Spyderco Sharpmaker - "dents" in rod corner

00ChevyScott

00ChevyScott

Joined
Dec 3, 2010
Messages
2,678
Hey guys, I've been using my Sharpmaker for a year now and I've noticed that on some of my stones that one of the three corners have little dents or divots in it that I can feel when sharpening. I usually try to not use those sides when I sharpen because I don't see how that can be good for sharpening. Is this normal? Did I mess up when sharpening and damage the rods? Is this something that would be covered under any kind of warranty, if it has one? Thanks.
 
Mine have some of those too. I think its from bumping the other stones sometimes. I think I am about to get a new set of rods. Mine don't feel like they sharpen stuff as easily as the did when I first got it. Right about a year ago too. I am not sure on the warranty. I don't believe it has one though.
 
Same here. The rods seemed to lose effectiveness fairly quickly but continued to work well enough for about a year and a half. I love the sharpmaker, and the rod dents didn't seem to interfere with the sharpening for me. I did however decide to invest in an edge pro and I couldn't be happier. Sharpmaker rods are definitely worth replacing though.
 
Glad I'm not the only one. Do these indentations effect how it sharpens? Should I avoid using the sides with them in it? I definitely think my collection is getting into the "need an edge pro" status. I'll have to look into one of them. What's a good beginners kit run for one of those?
 
The most basic Edge Pro is 165$ that goes up to the 320 grit stones. I think the next one up is $225.
 
Can a sharpening noob use an edge pro worth a damn, or am I just going to be spinning my wheels like most of my efforts on the sharpmaker? I know people say the sharpmaker is foolproof, but I've only had success getting a few knives shaving sharp on it.
 
I'm still learning sharpening, but I used the sharpmaker for a long while and then got the edge pro and some strops. You might have tried this already, but try putting permanent marker on the edge to see what part you're actually hitting with the stone and make sure you're hitting the edge (on both sides).

edit: oh, and my stones have dents too. My UF rods and one of the fine rods came that way.
 
Have y'all washed the stones? I'm pretty sure the "bumps" are just steel that has gathered during the sharpening process. You should be able to wash them with warm water and dish soap and they'll be like new. Or follow whatever the instructions say for cleaning them, I can't recall exactly.
 
mine have them too, i read somewhere to lightly rub the stones together after cleaning to flatten them out. gently though
 
00ChevyScott said:
Can a sharpening noob use an edge pro worth a damn, or am I just going to be spinning my wheels like most of my efforts on the sharpmaker? I know people say the sharpmaker is foolproof, but I've only had success getting a few knives shaving sharp on it.
Click to expand...

It really depends on how fast you learn and how fast your muscles learn, I don't really consider the sharp maker a (imo) good and fast sharpening system.

I think of it as an edge maintenance system.

The one thing to remember about the EP is that normally to get an even bevel, you've gotta grind away the factory edge, so initially you'll spend some time fixing the edge before you can really sharpen it.
 
I had a stone that had about 3 dents in it. You could feel them when you were sharpening. I sent it in to Spyderco and they sent me a brand new one that was flawless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top