Sharpmaker

E

EagleIH

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
179
I have a Sharpmaker that is a few years old now. Has the Sharpmaker ever been updated in any ways? Thanks so much.
 
It's been updated over it's lifespan but not recently. Is yours the plastic base one?

If you post a pic I"m sure the folks here will give you the lowdown on how recent your version is.
 
If you are contemplating updates Sal, a greater range of diamond stone grits would be much appreciated since you keep giving us more and more awesome (and hard to sharpen) steels!!!
 
ric75 said:
I prefer a coarser one.
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yep. it would be nice to be able to reprofile via the sharpmaker faster with spyderco stones/diamond, etc.. i use those congress stones now to do the hard work. diamond and such dont work fast enough.
 
Sal Glesser said:
More coarse or finer?

sal
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Oh please Sal we need at least one stone that would be a coarse and more aggressive stone for rapid stock removal for the 204 Sharpmaker system. Because in the field I can't tell you how many times I've had to get out one of my coarse diamond stones for a blade I really banged up>> because I don't have one coarse stone on my 204 Sharpmaker to do extensive reprofiling. And if we had at least one diamond or CBN stone that would be the equivalent of a coarse or extra-coarse diamond stone for the 204 Sharpmaker that would really help a lot of us who use them in the field quite a bit. That's the only complaint I've personally even had about the Sharpmaker is the lack of at least one very aggressive stone. If I didn't have to carry extra stones for banged up blades that would be extremely handy and it would make the 204 Sharpmaker a more complete system in my humble opinion.

And if the 701 Profiles are to ever come back I would add that they would even be better if they were offered in a wider grit selection. They are both near perfect sharpening kits that just need a little more grit selection IMO.
 
One of best tools for touching up reprofiled knife is sharpmaker.Have bought mine 14yrs ago and still use it today.I have stones but sharpmaker is much more handy,few passes and its often all you need.
 
I would LOVE to have some additional diamond stones available. Personally I would want something in the 1000 grit range to offer an option for a toothy finish. I also believe that for those looking to polish their bevels on the Sharpmaker, the gap between the current diamond stones and the medium ceramics is much too wide.
 
Surfingringo said:
I would LOVE to have some additional diamond stones available. Personally I would want something in the 1000 grit range to offer an option for a toothy finish. I also believe that for those looking to polish their bevels on the Sharpmaker, the gap between the current diamond stones and the medium ceramics is much too wide.
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Completely agree.
 
If the current stone is a 400 then I would like one coarser set and two finer sets. A 200, 800 and 1200 to go with the current 400 would make for a complete system capabale of sharpening the most wear resistant steels. It could be nice to have one ultra fine like the DMT XXF which is 8000 grit but I am not sure if it would be a worthwhile venture.

I realize it would get pricey to put a complete set together ($50 for the sharpmaker and then $50 for each set of rods) but the end result would be great for those of us who use the sharpmaker a lot. I would gradually add one of each set to my setup.
 
I ordered the CBN rods instead of the diamond coated ones as I have diamond coated filed sharpeners, therefore just wanted to try a different coarse surface. Are they pretty much similar in terms of micron (grit)?. Otherwise, I would agree that another in-between grit would be great for someone who already owns the kit. OTOH, for a new buyer to add another $50 or so on top of a new Sharpmaker + existing diamond rods + UF rods would put the entire system in the KME price range of just under $200.

IMO, for a sharpening novice there's less risk of messing up an edge with the Sharpmaker as opposed to the other guided systems and if budget allows it, a Sharpmaker ought to be included in one's sharpening kit whether the person also sharpens freehand or uses more sophisticated guided systems for better and quicker re-profiling tasks.
 
Casinostocks said:
I ordered the CBN rods instead of the diamond coated ones as I have diamond coated filed sharpeners, therefore just wanted to try a different coarse surface. Are they pretty much similar in terms of micron (grit)?. Otherwise, I would agree that another in-between grit would be great for someone who already owns the kit. OTOH, for a new buyer to add another $50 or so on top of a new Sharpmaker + existing diamond rods + UF rods would put the entire system in the KME price range of just under $200.

IMO, for a sharpening novice there's less risk of messing up an edge with the Sharpmaker as opposed to the other guided systems and if budget allows it, a Sharpmaker ought to be included in one's sharpening kit whether the person also sharpens freehand or uses more sophisticated guided systems for better and quicker re-profiling tasks.
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Good points :thumbsup: but I disagree with the bold part. If a novice is not careful or patient, he/she can easily scratch up the blade especially when sharpening at a lower angle like 30 degree inclusive. With a guided system as simple as Lansky, I just don't see how one can mess up with the edge, let alone riskier than using SM, which is basically an improved free-hand sharpening system.

Back to the topic of this thread. I don't mean to rain on the parade, but I am pretty happy with the current Sharpmaker setup and its price point. I basically follow the suggestion made by a poster in another old thread: free hand sharpening the knife to a slightly lower angle (<15 dps) and then use SM to refine and maintain the edge. Reprofiling the edge with SM is just a pain in the neck. Diamond rods might help but still a less optimal choice when it comes to reprofiling.
 
sharp_edge said:
Good points :thumbsup: but I disagree with the bold part. If a novice is not careful or patient, he/she can easily scratch up the blade especially when sharpening at a lower angle like 30 degree inclusive. With a guided system as simple as Lansky, I just don't see how one can mess up with the edge, let alone riskier than using SM, which is basically an improved free-hand sharpening system.

Back to the topic of this thread. I don't mean to rain on the parade, but I am pretty happy with the current Sharpmaker setup and its price point. I basically follow the suggestion made by a poster in another old thread: free hand sharpening the knife to a slightly lower angle (<15 dps) and then use SM to refine and maintain the edge. Reprofiling the edge with SM is just a pain in the neck. Diamond rods might help but still a less optimal choice when it comes to reprofiling.
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yeah but due to there not being a more course sharpmaker diamond rod/stone. if there was itd be much quicker and easier.
 
Agreed. The SM is the best thing since sliced bread for maintaining a sharp edge. But reprofiling not so much. I'll stick with the edge pro for that.
 
To overcome the lack of coarser stones in my SM I used to just lean a cheapo carborundum oval stone on the SM and grind away to stablish the edge. I am right handed, so holding the stone with my left hand over the rod on the left of the V is ok... Holding it on the right side of the V means having my arms crossed... but I can live with that.

A friend of mine tried taping (double sided sticky tape) strips of sandpaper to the flat of the stones, but it doesn't last long.

Now what I do is the same I did with the carborundum stone BUT using a cheapo diamond rectangular stone (Diafold knockout). Works great. I am starting to love diamonds. It is a 400/600 stone
 
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