Sharpmaker problems?

wvriverats

wvriverats

Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
328
I just got home from a knife shopping trip. I was a nice one where I picked up a few bugs (real cool), a Salt1 (new EDC), and a couple firebyrds (bigger than what I imagined.)

I also bought a sharpmaker. IU have always considered myself handicapped when it came to sharpening knives, but I now own so many that it is imperative that I find a way that works.

I came home, watched the dvd and went to work on a delica that I have carried for the last 3 years. It had only been sharpened once, not because it stayed sharp but because of my limited skills. To be honest I went to SMKW and it was only a couple bucks to get it sharpened, the guy had a bench grinder and it was sharp when he was done. That was the only reason it did not get retired earlier.

I tried and tried to get the delica sharp. I even did the back bevel, but still no luck. Finally I gave up.

I am currently carrying a native and have been for only a few months. I still consider it sharp. I pulled it out of my pocket and it would not shave. I went through all of the steps with the sharpmaker and next thing you know she is shaving hair. Awesome!

My question is, am I neglecting my blades to the point that they need to be resurected instead of sharpened? I always bought every gimmick sharpener out there and they never worked. I always thought that it was my technique, but maybe I just neglected things too long.

I did a lot of research on this site resulting in my purchase of the sharpmaker. I even had a friend who loaned me a lansky kit which I had little results with either.

Maybe I am just trying to make a molehill out of a mountain with my super dull knife collection, and if that is the case, do you folks have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Randy

PS If all else fails, I can always just buy sharp knives, but it would be nice to bring a couple back from the grave.

:confused::confused:;);)
 
You might be neglecting your knives such that they aren't sharpening easily... But we kinda need more info:

1. What kind of steel?
2. How long did your sharpening sessions last? It can take me an hour to get my VG-10 sharp again using Sharpmaker Fine rods after a heavy session of box cutting.
3. Are you sure you're sharpening at a consistent angle?
4. Are you sure you're sharpening the edge of the blade (as opposed to the shoulders of the bevels?)

Have you used a marker on the bevels to check exactly where you're sharpening?

If you need to do heavy reprofiling, I highly recommend a DMT Aligner clamp + the DMT XC (extra coarse) stone. That will give you good bevels to work with.
 
Well, the sharpmaker should better be called the "sharpkeeper", because a really, really dull knife should first be rebevelled with a different system (like the Lansky Kit) to ~30° incl., and then the final sharpening can be done with the Sharpmaker. After that, you should touch up these knives on a regular basis to keep them sharp, but never let them get really dull again.

The SM is great, but at least with the regular brown and white stones, it is not the best tool to restore a ruined edge.

Maybe it would be wise to send in the Delica to Spyderco for a resharpening which would restore the edge to Spydercos standards, so you could maintain it with the SM afterwards.

Dennis
 
That is kinda what I was thinking after my experience this evening. That a regular sharpening system was not going to bring my knives back to life, and that I have been really neglecting them to the point that they need surgery, so to speak.

I was actually pleased with my results on the native. It made me feel that I could buy a quality sharpener and actually see results, on a semi-dull knife.

That said, is there anything that you recommend to bring my spyderco etc. butterknives back to a factory edge, or am I just not patient enough with the tools I have?
 
Murdoc370 said:
Well, the sharpmaker should better be called the "sharpkeeper", because a really, really dull knife should first be rebevelled with a different system (like the Lansky Kit) to ~30° incl., and then the final sharpening can be done with the Sharpmaker. After that, you should touch up these knives on a regular basis to keep them sharp, but never let them get really dull again.

The SM is great, but at least with the regular brown and white stones, it is not the best tool to restore a ruined edge.

Maybe it would be wise to send in the Delica to Spyderco for a resharpening which would restore the edge to Spydercos standards, so you could maintain it with the SM afterwards.

Dennis
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%. I use my DMT tools for all my profiling and restoring needs, and I use my Sharpmaker to touch up after use.
 
wvriverats said:
That said, is there anything that you recommend to bring my spyderco etc. butterknives back to a factory edge, or am I just not patient enough with the tools I have?
Click to expand...

A couple of thoughts on this - once you find the sharpening system you want to use, be it the sharpmaker, Gatco, Lansky, Apex Pro, whatever...

you'll need to practice a bit, and then
you'll need to strop.

Find a good strop, leather on wood, and rub jeweler's compound on it.

Read a little bit on how to strop properly (tip first, etc.) and then use your strop to put your final edge on your knife.

It's how you'll get and easily maintain a shaving sharp edge on any quality blade.
 
