Sharpmaker mod

T

Thumber

Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Messages
72
Hi guys,

I just bought a sharpmaker and like it but
Find it slow if resetting bevels. I just bought two XC dmt 4 inch plates with the intention to use rubber bands or clips to attach to SM rods

Pretty sure this will work well for smaller pocket and kitchen knives. For the big knives I will keep using my water stones.

My question is, after is sharpen on the XC plates, is it going to be too much of a jump going to medium SM rods. I have the F and UF as well.

I decided against SM diamond rods as the reviews weren't great. This is all just an experiment. I was very impressed with the diafold on a recent trip to Costa Rica.

The main motivation is getting a bevel that makes using the SM really fast and easy.

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Thoughts and opinions welcomes as always.

Thx
 
Thumber said:
(...)

My question is, after is sharpen on the XC plates, is it going to be too much of a jump going to medium SM rods. I have the F and UF as well.

(...)

Thx
Click to expand...

If you're NOT pursuing a high polish, and are only focused on setting bevels more quickly for good working edges, you shouldn't worry too much about the jump between the XC diamond plates and the medium SM rods. IT IS A BIG JUMP in effective grit size; if trying to polish with the SM rods following the XC diamond, you'll spend a LONG, LONG time removing the XC scratches. If just wanting good (or even great) toothy, biting edges for utility and slicing, you can finish up with the SM rods of your choosing, or with nothing at all if your technique with the XC diamond is good & steady.

For a smoother transition to polishing, the SM's medium (brown/grey) rods emulate something like a 1200-grit finish. So, if prepping for that with diamond, using the 325 (Coarse) DMT and the 600 (Fine) DMT at least, and maybe also the EF DMT (1200) before the medium rods would make cleaning up the scratch patterns more easy. You could likely do without the EF DMT, although it'll still work much faster to clean up the finish from the Fine DMT, before going to the medium SM rods.


David
 
Personally, I'd recommend going to the DMT Fine stones at 600 before going to the SM's Medium.

No harm in going ahead and try it and see if the results are good enough for you.


postoak said:
What effective grit are the Sharmaker diamond rods?
Click to expand...
Both SM diamond and CBN rods are 400 grit according to Sal.
 
I posted this on a different forum a while ago. I hope it helps. ;)

It really can be a very versatile system. I use the sharpmaker a lot and have been wanting to put a few of my tips and tricks into a thread to share so here ya go.

You can change angles like this. Using different sized dowels can yield different angles. You can download an angle finder app for your smartphone to check the angles. It takes a little getting used to rocking it back and forth when switching sides but when reprofiling I will just do a bunch of passes per side (like 20, 50, 100, whatever it takes) until I get closer to apexing. You can get pretty efficient doing like 5 passes per side and then rocking the base to switch sides. You just have to do it and establish a little muscle memory and rocking the base just becomes part of the process. There is a perfect little slot in the top of the base for the rubber band to sit in so it stays centered well.

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I took my Super Blue Delica from this...

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... to this...

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...and it will do this to a very unneeded white beard hair.

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You can get any grit you want like this. I usually use some 220 grit paper when the diamond rods are not course enough. Try to make sure that you have the paper pulled as tight around the rod as you can or you may get scratches above the bevel on your primary grind, especially when trying to do a steep angle. Creasing the paper before wrapping it around the rods is how I keep it tight/flat on the rod. You can go through a lot of sandpaper this way but it does work well.

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You can carry any combination of the stones in the plastic base. You could even carry one of each of the four stones. I have been successful using a single rod as a hand held stone so having one of each in the base works for me. On a recent hunting trip I brought it just with the diamond and brown rods. On this trip I didn't have time to be sharpening and if I did have to do a quick touch up or repair this would have had me back up and running in no time at all.

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The sharpmaker diamond rods are reported to be around 400. It takes quite a bit to get those scratches out with the brown rods but you can. I have done it many times. I would say that if you want a polished bevel that you should be able to work the scratches out with the brown rods but it will take a while. An intermediate grit may make it easier. I don't take the time to polish bevels. You can set the bevel with just the diamonds and brown rods and leave it hazy and take your microbevel to as high of a level as you want. I usually do it that way.

I have a very used set of sharpmaker rods and they are holding up well. If you don't ever press too hard they seem to hold up well or at least as well and other diamond stones.
 
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