Spyderco Sharpmaker Diamond Rods

I have a set of the old diamond rods, the one's that slide over the triangle stones. If I have a chip in the blade or a really, really dull knife, then I use these rods and they work excellent. They are worth the cost in the long run, even if you only use them a few times a year.
 
The 204 diamond rods are a must have. You can get a better price here-
http://www.newgraham.com/sharpmaker.htm

They work great for reprofiling those stubborn blades that refuse to get sharp. A bit of advice though is that the diamonds cut really fast with very little pressure. If you feel like you are really tearing into the metal back off a bit and go softer, you will still see the steel dust collecting at the base of the 204 even when using less pressure. The weight of the knife is really all you need. Also make sure to spend enough time on those finer rods when finishing the edge, getting out the striations of the coarser rods are one of the keys to getting a good edge.
 
I find these indispensible. Others say you can wrap sandpaper on the existing rods, which I am sure is fine, but for me, it's easier to use these rods. I learned from other threads how important a light touch is, or the diamonds can be easily removed through heavy application. I just use the weight of the knife and they chew threw the blade for re-profiling very easily.
 
I'm with the others on this, I've used mine to reprofile 2 knives and wish I had it for the first one I did. Its also good to as a first stage on a really dull knife.
 
Question: is there a wire edge to look for when you use the diamond rods? I didn't think so, but I would love to know for sure.
 
cognitivefun said:
Question: is there a wire edge to look for when you use the diamond rods? I didn't think so, but I would love to know for sure.
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If by a wire edge you mean a burr then yes the diamond rods will form a burr. The way I normally check for a burr is to run the side of the knife opposite the side I just sharpened away from the edge on a moist peice of paper towel. The burr will catch and tear off small pieces of the towel along the burr. I find it great for checking if I have a burr formed along the entire edge or when my callouses are to bad to check with my thumb.
 
I have heard that some people dont recommend getting the diamond rods for re profiling on the sharpmaker. Some say that attaching sandpaper to the rods will re profile the blade for you. I want to take my blade from a 40 degree angle down to a 30. Any "how to" or recommendations on the type of sandpaper and how to actually pull this off?
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rc3mil said:
I have heard that some people dont recommend getting the diamond rods for re profiling on the sharpmaker. Some say that attaching sandpaper to the rods will re profile the blade for you. I want to take my blade from a 40 degree angle down to a 30. Any "how to" or recommendations on the type of sandpaper and how to actually pull this off?
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Here's a real lowdown and dirty pic of how I do it with the sand paper.I cut then fold the sand paper to fit around the stone's,and hold the paper in place with small zip ties.
The sand paper should be flush with the top of the stones,and also have zip ties holding it at the top & bottom.

It's a bit more work to set it up,but it's much cheaper then buying the diamond stone's.Things go a little faster if you trace out the size thats needed to wrap the stone.Then cut out a bunch of them at once.Then once you have a nice stack of them,all you need to do is fold and zip tie them to the stone's.

Like I said, it's a bit more work.But if your a do it yourself type of guy,and don't mind doing this kind of thing, IMHO this is a great alternative to shelling out the extra $.

It's worked great for me for the last 4-5 months and makes re-profiling edges and a snap.

Sharpmaker-1.jpg
 
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frontline29 said:
Here's a real lowdown and dirty pic of how I do it with the sand paper.I cut then fold the sand paper to fit around the stone's,and hold the paper in place with small zip ties.
The sand paper should be flush with the top of the stones,and also have zip ties holding it at the top & bottom.

It's a bit more work to set it up,but it's much cheaper then buying the diamond stone's. It's worked great for me for the last 4-5 months and makes re-profiling edges and a snap.

Sharpmaker-1.jpg
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What kind of sandpaper is that and how do you run the knife across it? U use it just like the regular rods? Wouldnt that cut the sandpaper?
 
rc3mil said:
What kind of sandpaper is that and how do you run the knife across it? U use it just like the regular rods? Wouldnt that cut the sandpaper?
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The stuff you see in the pic was too ruff I've since switched to using a fine 150 grit made by Norton.
I just use the flat sides of the brown stones as I would normally would wrapped in the sand paper.

As long as the sand paper is pulled & folded tight enough against the stone's,you wont cut into it.Nor does it have to be extremely tight.
If you decide to give it a try you'll see what I mean.

If you use the corners of the stones,while wrapped then theres much more of a chance that you'll cut into it.But if your just using the flats you wont have a problem.

At least I haven't
 
frontline29 said:
The stuff you see in the pic was too ruff I've since switched to using a fine 150 grit made by Norton.
I just use the flat sides of the brown stones as I would normally would wrapped in the sand paper.

As long as the sand paper is pulled & folded tight enough against the stone's,you wont cut into it.Nor does it have to be extremely tight.
If you decide to give it a try you'll see what I mean.

If you use the corners of the stones,while wrapped then theres much more of a chance that you'll cut into it.But if your just using the flats you wont have a problem.

At least I haven't
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Thanks for giving me some information. 1 last question then ill stop bugging you ;). Do you apply hard or soft pressure when running the blade down the sandpaper? How long do you think it would take me to reprofile my knives from 40 to 30? One of them is an izula (1095) and the other one is Sandvik 13C26 stainless steel.
 
rc3mil said:
Thanks for giving me some information. 1 last question then ill stop bugging you ;). Do you apply hard or soft pressure when running the blade down the sandpaper? How long do you think it would take me to reprofile my knives from 40 to 30? One of them is an izula (1095) and the other one is Sandvik 13C26 stainless steel.
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No problem ;).
Thats funny cuz In just did my Izula last night.It took me 30-45 minutes to completely finish it.It usually doesn't take that long,but I was having a bit of a problem with the belly/sweep of the edge.

Normally the re-profiling doesn't take that long. It's the work after it's done that takes the longest.

As for the pressure,I would say that the finer the sand paper is, the harder you can press.It really depends on the sand paper you use,and how rough it is.
I find that a finer coarse works best over a coarse with the grits spread father apart.
Does that make sense?
 
i love the diamond rods!

when using them use light pressure. moderate or heavy pressure will not wear them down, but the diamond coating may chip off.
 
frontline29 said:
No problem ;).
Thats funny cuz In just did my Izula last night.It took me 30-45 minutes to completely finish it.It usually doesn't take that long,but I was having a bit of a problem with the belly/sweep of the edge.

Normally the re-profiling doesn't take that long. It's the work after it's done that takes the longest.

As for the pressure,I would say that the finer the sand paper is, the harder you can press.It really depends on the sand paper you use,and how rough it is.
I find that a finer coarse works best over a coarse with the grits spread father apart.
Does that make sense?
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Ya thanks. So with this fine 150 grit made by Norton, i could press kinda hard right? How do you know when you have successfully finished reprofiling the edge to a 30 degree angle? Is the fine 150 grit made by Norton available in store like home depot and walmart or only online? Where did you get yours?
 
rc3mil said:
Ya thanks. So with this fine 150 grit made by Norton, i could press kinda hard right? How do you know when you have successfully finished reprofiling the edge to a 30 degree angle?
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Yup you shouldn't have a problem.
Use the sharpie trick to find out when your hitting the edge.:)
 
Is the fine 150 grit made by Norton available in store like home depot and walmart or only online? Where did you get yours?
 
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