smith's diamond sharpener, need help please

B

bobzzz

Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Messages
20
http://www.rei.com/product/685954
i bought that sharpener when i went to my local sporting goods store and i thought it would be a lot better than the 5$ pull through sharpeners and such, however i cant get any of my knives sharp with it. this is my first sharpener so i don't know if theres any good techniques. the instructions say to push the blade away from you like you are trying to carve a thin slice off the stone, and then repeat pulling the stone towards you. i have tried this stone on many knives with 440 steel and aus8, which i've read are easy to sharpen, they just don't get as sharp as other high end steels. is the problem the stone or do i just suck at sharpening :confused: ?
 
I've heard small stones are harder to use than large ones, probably just need to practice a lot, guess you'll just have to get out there and dull those knives! :D
 
I've never handled the Smith's, but from the picture, it looks a lot like the DMT butterfly handle diamond stomes. I have the two-sided DMT, coarse and fine.

Your technique sounds wrong. First of all, you have to sharpen the edge by slicing forward at a carefully maintained low angle to the stone. Repeat this slicing motion until the edge is reasonably sharp, then turn it over and do the same to the other side.

Once you have it sharp, you have also probably developed a burr, or wire edge. This is the ultimate fine edge, so fine it will flop over or chip, as soon as you use it. This will leave you wondering why a seemingly razor-sharp edge dulled so quickly.

To eliminate the burr without damaging the edge, you could do as they recommend, and strop it on the stone, that is, draw it backwards. You might do this at a slightly higher angle than you used to sharpen it in the first place.

Most people prefer using a strop for this, which could be a simple leather strip, like an old belt. It works best if charged with a polishing compound.

If you do consider getting a more complicated gadget sharpener than the Smith, I recommend the Sharpmaker. For regular sharpening, basic maintenance of your knives, it will do quite well.

Sharpening can be a science and it can be an art! :D Don't get discouraged and don't begin by buying the most expensive rigs. Do some reading first -- I'll give you a list here:

EDC Knives Sharpening FAQ
http://www.edcknives.com/pdf-files/Sharpen_v2.pdf

Knife Maintenance and Sharpening
http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=26036

Sharpening Made Easy
http://users.ameritech.net/knives/knives1c.htm

Convex Grind FAQ
http://home.nycap.rr.com/sosak/convex.htm

Sharpening the Ontario - Jerry Hossom
http://hossom.com/sharp/
 
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