Sharpmaker or Edge Pro Apex knockoff

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Mr FRINGE

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Dec 9, 2013
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Once sorry for posting in general still cannot find the sharpener discussion. So I suck at freehand sharpening so I saw a nutnfancy video (Not a Tnpr just follow his opinion not his vlogs.) about how he uses an Edge Pro Apex for sharpening and how great it is. Someone mentioned in his comments that he uses a $30 spin-off and works just as fine, so I took a look around and found it on Amazon. But then I saw someone in the forums say that he/she sucks at freehand and the Spyderco Sharpmaker works for him/her. I now see a sharpmaker on Ebay for about $30. So which ones worth it? Any feedback appreciated. Thank You:thumbup:
 
I've been using a Sharpmaker for a while and it works very well. I can put a very good edge on every knife I've tried in a variety of steels. I wouldn't recommend a knock off, of anything.
 
I actually have a fake Edge Pro too, the stones that come with it are terrible but real Edge Pro stones work just fine with it. One thing though, the angle graduation on the fake aren't accurate, so you'll have to deal with that if you decide to buy it.
 
I would recommend you to just practice free hand more. You can only get better with each attempt.

Sharpmaker is great for touch up, but if you need to reprofile, it's borderline useless. I typically reprofile with Lansky or just free hand stone.

don't ever go the knock off route, if you have a good knife, spend the time, money and effort on the right equipment. Cutting corners will only cost you more in the long run.
 
I have to agree with Bigfatts - Sharpmaker works great for me and I cannot condone the purchase of something that makes money by stealing someone elses ideas. Thats basically theft in my opinion. Edit : I have the diamond sticks for the Sharpmaker and use them to reprofile - Elmax, ZDP189, M4, S30. It does take a little more time, but I have had good results with it. One thing about reprofiling with the diamonds/Sharpmaker - while it is a little slower, it does keep you from making mistakes and removing too much steel.
 
Good luck with the sharpmaker here too.

EP and EP knockoff are only as consistent as the person setting it up. If the blade placement and rod height are not the same every time for the same knife there will be inconsistency. As far as the knockoff EP, while I don't stand behind theft if intellectual property, isn't the sharpmaker essentially a knockoff of the maker of the original crock stick setup? Whoever that was.

I will say that I have an EP knockoff that I got off the bay loooong before I ever knew about BFC or EP in general. The tool works BUT the stones are J U N K. I think most of the cost involved is quality stones, EP stones themselves are worth the cost of the setup.
 
Crock stick

sal said:
Hi Bluemist,

Gail and I sold Crock Sticks for years before inventing the Sharpmaker. Louis Graves, the inventor of the Crock Stick is a friend of mine. I designed some of his small versions.

We felt that the concept was brilliant, but that further development was possible. With Louis Grave's help, we created the Tri-Angle Sharpmaker.

sal
Click to expand...
 
I've had the Edge Pro and Edge pro-Professional knock off. The stones that came with them sucks and I swapped to better quality after market stones it works great. The Edge Pro with the suction cups broke after about 6 months but considering I paid only $10 (where I live) I just bought a new one. I replaced it with a knock off Edge pro-pro version with a ball-vice; the ball part is poorly made and it cannot be clamped tightly enough for any stability, I solved the problem by making my own support. Now it works fine.
 
I have a Sharpmaker and an EdgePro Apex. Both work fine. I use the EdgePro for any serious re-profiling or polishing blade edges. For simple re-sharpening, the Sharpmaker works just fine.
You can watch various YouTube videos that show the Sharpmaker used to do great work...even mirror-polishing.
I "wish" that I could rely on free-hand work, but it's good to practice on cheap knives until you build up some skill.
 
Knock-offs are a shortcut to nowhere. Buy the real deal and do the job right. Or not, as you please -- you're only risking your own knives.

The Sharpmaker is an excellent approach, both to actually maintaining a sharp blade, and to learning what happens when you sharpen. I only got good at free-hand after mastering the Sharpmaker. Now I like to keep a Spyderco Double-Stuff handy.

