sharpmaker question

[roncunningham]

Just got a sharpmaker for Christmas. Have used similar sharpners with round stones but never used the triangle shaped sharpners. I am concerned about not being able to keep the blade flat against the flat side of stone. How critical is this to producing a sharp blade?

 

[cgmblade]

You'll get better results if the blade remains in contact w/ the sharpening rod. It's not that hard and speed is your enemy. Keep the blade horizontal, draw from tang to tip. Don't allow the tip to slide off the rod and use light to medium pressure.

For touching up already sharp blades I generally only use the white rods and sometimes only the corners. I alternate one stroke on one side and then one stroke on the other side. But for serious sharpening I'll use the flats and do 20 strokes per side before switching. On some really bad blades I've gone up and down on bad spots.

Watch the dvd and practice on some cheap knives if you're unsure. Good luck.

 

[bh49]

J I am concerned about not being able to keep the blade flat against the flat side of stone.

I agree, do it slow. Also you can place mirror behind sharpmaker and look at reflection, this will help to hold the blade vertically.

 

[JD Spydo]

One trick I've learned which has helped me refine my results with the 204 Sharpmaker is to clamp the unit to a work bench or sturdy desk or sturdy table. Now don't use a C-Clamp and let the bare metal dig into the Sharpmaker unit. You either need some 1/4 inch sheet rubber like the plumbers use ( which is what I use to keep the clamp from marring the surface of the Sharpmaker).

Or you can use a thick piece of leather or vinyl or something to cushion where the clamp secures the unit. That way you are free to use both hands to steady your action when pulling the blade across the stones. I'm truly considering looking into doing a YOUTUBE video on this method because it has helped me get quicker and more controlable results.

It has really helped me to get better and quicker results with recurves and Hawkbills in particular.

Also I can't stress enough to watch the DVD at least 2 to 3 times before even attempting to do serious sharpening. There are a lot of methods you can overlook if you don't get the video down pat. The 204 Sharpmaker is a genius invention and it is without a doubt the best kit sharpener on the market in my opinion. Now you could use a small furniture clamp with wood jaws on the Sharpmaker as well. Keep us posted and let us know how you're coming along. There are a lot of tricks to learn using the Sharpmaker.

 

[roncunningham]

Thanks for the quick responses, all were very helpful. I slowed down to a crawl when using the flat and used a plastic grip clamp to clamp sharpmaker to a table. I am using both hands until I get used to working on the flat. This seems to be helping. Thanks all.

 

[Twindog]

Welcome to the forum. The Sharpmaker is an incredible sharpening system, but you will benefit greatly from a little theory in the sharpening threads.

Two things are especially important:

1) Make sure the angle of the stone matches the angle of the edge. If your edge is 40 degrees and you're using the 30-degree sharpening setting on the Sharpmaker, you just end up rounding off the shoulders of the edge bevel. Use a Sharpie to paint the edge and then make a dry pass to see where the metal is being removed. Get a 10X Loupe to see what the edge looks like. It will help you a lot. You'll develop your skills a lot faster if you get this kind of feedback.

2) You have to raise and properly remove a burr. You can read a burr with your fingertips. The burr tells you when you have removed enough metal and when you have to start refining the edge.

With all new knives, I like to use a diamond stone to reprofile the edge to a perfect 30 degrees, even on both sides. Once that is done, the Sharpmaker is much easier and faster to use.

 

[JD Spydo]

Welcome to the forum. The Sharpmaker is an incredible sharpening system, but you will benefit greatly from a little theory in the sharpening threads.

Two things are especially important:

1) Make sure the angle of the stone matches the angle of the edge. If your edge is 40 degrees and you're using the 30-degree sharpening setting on the Sharpmaker, you just end up rounding off the shoulders of the edge bevel. Use a Sharpie to paint the edge and then make a dry pass to see where the metal is being removed. Get a 10X Loupe to see what the edge looks like. It will help you a lot. You'll develop your skills a lot faster if you get this kind of feedback.

2) You have to raise and properly remove a burr. You can read a burr with your fingertips. The burr tells you when you have removed enough metal and when you have to start refining the edge.

With all new knives, I like to use a diamond stone to reprofile the edge to a perfect 30 degrees, even on both sides. Once that is done, the Sharpmaker is much easier and faster to use.

That's excellent input "Twindog" If the brother doesn't have a jeweler's loupe I suggest him ( or any of the rest of you all) getting a Zeiss model loupe. They are a bit pricey but their resolution is so crystal clear that they are like using a little microscope and they are excellent quality and can be resold for almost as much as you pay for them. I'm currently using a Bausch & Lomb 8X x 17X model for my sharpening work and it's not a bad unit at all but I do plan on getting either a Zeiss 3X x 18X or a Zeiss straight 10X in a couple of months or so.

I also like your advice of using a diamond stone for quick reprofiling. I'm getting to where I can free hand my reprofiling with a very aggressive diamond benchstone and then do my fine tuning on the Sharpmaker and doing my final finishing with the ultra-fine stone that you can buy extra for the 204 unit along with a set of the 204 diamond stones.

But I can't stress enough for him to watch that video and pay very close attention to what Sal is doing on the plain edge and serrated edge. Because there are some valuable pointers in that DVD that comes with the kit. Now I've heard that the newest Sharpmakers don't have the original instructional booklet. If that's true I would either call or write to Spyderco and try to get one. I find that instructional booklet valuable on tips on how to sharpen scissors and many other edged tools.

