Sharpmaker question

ziggy925

ziggy925

Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Messages
105
I just got a Sharpmaker, and while I think it's a very cool way to keep a blade up to snuff it takes a long time to set the bevel on a knife that doesn't match Spyderco's angles. I'm waiting for the diamond stone that fits the Sharpmaker, but I was wondering if it's best to work with the angle on the knife as it comes from the factory, or should I take the time and rebevel the knife to Spyderco's 40 degrees? I often use a Sharpie to see what I'm doing and it's obvious not all knives are set at 40 degrees.

I am learning how to sharpen freehand on wet stones, but sometimes you don't want your "hobby" to get in the way of a sharp knife. :D



Thanks.
 
I wouldn't waste time attempting to match any factory edge wider than 40°; just doesn't cut well, and trying to maintain it would seem a waste of the blade's potential. If re-bevelling, I'd take it to 30° inclusive to take full advantage of both of the Sharpmaker's settings. If you find a 30° edge to be somewhat fragile, you can always add a 40° microbevel later on; and it'll take much, much less effort to do it.


David
 
It takes far too long to reprofile on the sharpmaker. I would just keep whatever angle is on the knife or find someone with a rail guided system(wicked edge, Edge pro, ect.) and have them reprofile it to your desired angle just keep up with it from there.
 
^He did specifically mention he's waiting to receive the diamond rods for the SM, which should allow reprofiling in a reasonable amount of time (assuming the blade isn't huge/very thick). Without them, it would take some time, for sure.


David
 
Yes, the idea behind getting the diamond rods was to make rebeveling easier. But, is it worth it? I know that a narrow angle is more fragile, but I figure Spyderco knows a lot about blade angles, and if they think 40 degrees is a good, generic angle maybe I should go for it. I do realize, however, that 40 degrees is not ideal for everything.
 
30* is not at all to narrow or fragile. Most steels can easily handle a fair amount lower, especially if you add a slight micro bevel (like 2-3 passes per side). In short either setting would be fine for 95% of your cutting tasks regardless of steel type and if you were going to pick one or the other and do every knife you have at than angle I would pick the 30* setting and never worry about it.

I sharpen by hand and whenever its time to reprofile I always go with 18DPS regardless of the steel/intended use. The only knives I sharpen at any other angle is my ZDP Dragonfly at 10DPS (just for fun) and my heavy choppers at 20DPS.
 
ziggy925 said:
Yes, the idea behind getting the diamond rods was to make rebeveling easier. But, is it worth it? I know that a narrow angle is more fragile, but I figure Spyderco knows a lot about blade angles, and if they think 40 degrees is a good, generic angle maybe I should go for it. I do realize, however, that 40 degrees is not ideal for everything.
Click to expand...

There's a BIG improvement in cutting ease, as the edge narrows closer to 30° (and lower). As mentioned, 30° isn't generally fragile at all in modern knives, especially from makers like Spyderco, known for the quality of steels they select for their blades. Most of their factory edges are closer to 30° anyway (pretty sure this is the target they shoot for), and the Sharpmaker's two settings are intended to take advantage of that.

There's nothing wrong in using the 40 setting, if you want to. But I'd bet you'd like how your edges would perform at 30, with little loss in durability. Some makers have gone narrower with their factory edges, because they've realized the edge remains a more efficient cutter for longer, at a somewhat narrower angle. It's less about how the steel wears at the apex of the edge, and more about the thinner cutting geometry behind the edge itself. The apex will still wear, but a thinner profile behind the edge allows the blade to continue working reasonably well, after the shaving sharpness goes away. A wider edge angle won't cut well at all, once the apex isn't crisp anymore.


David
 
Reprofiling a blade makes a huge difference in how well a knife cuts. You don't know what your missing if you don't do this and still rely on some of the more obtuse angles manufacturers give us. I try to reprofile all my EDC's to around 17 on each side on my Aligner and this alone makes for a very drastic improvement in cutting ability. Quite a few knives I get are far more obtuse with their angles, off center, somewhat sloppy bevels, etc. Being able to fix all that makes for quite an improvement, it's well worth the effort to do this, and it should hopefully be a one time event for each knife.
 
I don't know exactly what the edges are on my SOG's, but when I use the Sharpmaker at 40 degrees the bevel is starting slightly above the edge and working down, so even at 40 I'm improving the edge. I'm hoping when the diamond stones show up reprofiling will be so much easier I'll see some improvement. My knives cut paper okay, but they could be a little better. I think reprofiling before I even start with the med stone may be the trick I need to make the Sharpmaker my go-to sharpener. The more I think about it if I have to change the angle on every knife I own I may as well sharpen everything freehand, which I'm still not great at -- yet. :sorrow:
 
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