sharpmaker woes

[candlelight001]

I'm trying to sharpen a new knife that i have out of CPM 3V. I can get it so it slices thin magazine paper if I cut carefully. It shaves if I press hard, and only grudgingly. It's not razor sharp like a spyderco I have that was resharpened at factory that I use as my gold standard. I think it has a bur that I can't see, as it's reluctant going into the edge of the paper. The sharpmaker's supposed to be foolproof, how can I be screwing this up?

 

[THG]

The capabilities of the Sharpmaker only extend as far as those of the user.

1. Check the edge under bright light: do you see shine on the edge? If so, you've got a dull edge.

2. Check the blade under sunlight and rotate it around. Can you see a highlight along the edge? If so, you've got a burr.

3. Use a sharpie and mark the bevels to see where you are sharpening. Is the ink coming off at the very edge? If not, you're not sharpening the edge.

Those are 3 things I can think of off the top of my head that could be hindering you.

 

[gajinoz]

I'd put my money on number 3 from above there. Common mistake, make sure you're actually sharpening right down to the edge and not inadvertently reprofiling to a slightly different angle.

A very fine burr or wire edge is also a possibility.

 

[krazichinaman]

Sharpie trick will tell you alot about what you are doing right or wrong.:thumbup:

 

[winbag338]

I'm trying to sharpen a new knife that i have out of CPM 3V. I can get it so it slices thin magazine paper if I cut carefully. It shaves if I press hard, and only grudgingly. It's not razor sharp like a spyderco I have that was resharpened at factory that I use as my gold standard. I think it has a bur that I can't see, as it's reluctant going into the edge of the paper. The sharpmaker's supposed to be foolproof, how can I be screwing this up?

Nothing is fool proof, thats just something they say to sell us fools something.
Start with the sharpie, if much metal needs to be remved use a diamond stone or course wet-dry, then finish with the sharpmaker.

 

[bobofish]

I had this problem recently.
Very simply, I was being lazy and inattentive. I had been sharpening while reading, and was only paying attention enough not to cut myself. This is by the way not something I recommend.

The next day I was opening some mail, and instead of a nice clean "zip" right through the envelope, I had nice fat tears and rips.

Upon looking at the edge, I realized that on the right side of the knife I had been sharpening to the edge, but on the left side I was sharpening the bevel. I set up the Sharpmaker to see how I had done it, and sure enough I had been holding the knife at an angle that was comfortable while reading, but was off center rather than perpendicular to the two sticks.

Try the marker line on the edge method, it works every time. Also try to place the Sharpmaker in such a way that you can get a very perpendicular line as the knife goes down each stick, basically straight out of your shoulder.

 

[candlelight001]

Yup, that was exactly what I was doing. Left side, sharpen to edge. Right side, sharpen halfway up bevel. Used a diamond stone to take bevels back a little, sharpie to make sure I was going the right way w/ the sticks after that. Very sharp now. Thanks folks!

 

[winbag338]

Yup, that was exactly what I was doing. Left side, sharpen to edge. Right side, sharpen halfway up bevel. Used a diamond stone to take bevels back a little, sharpie to make sure I was going the right way w/ the sticks after that. Very sharp now. Thanks folks!

Now try useing wet-dry with a thin mouse pad and give it a slight convexed edge. Start at about 1000, finish with 2000, light strokes.

 

[jfindon]

Yup, that was exactly what I was doing. Left side, sharpen to edge. Right side, sharpen halfway up bevel. Used a diamond stone to take bevels back a little, sharpie to make sure I was going the right way w/ the sticks after that. Very sharp now. Thanks folks!

I have this problem too, but I think my old beater knife is too mangled for me to spend the time fixing without the diamond stones. I'm getting increasingly annoyed and would rather just spend the money on an Edge Pro so I get consistent angles.

 

[LikeHike]

The capabilities of the Sharpmaker only extend as far as those of the user.

1. Check the edge under bright light: do you see shine on the edge? If so, you've got a dull edge.

I don't know if I get this. Is the shine because it is sharpening too far back from the edge rather than the edge?

Thanks

 

[THG]

I don't know if I get this. Is the shine because it is sharpening too far back from the edge rather than the edge?

Thanks

The shiny speckles you are looking for are right on the edge of the blade. They are there because you have edge damage; pieces of the edge are broken down and are no longer shaped like this: ^

When you have a "perfect edge," there are no shiny speckles on the edge and there is no burr.