Sharpmaker trick for those who struggle

[Emre]

D2 isn't hard to sharpen at all. No need for diamonds. I'm able to put a mirror-polished edge on my Dozier folder using just a Sharpmaker with the ultra-fine stone.

 

[evilgreg]

D2 isn't hard to sharpen at all. No need for diamonds. I'm able to put a mirror-polished edge on my Dozier folder using just a Sharpmaker with the ultra-fine stone.

Agreed, for sharpening the medium and ultra-fine that come with the set do fine on D2. If you're reprofiling a thick edge something grittier is nice, though. Even more so if you're trying to reprofile some of the more wear resistant steels.

 

[evilgreg]

Quick question definitely not trying to hijack mbkryan thread. My wife bought me the diamond stones for xmas. So are the ruby a waste to buy or are they a good step after diamond or before? Just don't want to buy if it is redundant but $14.50 is hard to resist

I have both and usually use the little Ruby 320s, but there isn't that much difference. I think the Spyderco diamond rods are 400 grit, IIRC. If you already have them, you can probably skip the congress rods (unless you want something really aggressive to go below your diamonds (e.g. 200 grit maybe?). I do recommend them in general though, because they're inexpensive and they work great, at least they have for me.

 

[rcb2000]

I recently screwed the base to my work table, its a lot easier, and also easier to maintain your angle IMO.

 

[kershawguy13]

Check that auction site for "sharpening system". You'll see several models.
They all work. The one with a suction cup on the bottom is very good.

Are those edge pro clones actually good?

 

[Stays Sharp]

1) Use it in front of a mirror. It helps keep your blade centered to the V rods. Trust me try it.
2) Diamond rods is a requirement to SHARPEN. Otherwise, it just a great edge maintainer.
3) Always wise to sharpie the edge if you're not a pro so you know your progress.
4) Clean rods very often. Diamonds, with dish soap and brush. Ceramics, bar keepers friend and dish sponge.
5) If a super steel or large blade is taking too much time, stop and continue some other time instead of compromising consistency. Number one reason for disappointing results is lack of consistency. My passes get lazy after awhile which is counterproductive.
6) If it's not sharp on an earlier stone, it will not get sharp on a later stone. Get it sharp on the lowest stone first.

 

[Sergeua]

I have those same stones from Congress for my Sharpmaker and I think they work fine. Cheap enough to just give it a try.
The edges are sharp so I just use the flats.
I spray a little water with some dish det. on them. Not sure it's needed.

I don't think you want to put any soap on the rods, that's just going to make the blade slide and you want the friction to be taking metal away. Going to take you longer with soap

 

[Sergeua]

I use sharpmaker like this

This way i get same angle on both sides. There are no variations. I used a level to set the base the same as the spot in my kitchen where I mostly sharpen. It changes.
Here you can use both hands, with some finger pressure on blade itself for control, and can see whether you are going straight easier. Also easier to hold blade steady in one position. (in my opinion)
Main control is in the hand holding the handle.
Make sure you don't woble.
Go back and forth with most of pressure on the down part. Takes away more metal and saves time.
You gotta be able to cut pizzas in half easily to use this method.
Also SM is for enthusiasts who prefer secondary bevel touch ups

 

[robgmn]

Are those edge pro clones actually good?

For 1/10 the price, you get 99% of the performance.
Imagine getting a car that performs @ 99% of a Porsche 911 Turbo, but getting it for less than $18K.

 

[Revival29]

I think one of the main keys to the sharpmaker is using light pressure. You naturally want to force the blade down, but just use the weight of the knife to guide you down. Possibly why it worked better with your non dominant hand? I also use the sharpmaker only to touch up knives that have already been sharpened on a KME. I think they complement each other nicely.

 

[willard0341]

I don't think you want to put any soap on the rods, that's just going to make the blade slide and you want the friction to be taking metal away. Going to take you longer with soap

You dry the rods before you use them
I will sometimes put a white piece of paper behind the sharp maker to insure the blade is vertical (43 yr old eyes)
The higher the sm is the more comfortable for my wrist angle to help the heel of the blade hit the stone
Occasionally I will crane my neck down to make sure the blade is touching all the way across the flat of the stone (before stroke)
Diamond stones are a must
If the knife is not as sharp as you want it to be... Keep going (pending there is an apex)
The only thing I do with my left hand is wipe my backside
People mentioning lighter strokes and just using the weight of the blade yes yes and yes

 

[F308gt4]

I'm still a relative newbie to the sharpmaker, but the single most helpful trick to me has been the use of a sharpie marker to mark the blade, and a loupe to examine my work.

I find a marker color other than black to work better for me, and I have a cheap 30x loupe to look at the blade periodically. After each step/stone, I redo the sharpie mark on the blade.

I don't have the diamond stones, but have used the sandpaper trick, as well as clamping a diamond stone onto the rods to help with reprofiling.

