Sharpmaker Question

Sure... but the question is, can you do it consistently so you get the same angle each time? Again... sure. If your eye and hand are that good. Or if you tilt the Sharpmaker instead of the blade and continue to keep the blade vertical. I used to do that with a rod I put under the center of the SM to get a slightly lower angle to one of the SM rods. That's the thing to remember if you do this. Only one rod is usable. You have to sharpen one side at a time, then turn the whole arrangement around and sharpen the other side using the same angle.

Another option is to use wedges to raise the SM from one end instead of in the middle. You can build a SM holder with a stop at one end and then use a wedge to raise up the other end to whatever angle you want for the rod. Again, you're limited to using just one rod to keep the angle consistent on both sides of the blade.

This might be easier, though. If you can find a small enough digital angle indicator that's magnetized, it might rest on the blade while you're sharpening and you can hold the blade at whatever angle you want on either SM rod. My angle indicator is magnetized, but it's a larger angle cube and it wouldn't stay in place while I sharpened the whole blade. Or, you can also design a backboard to go behind the SM with different angles indicated on it. Then, place the SM in front of it and hold the knife at the desired angle as marked on the back board. Sort of like a large protractor scale resting behind the SM to show you the angle for tilting the knife.
 
Isn't the base marked for both 40 and 30 degrees inclusive? You shouldn't have to tilt it at all
 
Have you considered trying out freehand sharpening? I still like using my SM for some specialty tasks (e.g., makes fast work of serrations). But freehand is the way to go for most things, easier and gives you total control over your sharpening angle.
 
Assuming your SM is like mine and the slots have some wiggle room, you can take a rubber band and put it across the top of the rods to lower the angle in a consistent way.
 
Razor said:
Can you go below 15% per side if you tilt the blade a little?
Click to expand...
Yes. The Sharpmaker is essentially a free-hand system mounted in such a way that you can easily judge a consistent sharpening angle because most people can judge "vertical" more easily than they can judge "15 degrees above horizontal." However, there is no requirement for you to use vertical strokes. You can adjust the blade to other angles, just like if you were freehanding in some other manner.

You can also put the rods side-by-side in the slots on the bottom of the base and use it like a standard horizontal bench stone. It is a fairly flexible tool.
 
Also you can put a shim under and on the middle between the side where you are going to flatten (slide) the knife on and empty slots, then you will have a lift on this side and in turn a smaller angle on one the rod. This way you can still keep the blade perpendicular to the table (where is the sharpmaker and reach low angle) once you will tilt the sharpmaker.
The same work if you want a steeper angle.

I found a picture that show what I mean:
4TH2sRk.jpg
 
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Razor said:
Can you go below 15% per side if you tilt the blade a little?
Click to expand...

Try building a guide like this. You don’t have to use your iphone or even the wall. You can nail two pieces of wood together at a right angle so that when you lay your rod on it, it gives you the angle you want. Then just sharpen with downward strokes like you would if using the sharpMaker jig

FA9OKEKI52CKJJS.MEDIUM.jpg
 
Thanks everybody for the advice. I may just try tilting the blade. It does really matter to me if one side is 15% and the other is 12%. Kinda like to try different ways of sharpen them. We these dam super steel their is really not much sharpening to do. Lol
 
Like another post says, you can tilt the blade, but you need a steady hand to keep it consistent. Before doing this, I recommend using the slot at the bottom of the case. It is supposed to be used for scissor sharpening, but I have gotten good results on knives as well.
 
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