Sharpmaker questions

R

ryan.s

Joined
Mar 22, 2008
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9
How many of you started with a sharpmaker then eventually went on to other sharpening systems/methods?

I'm in the market for a sharpener and initially thought I would make use of the woodworking tools which I already have, grinders/belt sanders/worksharp 3000, but the simplicity of the sharpmaker is attractive. I like the idea of using a non powered sharpening system. My questions are;

1. How hard is the learning curve?
2. Since it's a non guided system will I be able to get precise consistent results with practice?
3. Could the sharpmaker be the end all sharpener for me or will I eventually move on to some of the more expensive systems. I hoping I'm wrong but from the bit of research I've done the impression I get is that most eventually move on to other systems.
 
The Sharpmaker is very popular for a reason, it is very user friendly. That being said it does take some practice to get a good feel for it and sharpening knives in general. What's great about it also is that it is very portable if you travel or go camping etc. I still use my Sarpmaker exclusively since it works well enough I never saw any reason to upgrade. All that being said, I feel the Sharpmaker is more suited to keeping your knives sharp rather than "sharpening" them. If you are trying to reprofile or get an edge back on a very dull knife it can be a challenge.
 
I have had mine for over 20yrs.

Only issue I have ever had with it was
a rod fell off the table and shattered.
 
I like the simplicity of bench stones; occasionally an angle guide is useful for re-setting a bevel, but 99% of the time freehand works for me.
 
I enjoy mine for touch ups. It should be called the Sharp-Keeper because it does not work well for re-settling a bevel or fixing a poor production grind.

Most knives unfortunately are ground too obtuse to use on the Sharpmaker with the limited angle settings that it currently has. Often you will find that you are just grinding on the shoulder and not reaching the edge. I usually use an EdgePro or bench stones to reset the bevel on a production knife so that I can then use it on the Sharpmaker later to keep it sharp.
 
Yeah I agree with the comments about the difficulty in resetting a bevel. It usually takes me several hours to completely reset a bevel using the diamond stones. That, and the system gets loaded really fast due to the low surface area, so if you're doing a lot of reprofiling, you'll spend some time just keeping the stones clean.

All in all, however, I've not really been tempted to get another system. It's good for 99% of my sharpening needs.
 
It is all I need but I have a few tricks I have acquired over the years that help. My first piece of advice is to definitely get the diamond rods or else you are going to have a hard time resetting bevels. I actually wrap 220 sandpaper around the rods and secure it with binder clips when I have to remove a lot of metal. With that I have found re profiling to not be all that time consuming. Make sure you have it pulled tight and maybe even crease the paper along the corners of he rods or else you can easily scratch the blade up. I use it and benchstones or sandpaper taped to a block. That has been all I have needed. The trick to sharpening without an angle guided system is simple muscle memory which just comes from practice/repetition.
 
ryan.s said:
How many of you started with a sharpmaker then eventually went on to other sharpening systems/methods?
Click to expand...
I did the reverse - moved from guided systems to the Sharpmaker.

A recent sharpening binge of kitchen knives convinced me that the Sharpmaker made more sense for ease of use.

The Sharpmaker is indeed of creating extremely sharp edges and Youtube has plenty of vids proving it.
Here's jdavis882's - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MHe_8wTHmg

Also, the knock against the Sharpmaker is that the standard kit is not capable of reprofiling or sharpening a very dull edge is easily, and cheaply, resolved by ordering more aggressive rods from CongressTools or getting the more expensive Spyderco CBN or Diamond rods.
 
after all these years i just now today ordered my sharpmaker,i have had my eye on it for a long time,but my thinking was i could do better with freehand with my knifes! i have been using a DMT and i do o-kay but not grate and its slow at that,so i'm moving to the sharpmaker,i hear its a good system and a little faster to!should be hear next week and think its money well spent.
 
blanex1 said:
after all these years i just now today ordered my sharpmaker,i have had my eye on it for a long time,but my thinking was i could do better with freehand with my knifes! i have been using a DMT and i do o-kay but not grate and its slow at that,so i'm moving to the sharpmaker,i hear its a good system and a little faster to!should be hear next week and think its money well spent.
Click to expand...


