Sharpmaker reprofilng issue

[ExtraTang]

Hi guys!

I've been trying to reprofile several of my knives on a sharpmaker. I have used rubber bands to attach a DMT extra coarse stone onto one of the rods. The set up is quite stable, but there is a problem that I am encountering. The left side edge would be 40 degrees, the other a little over. I would determine that through the sharpie trick. So I'd run the right side edge on the DMT stone until the sharpie was gone. To confirm that the knife was successfully reprofiled, I'd use the sharpie again, and discover that this time, the right side edge would be 40 degrees, while the left side a little over. So I'd run the left side through the stone and well, the left side would be 40 degrees and the right side a little over. On and on this cycle would continue. What should I do?? The knife that I'm currently attempting to reprofile is a CRKT minimalist, and from the sharpie trick I have determined that both edges are about the same angle now, so any solutions to keep the said issue from happening and successfully reprofilng my knife would be amazing!!

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

It's likely you're biasing your hold of the knife toward one side or the other (depending on which side you're working), and the held angle is varying accordingly. The natural tendency for most, when deliberately working one side of the blade, is to tilt the blade or 'lean into' the hone a bit, in trying to maintain contact with or 'feel' flush contact with the bevels & apex. This usually means the blade gets tilted one way when working the left side, and gets tilted the other way when working the right. This same tendency might also be skewing your perceived results in testing with the Sharpie ink to check the angles on each side.

Unless the difference in angle, from side-to-side, is more than 2-3 degrees, I wouldn't worry much about small differences. There's no such thing as 'perfect' in a freehand sharpening method (or pseudo-freehand, like the SM), so there'll always be some variation and asymmetry from side-to-side. Focus on making sure the edge is fully apexed and crisp, and you'll likely never notice any small angle differences in the normal use of your knife. That aside, your results will still likely get better with more practice anyway, so long as you're aware of the small things that create asymmetry, and therefore you'll be able to adjust and correct it when you see it happening.

(A tip: Placing a mirror behind the SM is handy for checking your held angle as you work; it's easier to see when it's 'off' a bit, this way.)


David

 

[ejames13]

Do you experience the same issue when using the brown or white stones?