Spyderco "Point Only" Sharpener Idea

DaveH

DaveH

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
Messages
12,249
This doesn't exist (yet) but I can dream right?

No matter what kind of knife you have, even hawkbills, you will eventually round the very point of the knife off either from breaking it off, or flattening it when resharpening. Depending on your skill level that might be a big PIA.

So here's my idea. A portable inexpensive sharpener that sharpens just the very point and nothing else.

What it looks like: Think of a small plastic box about the size of a hockey puck. One one slide is a small slot marked "fine" the other side a small slot marked "course". There's a crank that will unsnap and pivot out of the side. There an included suction cup, on a carrier that will slide into either side being guided by molded rails.

How it Works The crank turns boths sets of fine or course stones that are set at such an angle that they reprofile or sharpen just the last 1 to 3 mm of tip.

User Scenario You decide the point on you drop point knife has been damaged. You start by unfolding the crank and sliding the suction cup onto the "fine" side, and place it on the table, suction cup down, with clearance of the edge to turn the crank. You insert just the tip of the knife straight down (90 degrees) from the table surface in to the "course" slot. Turn the crank just a few times. Pull the knife out, flip the sharpener over, reattach, and do the same on the "fine" side. In the case of a hawkbill blade style. You do the same except this time you insert the tip with the blade parallel to the table surface. I think that the angle of the stones can stay the same, and by changing the axis of the knife will automatically change how the tip is reprofiled.
 
You can actually sharpen your folder tips already with the Sharpmaker; use the 'fish-hook sharpening slot'. I do this all of the time after I sharpen the primary edge. It works very well. If the tip is already significantly blunted, use a course diamond hone to bring back the desired point and finish up with the Sharpmaker. Always re-profile the tip from the BACK of the blade (in case you didn't know already). I'm telling ya', it works great.
 
Hey brother that is a really cool idea. I hope that the powers that be are listening intently. Particularly with the Dodo because the very point is the more or less the essence of that knife. I personally have been having some pretty fair luck using the Spyderco 701 Profile ceramic files to sharpen knife points with. I got my Dodo and Spyderhawk with very wicked points on them. But a device/tool to make a precise point. Why didn't somebody think about that a long time ago. ;)
 
J.Davey said:
Always re-profile the tip from the BACK of the blade (in case you didn't know already).
Click to expand...

I don't quite understand. Why do you reprofile the tip from the back of the blade? I also don't understand what it means to reprofile from the back of the blade -- it sounds like the same thing you would do if you were putting on a false edge?

:confused:

Matthew
 
Starfish said:
I don't quite understand. Why do you reprofile the tip from the back of the blade? I also don't understand what it means to reprofile from the back of the blade -- it sounds like the same thing you would do if you were putting on a false edge?

:confused:

Matthew
Click to expand...

As I understand it, he's removing material from the spine at the tip in order to get a point. I've done that too or combined it with honing the edge bevel near the tip. If you've got a flat or upswept spine, however, it wouldn't look right to remove matrial from the spine because the shape would change the wrong way at the tip.
 
Keith, that is exactly what I meant, and it would not work well for an upswept blad, which just made me realize that I don't own any knives with upswept blades. Odd.
 
DaveH said:
This doesn't exist (yet) but I can dream right?

No matter what kind of knife you have, even hawkbills, you will eventually round the very point of the knife off either from breaking it off, or flattening it when resharpening. Depending on your skill level that might be a big PIA.

So here's my idea. A portable inexpensive sharpener that sharpens just the very point and nothing else.

What it looks like: Think of a small plastic box about the size of a hockey puck. One one slide is a small slot marked "fine" the other side a small slot marked "course". There's a crank that will unsnap and pivot out of the side. There an included suction cup, on a carrier that will slide into either side being guided by molded rails.

How it Works The crank turns boths sets of fine or course stones that are set at such an angle that they reprofile or sharpen just the last 1 to 3 mm of tip.

User Scenario You decide the point on you drop point knife has been damaged. You start by unfolding the crank and sliding the suction cup onto the "fine" side, and place it on the table, suction cup down, with clearance of the edge to turn the crank. You insert just the tip of the knife straight down (90 degrees) from the table surface in to the "course" slot. Turn the crank just a few times. Pull the knife out, flip the sharpener over, reattach, and do the same on the "fine" side. In the case of a hawkbill blade style. You do the same except this time you insert the tip with the blade parallel to the table surface. I think that the angle of the stones can stay the same, and by changing the axis of the knife will automatically change how the tip is reprofiled.
Click to expand...

Not too shabby! ;)
I have some suggestions.
The crank thing could be expensive to produce, and worse, difficult to hold the knife still with one hand while you're cranking like a M.F. with the other. Ever seen the tool by Lee Precision (Reloading) called a Zip Trim? Pull the cord and the thing takes off spinning for about a minute. Works like one of those toy cars or Evil Keneval bikes you had when you were a kid.

Suction cups suck! ( :D ) Seriously, I've never seen a suction cup that did what it was supposed to. With all our technology, I cannot believe we still cling ( :D ) to suction cups. They're dead, dammit, DEAD like Beta-Max top-loading VCRs. What if you just made it heavy and rubber like a real hockey puck?

Call it the Point Improving Puck. ;)
 
OK, yah suction cups are dead, you're right. I like the zippypull idea, what about a clockwork spring you twist up 4 or 5 times and it starts spinning and unwinding.
 
DaveH said:
OK, yah suction cups are dead, you're right. I like the zippypull idea, what about a cockwork spring you twist up 4 or 5 times and it starts spinning and unwinding.
Click to expand...
What an incredibly amusing typo, and what an excellent idea DaveH.
 
The Clockwork spring would probably be even better - it wouldn't spin nearly as fast.

Cockwork. That's a good one. :D ;)
 
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