I just got mine...and it is excellent.I had a blade that I just could not get sharp...and now it shaves.I am so pleased!

I hope you enjoy your new sharpmaker!
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Just ordered one today. I'm more interested in keeping my knives sharp versus resetting bevels so the sharpmaker should be perfect. If I ever do end up having to reset bevels or sharpen a really dull blade I guess I could always learn to sharpen on the grinder.

One additional question, do the ultra fine rods make a huge difference or will I be fine with just the standard rods that come with the sharpmaker? Thanks again!
 
Bench stones are the way to go. It takes years to learn how to do it right, but it is the best way imo. The other key is to find good grade stones. a good Arkansas white stone will cost $50 and up. The hard black stone is like marble but does get the final edge perfect. I have diamond bench type of various grades for in the field sharpening. Of course I am 67 yrs old and been doing it for a while.
 
ryan.s said:
One additional question, do the ultra fine rods make a huge difference or will I be fine with just the standard rods that come with the sharpmaker?
Click to expand...

whp said:
Instead of the ultra fine rods, get a pair of diamond rods.
Click to expand...

Agree. You'll need the Diamond or CBN rods before you need the Ultra Fines. Sal says as much in the DVD as eventually you'll need to 'thin the edge'.

This is how I look at it ...

The Sharpmakers's standard rods are Medium and Fine, which are about 15micron/1200grit and 6micron/4000grit, respectively.

My standard DMT Aligner stones are Coarse 45u/325, Fine 25u/600~800, XFine, 9u/1200~1800. The optional XXFine are 3u/8000, the same as the Ultra Fines. With the Coarse I can restore an extremely dull edge easily and the XFine puts a nice polish on the edge, much nicer than I need, so no need for XXFine.

So the standard Sharpmaker rods have the Fine to XFine covered and what's missing is the Coarse. The Diamond and CBN rods fill that role, being a very aggressive 400grit.

The newer CBN coatings reportedly lasts longer than the Diamond coating, so I'd recommend getting the CBN rods first. Later, if you become an edge-fanatic, you can get the Ultra Fines.

Either way, I'd wait til you've used the standard Sharpmaker for awhile and then decide which, if any/both, rods you need first.
 
It's very easy to learn, I was surprised when I tried to sharpen my first knife on it, I made the knife sharper than when it came to me from the factory. I started with slow and steady up and down strokes, counted carefully, paid very careful attention to keep the blade steady, and it worked out well. After a few knives, you start to move up and down the rods very quickly (sorry for sexual reference lol). A hint: if you're not using a Spyderco knife, the knife may be greater than a 40 degree inclusive edge, so it will seem you are never actually sharpening it. You may need the diamond rods to reprofile the edge to take off much more material faster before you get your knife to the 40 degree edge, and then you start using rods that come with the system.
 
ryan.s said:
How many of you started with a sharpmaker then eventually went on to other sharpening systems/methods?

I'm in the market for a sharpener and initially thought I would make use of the woodworking tools which I already have, grinders/belt sanders/worksharp 3000, but the simplicity of the sharpmaker is attractive. I like the idea of using a non powered sharpening system. My questions are;

1. How hard is the learning curve?
Click to expand...
If your not really stupid or unwilling - zero
ryan.s said:
2. Since it's a non guided system will I be able to get precise consistent results with practice?
Click to expand...
yes
ryan.s said:
3. Could the sharpmaker be the end all sharpener for me or will I eventually move on to some of the more expensive systems.
Click to expand...

If you look at the video the Spyderco comes with, the copy also found on Youtube, you reached your sharpening heaven.
Tip: Get the Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker (CBN Rods) / sold separately - there essential for full satisfaction
 
... is no more then a old toothbrush and a little toothpaste. Nothing more is needed and your ready to sharpen with Spyderco sharpmaker for a lifetime as the rods themselves will last for eternity - or two.

Pls. note that accumulating dirt (metal residue) on the sharpmaker's rods decreases their performance significantly - in worst case it goes near zero.
 
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