Neither Amazon nor eBay are paid Bladeforums dealers. Buy from whoever you like, but show our Dealers the respect of not recommending competition that doesn't support our forums.
 
Absolutely not on the clone. Save up some money and get a edge pro. You will not regret it. As far as the sharpmaker, remember that it has only 2 settings and its great to maintain your knives if they are already sharp and if you want to make them sharper. If you need to reprofile I would go with something else. A great combo set IMO is the sharpmaker + DMT aligner set.
 
My simple motto,pay for the real deal and cry just the once. Sharpmaker,edge pro, dmt aligner ,all good products.
 
dr_fosg8 said:
Good luck with the sharpmaker here too.

EP and EP knockoff are only as consistent as the person setting it up. If the blade placement and rod height are not the same every time for the same knife there will be inconsistency.
Click to expand...
Sharpie is your best friend. Shows you if your rod's angle is too steep or too low then adjust accordingly and grind away :thumbup:
Takes care of blade placement at the same time (unless you change your placement during that particular sharpening process, but why would you?
 
Personally I ignore the knockoff's like that, spend your money once and spend it right. If it was between just those 2 options I take the sharpmaker than some poorly made knockoff. You just tend to spend more in the long run buying cheap knockoffs, and when a quality product is only a little bit more it makes no sense.

Though there are other options Lanskys, DMT Aligners, etc. I personally own the Aligner Deluxe and it was well worth the money, I use mine to just reprofile and than sharpen free hand after that. Though I am probably in the minority for using it in this way I imagine.
 
All of these sharpening devises are a jig that holds either the stone or the blade at a precise angle.
Everything in life is a tradeoff,when you buy a fake the tradeoff is you just lost your money. ;)
 
The differences in quality should speak for itself. It may or may not be a serviceable product and they lack warranty and support. Ultimately, it's your call. I do feel that it helps the Chinese rip-off two good companies by buying these clones. Spyderco is an American company led by a good man and the same can be said with Ben Dale and his company which is to this day is pretty much a one man show. That doesn't matter one bit to most folks though and that's why a country who doesn't play by the rules makes these knock-offs.
 
I say no on the knockoff. Save up and buy the real deal and support Ben. He will nearly bend over backwards to make sure you are happy with your EP, and that says a lot about him. Also, Sal has mentioned that Chinese knockoffs of the Delicas and Enduras almost forced them to close the doors.

Depending on how many knives you accumulate, you'll end up with both systems eventually. Some kind of reprofiler and a Sharpmaker for touchups. With workarounds, you'll end up spending more money. I tried Ruby triangle stones for Sharpmaker and flat Moldmaster stones rubber banded around Sharpmaker rods to reprofile, and could reprofile and take it all the way up to the Sharpmaker extra fines and a strop with green compound, but never did better than a hazy semi polish. Not to mention taking days to reprofile one knife. Got the EP and never looked back. There are a few tips and tricks to the EP in getting a perfect edge, but it's not that hard to master.
 
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Mr FRINGE said:
Once sorry for posting in general still cannot find the sharpener discussion.
Click to expand...

Sharpening threads go in Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment sections. Sharpening a knife is maintenance, or should be considered as such.
 
A sharpmaker for 30 is a steal, you should buy it anyway. As for the knock of option, I say get it. They are so cheap that at worst, they're parts to build your own with
 
I would get the Spyderco Sharpmaker (maybe with the additional diamond rods) and a good coarse DMT diamond stone or a shapton pro or glass stone. That way you can practice freehand, if necessary "reprofile" to less than 20 dps and you can finish up on the Sharpmaker to get an edge you want. The sharpmaker also teaches you quite a bit over time if you observe what you do. Here is an example on how to use the sharpmaker not only for touch ups. That's pretty much how I use it too with a few differences at the very last stages:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...pmaker-Diamond-Rods-–-Reprofiling-Redux

Cheers
 
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