sharpen. If (as I suspect) the marker has been removed from the top of the bevel next to the flat of the blade, you are reprofiling. Pack a lunch, because you are going to be there for a long while.
 
Make sure you are keeping the cutting edge level with the work surface (this maintains the proper sharpening angle). You have to start rotating the knife (lifting the back of the handle up) once you get to the belly to keep the edge parallel with the work surface, otherwise the angle between the edge and the sharpening stick becomes excessively acute, so it's not working the steel at the edge.

Try this - get a sharpie (or other permanent marker) and color both sides of the edge of the knife. Work it some on the sharpener, then look to see where the black has been removed and the metal shows through. My guess is that between the belly and the tip of the knife, you'll find the metal has come off above the primary edge near the main grind of the blade.

Deep bellied knives can be a challenge at first on the sharpmaker. You need to learn (gain muscle memory) how to rotate the knife when you get towards the tip as you draw the blade across the ceramic sticks.

edit - yablanowitz beat me to it! Hint - If you are reprofiling with the sharpmaker, get the diamond sticks. They're expensive, but worth it!
 
Yablanowitz and SpyderPhreak have probably nailed the issue for you... the difference in bevel angles as you get near the tip. I have 4 Ritters and they all have to be "massaged" on the Sharpmaker as I get near the tip. I've done some rebeveling with an Edge Pro on one of my older minis and it was very surprising to me how much the bevel changed near the tip.

The Sharpie trick should give you a good idea of how close you are to sharpening the edge near the tip.
 
I aggree with the sharpie advice. I have also found that as the tip is used more it requires more sharpening than the rest of the blade. Even if the edge angle is the same it is going to take more time to remove the metal on the tip sometimes because it is more worn. At least that is how I have explained it to myself, maybe there is a more technical explanation.

If a knife is really dull the sharpmaker can take awhile. I use a fine India benchstone first to remove some metal and the Sharpmaker to finish. Sharpmaker diamond sleeves would help I think but I havn't gotten any yet. Good luck
 
Hasn't been mentioned yet, but I'm sure you've already read this or seen it in the video: when using the flat side of the stones, make sure you don't let the tip come all the way off the stone as you are drawing the blade towards you. That might make a difference as well.

Rik
 
I have a 558 and the first few sharpenings were a pain. As mentioned, the primary bevel is different than the settings of the SM. You need to "reset" the primary bevel which will take a long time before you can get it back to where it was. Take your time at the tip, make sure to go slow and watch where its hitting.

BTW also as mentioned, the sharpie marker is a great route to see whats going on.
 
As several others already said, the angle of the edge almost always increases from belly to tip. ALL of my knives are this way. I cannot think of one that isn't. You will have to gradually increase your angle from belly to tip. THis is done at the same time you are rotating your wrist ("lifting the handle" as one member put it). It takes patience and work. Just to offer an example: say you've found that you can get the edge from HILT to BELLY sharp at the 30 degree setting. You might have to increase to 35 degrees (17.5 deg per side) from BELLY to TIP.

As Chinese Man said, you might think of re-beveling the edge, but I would first try the other things because, once you get it sharp, you will then see and understand how the edge angle changes in that area. Then if you choose to re-bevel the edge, you'll understand it and increase your success rate.
 
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