So what should be my next purchase? I am absolutely determined to arm myself with both the skills and equipment to sharpen all of the abused, neglected, and otherwise dull knives that I and others I know own and abuse.

If anyone knows the cure for my ailment, please let me know.

I am tired of dulling a knife and then having to buy a new one. I crave the freedom that comes with shaving hair with a spyderco butterknife.

I have the funds and initiative, I can follow directions really well, I embody purpose and desire, just, please, give me direction!!

That sounded really corny, didn't it?

Sorry, but I need help.
 
I have never met anyone who was born with the ability to sharpen knives well. It is a learned skill. No matter what "system" you use, be it the SharpMaker, EdgePro, belt grinder or a hardware store carborundum stone, practice is the key. Having a guided system will help to start with, but they are like training wheels on a bicycle. Once you learn how, they aren't really necessary. Odds are really good that you simply need more patience in your efforts. The SharpMaker can sharpen a very dull knife, if you have the patience to do so. It may take an hour a day for a week, but it can be done.

As has been mentioned, coloring the edge bevels with a magic marker and then taking a couple of passes on the SharpMaker rods can tell you a lot about where steel is being removed, which can tell you how long to expect the job to take.
 
Maybe some diamond rods for the Sharpmaker? I hear that they're pretty aggressive on the steel.
 
As mentioned, practice is an important part of learning to sharpen.

One thing I'd like to mention about the Sharpmaker is that you can very easily blunt the tips of your knives if you don't use the proper technique.

There are several good (and some not so good) YouTube videos showing the proper way
to use the Sharpmaker. (Better IMO than the basic DVD that comes with the set.)
 
wvriverats said:
If anyone knows the cure for my ailment, please let me know.
Click to expand...

Buy a Lansky kit with the diamond hones. Get the sapphire finishing hone as well. Use that to put a new profile on your knives. Then the Spyderco Sharpmaker will always be able to restore your knives to that original scary sharp edge.

That's what I use.

After a friend of mine had his VG-10 Endura "borrowed", the edge was only suitable for butter. I only used the Sharpmaker to restore the edge to shaving sharp in about 5 minutes. The reason it took such a short time is because the edge had the right profile. One you get the profile where it's supposed to be (sometimes the factory edges aren't quite at the right angle, even if they are initially sharp) then resharpening is easy from then on, even if it is very dull. You should only have to reprofile again if the edge becomes severely damaged.

Good luck.
 
Plus 1 for the Spyderco Diamond rods for your sharpmaker. They make a world of difference. If you do not pick up the diamond sharpmaker rods, be very diligent on cleaning your gray/brown rods so you are not just sliding down the side without removing any steel. They can load up when you are really reprofiling.

I'm glad you had sucess with your Native. Build on that sucess and overcome the hurdle.

Doug
 
Spyderco Sharpmaker is excellent, I have one & I highly recommend it (especially for seeing Sal in action, on the DVD :cool: :D), it is a must for a newbie (the instructions on paper & the DVD are really helpful stuff), but as said previously the stones of the kit are good to maintain an edge, not so aggressive to remove a lot of steel (of course less is better, but you need to remove more steel on a really dulled knife).

So if you have a really dulled knife, IMO you have 3 solutions (if you don't want to use normal rectangular stones) :
1 a lot of time-patience with the original stones
2 diamond Sharpmaker stones

...3 (my preferred solution) building yourself a "felix7 sharpening-stropping station" (called tactically "Spigolo":D):

spigolo.jpg

spigolo1.jpg

spigolo2.jpg


It is a "metal angled frame" that I cutted, to sharpening knives that have particular edge styles (Karambit, Spyderfly... concave edge/ "S" edges), on normal knives (straight-convex... Manix, Delica...) I use water stones Kai-Norton (120-300-1000-3000-4000-8000).
This sharpener works really well, it' s easy to use (but requires skill for free hand sharpening and trial & error, use cheap good knives to learn ), versatile and cost-effective.
I use these grits (european scale http://users.ameritech.net/knives/grits.htm ) :
-P120 for aggressive reprofiling-edge repair
-P320 for sharpening
-P1000 for polishing (less microserrations)
-Stropping on cardboard with car polishing creme

The sharpener works with edge out movements & the sand paper is lightly oiled.
The oiled sand-paper is extremely fast in removing steel from the edge (even the P1000 is fast for such grit), it works beautifully.
The edge at the end of the sharpening has a lightly microserreted edge (like DMT green little stone), but if you want an edge more polished you can use after "spigolo" a water stone (>3000 japanese scale) or Sharpmaker extrafine stones.

For original discussion, in the language of poets, check this:
http://www.coltelleriacollini.it/community4/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=8088
 
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