 

[aleforme]

I use sharpmaker like this

This way i get same angle on both sides. There are no variations. I used a level to set the base the same as the spot in my kitchen where I mostly sharpen. It changes.
Here you can use both hands, with some finger pressure on blade itself for control, and can see whether you are going straight easier. Also easier to hold blade steady in one position. (in my opinion)
Main control is in the hand holding the handle.
Make sure you don't woble.
Go back and forth with most of pressure on the down part. Takes away more metal and saves time.
You gotta be able to cut pizzas in half easily to use this method.
Also SM is for enthusiasts who prefer secondary bevel touch ups

That's actually a great tip. I might have to try this. I don't have any issue using the Sharpmaker but this seems a little more accurate in terms of keeping an eye on blade angle.

 

[MeDoctor]

I've had the Congress 220 grit rods (both ruby and SC) for over a year now. Ruby cuts faster but wears quicker. Both cut better than my Spyderco diamond rods on anything short of a super steel like S35V or Elmax. Definitely worth a try.
Still not a replacement for the EdgePro or other guided systems for heavy work, but these stones certainly improve the performance of the SharpMaker for a very small investment.

 

[DocJD]

I am REALLY bad at sharpening. I tried using my left hand for a few swipes. [/QUOTE ]
Maybe you are secretly a lefty ? I've noticed that some things work better for me left handed , also .

 

[jalapeno]

I use sharpmaker like this

This way i get same angle on both sides. There are no variations. I used a level to set the base the same as the spot in my kitchen where I mostly sharpen. It changes.
Here you can use both hands, with some finger pressure on blade itself for control, and can see whether you are going straight easier. Also easier to hold blade steady in one position. (in my opinion)
Main control is in the hand holding the handle.
Make sure you don't woble.
Go back and forth with most of pressure on the down part. Takes away more metal and saves time.
You gotta be able to cut pizzas in half easily to use this method.
Also SM is for enthusiasts who prefer secondary bevel touch ups

(replying to an old thread)
Photobucket strikes again!
Anyone recall what the photo was showing? Sounds interesting.

 

[Sergeua]

(replying to an old thread)
Photobucket strikes again!
Anyone recall what the photo was showing? Sounds interesting.

Hey jalapeno, i fixed the image in my original post. I stumbled upon this method after i bought a single UF rod from my local knife store. They didn't sell them in pairs and i wanted to save money. I kept turning the base around until i just oriented it that way and kept changing the hand after that. I now sharpen free hand, but i got very proficient with that SM.
Some before and after pics on SM.

 

[maximus83]

If you own knives in any modern powder (PM) steels that are high carbide/high vanadium content (S30v/S35vn, M390/20cv/204p, S90v/S110v, etc), I'm aware of only 3 options of stones that work optimally with these steels: the spyderco diamond rods or their cbn rods, or the Congress Tools Moldmaster silicon carbide stones. The Congress ruby stones are nice too but are aluminum oxide and not optimal for working with these high vanadium content steels (the carbdides in the steel are harder than the abrasive). So if you want to use Sharpmaker, have knives in these steels, and want one set of stones that can sharpen all the steels you own using Sharpmaker, it's a good idea to get one of these add-on stone sets for your Sharpmaker. There are a couple of issues with the Spyderco diamond and cbn rods, they do work and I have the diamond, but the biggest issue is they only have a single grit which is estimated (by them) to be 400 mesh. They're also very expensive, and fragile. The Moldmaster stones are less expensive, come in the 1/2" triangle size to fit Sharpmaker, and a range of grits 80 to 600. I own and have tested grits from 150 to 600. They absolutely work and will let you reprofile a super steel edge--I've done it, recently. Though it still takes a long time due to the reduced surface area of these small Sharpmaker stones, and I don't recommend doing a lot of profiling on Sharpmaker even if you "can." If you're going to do a lot of serious edge repair profiling, it's worth getting an inexpensive Norton Crystolon bench stone and doing that part of the job freehand. Because I still do use my Sharpmaker for a few tasks, and also use it for family members who aren't into freehand so they can sharpen at a fixed angle, I thought the Moldmaster were a good investment. Got a whole set of pairs of stones in several grits for under $40 total, which is less than a single pair of Spyderco diamond or cbn rods. For example: if you get pairs of the 150, 400, and 600 grits, with that you can profile, edge repair, sharpen, and finish, and then follow up with a few super light passes on the Spyderco white/fine ceramic to really refine your edge.

My recent review of the Moldmaster stones where I used it to sharpen a 20cv blade:
https://bladeforums.com/threads/using-congress-tools-sic-stones-with-sharpmaker.1529283/

And another post where I used it to reprofile an s30v blade:
https://bladeforums.com/threads/20-cv-sharpening.1533148/page-2#post-17613429

 

[postoak]

My two cents:

1) Augment the base system with the diamond rods and the super-fine rods
2) Buy a loop and use it in conjunction with a Sharpie
3) Consider smoothly slice cutting phone book paper as "success"
4) If you have to take off a lot of material to re-profile, don't use the alternating method, move one side of the blade up and down on the rod until you establish your burr.
5) With the brown rods you should be able to reach the goal I mentioned in 3) The fine and super-fine stones just make slicing a little smoother and get you close to push cutting.