I personally haven't watched any of the videos on YOUTUBE yet but I hear that there are a couple of good ones on the Sharpmaker on YOUTUBE. If any of you guys know which ones are good on YOUTUBE please e-mail me at joespyder@sbcglobal.net and let me and the rest of us here know.

 

[THG]

That's excellent input "Twindog" If the brother doesn't have a jeweler's loupe I suggest him ( or any of the rest of you all) getting a Zeiss model loupe. They are a bit pricey but their resolution is so crystal clear that they are like using a little microscope and they are excellent quality and can be resold for almost as much as you pay for them. I'm currently using a Bausch & Lomb 8X x 17X model for my sharpening work and it's not a bad unit at all but I do plan on getting either a Zeiss 3X x 18X or a Zeiss straight 10X in a couple of months or so.

Yeah, don't go cheap with the optics... I got a so-called 10x magnifying glass, and in actuality it isn't more than 4x.

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

Just got a sharpmaker for Christmas. Have used similar sharpners with round stones but never used the triangle shaped sharpners. I am concerned about not being able to keep the blade flat against the flat side of stone. How critical is this to producing a sharp blade?

I've been using the SM for about 10 months now and I still have some problems staying completely flush with the flats on the rods. The problem is actually more pronounced and more often on the righthand side rod (I'm righthanded). For some reason I can keep flush on the left one pretty good, though. I do find that slowing down and paying close attention helps with this problem a bit. And, yes, it is critical to producing a sharp blade, at least for me. I find that when I finish off my steps on the flats properly, i.e. perfectly flush, on each set of rods (diamond, medium, fine) that my finished edge is SO MUCH more refined, polished, and sharp. Working just the corners will get my knives sharp, even shaving sharp, but not nearly as good as when the flats have been worked properly.

As with anything, practise makes perfect.

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

I bought a little pocket microscope from radio shack for 10 bucks. It has 60-100X magnification and a built in light. It is pretty amazing what the edge really looks like up close. It is plastic and probably has plastic lens and looks like it could have been made by mattell but it works pretty good.

I also thought since you alternate sides with the sharpmaker you are not supposed to develope a burr? If you alternate sides someone might whittle down a blade to a little nub of metal and never feel a burr.

 

[cgmblade]

I also thought since you alternate sides with the sharpmaker you are not supposed to develope a burr? If you alternate sides someone might whittle down a blade to a little nub of metal and never feel a burr.

I've of the same mind on this. I don't think it is absolutely necessary to raise a burr to get a properly sharpened blade. I do think raising a burr makes the process faster, but at the risk of having uneven edge angles. I hope some more knowledgeable forumites will chime in and share their wisdom.

 

[Psychopomp]

I've of the same mind on this. I don't think it is absolutely necessary to raise a burr to get a properly sharpened blade. I do think raising a burr makes the process faster, but at the risk of having uneven edge angles. I hope some more knowledgeable forumites will chime in and share their wisdom.

Correct me if I'm wrong because it's been years since I've watched the video, but I believe Sal's method was to alternate sides between strokes. In my experience this works perfectly well for maintaining an already reasonably sharp blade.

But I always get better results doing fifteen to twenty strokes on one side, checking for a burr, then fifteen to twenty (or more depending on the knife) on the other side.

You're right, you don't have to raise a burr to get a perfectly sharp knife, but it does help to speed up the process and show you what areas you need to pay more attention to. There's nothing more annoying than a knife that is hair popping sharp, but has a half a centimeter dull as a brick spot in the middle. Raising a burr will eliminate the possibility of that happening.

I think I may go pop in the tape and watch the video again... it's been at least four years.

 

[cgmblade]

Correct me if I'm wrong because it's been years since I've watched the video, but I believe Sal's method was to alternate sides between strokes. In my experience this works perfectly well for maintaining an already reasonably sharp blade.

But I always get better results doing fifteen to twenty strokes on one side, checking for a burr, then fifteen to twenty (or more depending on the knife) on the other side.

You're right, you don't have to raise a burr to get a perfectly sharp knife, but it does help to speed up the process and show you what areas you need to pay more attention to. There's nothing more annoying than a knife that is hair popping sharp, but has a half a centimeter dull as a brick spot in the middle. Raising a burr will eliminate the possibility of that happening.

I think I may go pop in the tape and watch the video again... it's been at least four years.

I remember the dvd the same as you. Sal alternating sides, which is great for touching up sharp knives.

Like you, I do 20 strokes per side for knives that need a lot of work. And I've been in the exact situation you described with part of the blade hair popping sharp and another part dull. Raising a burr along the whole length of the blade is the best way to make sure the sides have met, but I think you can get the same results alternating sides though it'll take longer.

 

[KLJTech]

I find the Sharpmaker to be worth its weight in gold, I have several recurve blades (like the BM Skirmish) so I just leave it set so that I'm using the corners of the white rods. Using the corners allows be to focus on just taking my time and keeping the knife straight up and down. I try to never allow any of my knives to become dull so that touching them up is easy. As mentioned by others take your time, sharpen up to the tip but don't allow the tip to pass off the edge of the rod as to round it off.

With just a little practice you'll be sharpening like a pro in no time. I had to be one of the worlds worse at sharpening knives before I received the Sharpmaker and now I just focus on keeping the blade straight up and down. Great sharpener.
Best of luck to you.