Sharpmaker. Witch one 203 or 204 ?

stiglic · Oct 31, 1999

Witch one is better and why?
Can I sharpe any kind of blade?

JoHnYKwSt · Oct 31, 1999

The 204 is a replacement for the 203. It has some improvements including a 30 degree angle along with the standard 40 degree. The 203 is discontinued. Yes, you can sharpen most any type of blade.

-Johnny

misque · Oct 31, 1999

204 is the way to go.
If it has an edge, you can most likely sharpen it on the 204.
When you get it, make sure you mail in the little info card that comes with it. You will get the Sharpmaker 204 instructional video free of charge and it is WELL worth the little effort to get the card into the mail.
It is a wealth of information on sharpeneing technique and tips with Sal doing the honors on the tape. It is a very well done video and compliments the Sharpmaker system very nicely.

------------------
The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.

Mike Turber · Oct 31, 1999

FWIW the 203 is on sale in the BFC store.

More 204's will be here next week.

------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com
www.gigandknives.com
www.macedirect.com
www.dragon-forge.com
The above sites are pure shamless plugs!

storyville · Nov 2, 1999

I recently purchased a 204 and will be selling my 203 original Sharpmaker. If someone is interested (e.g., even if you'd like to pick up the stones for a good deal), plz feel free to e-mail me. Otherwise, I'll post it in the next week or so.

Glen

CJL101 · Nov 4, 1999

I have both a 204 and an old 203 and I have noticed that while the 204 has a 30 and 40 degree V the 203 has a 45 degree V. I checked this out with a protractor to be sure. I originally thought they would have the same angle.
Has anyone else noticed this or is it just that my 203 is of an older production run?

Heyns van der Merwe · Nov 4, 1999

No question (or opening for arguing) on this one: GO FOR THE 204!! It's just SOOOOO much better - in the extra functionality, the packaging, the sheer ingenuity in the design, etc...

JoHnYKwSt · Nov 4, 1999

The 203 has a 45 degree angle? That's news to me. I always thought it was a 40 degree.

------------------
Johnny
[]xxxxxx[]=============>

Sal Glesser · Nov 4, 1999

CJL-101 - The original 203 was supposed to be 40 degrees. occassonally, from a lot of use, the foam material that the base was made of would compress which might change the angle as much as 5 degrees. The 204 does not use a foam to correct this.

We also learned that stones that are undersized beyond tolerance (.010) would also change the angle. On the 204, we tightened up the tolerance.

The 204 is a better tool simply by virtue of an additional 20 years of experience with the 201, 202 & 203 models.

Hope that helps.

sal