spyderco sharpmaker help?

S

Sande5412

Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
212
Hey yall ive had a sharpmaker for years now an i would say im very good at sharpining with it.the highest grade steel ive sharpened is cpm s30v

I have a dilemma though. My girlfriend gave me her zt 0566 in elmax to sharpen it for her and i cant get it sharp to a hair shaving edge with the med and fine stones i have.

Is there better or different stones i can buy? If so what are they and how much are they and what do you reccomend and why? Or should i get a different sharpener?

Thanks yall!:)
 
Your girlfriend has a 0566? She sounds like a keeper. Sorry I didn't answer your question.
 
I sharpen my 566 on the Sharpmaker and it's razor sharp. Elmax should not be a problem. So...

1) Which angle setting are you using? - Mine works fine with the 15 dps angle
2) Are you really sharpening the entire bevel, or maybe missing the edge and hitting the shoulder? - Try the Sharpie marker test
3) Is there any damage to the edge that might require some additional repair work before sharpening? - Loupe or magnifying glass can help here
4) Are the Sharpmaker stones clean? - wash with Bon Ami or similar cleaner and dry thoroughly
5) The swedges on the top of a blade like the 566 can sometimes throw off your "aim" when you're trying to keep the blade upright. - Make sure the blade is straight up and down

Without knowing more that's about all I can think of ATM. I've found that Elmax actually sharpens up easier than S30V for me. The Sharpmaker is perfectly capable of handling ZT's Elmax as long as you're not trying to reset a bevel. You'll probably want diamond rods or a different kit for that.
 
I was using the 20 degree sides, i do that for all my blades and works just fine. The sharpmaker is very clean. Im gonna try the sharpie test and ill give qn update when i do:) and what are the diamond rods essentully? Are they just super course stones or...? Thanks!
 
Well i tried the sharpie test and im doing it all correct. So i got a magnifing glass and looked and near the belly was serious warping of the edge it looks like bent bacon in a sense.i contacted zt about it and they are gonna send me a replacement blade. So hopefully that fixes the issue:)
 
Yup, the diamond stones are coarse stones. They make reprofiling easier with the sharpmaker and imo the medium basic stones are too "light" for reprofiling. It can be done, but it's such a pain in the butt.
 
wonewin78 said:
Yup, the diamond stones are coarse stones. They make reprofiling easier with the sharpmaker and imo the medium basic stones are too "light" for reprofiling. It can be done, but it's such a pain in the butt.
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Do you think it would be a good investment to get? Just your opionion
 
In my opinion its a good investment so it's easier to reprofile blades to work with it, remove chips, etc. This is assuming you want to use the sharpmaker and only the sharpmaker.
 
I'm a big fan of the Sharpmaker but not of the diamond stones. I find them to be too aggressive / coarse for my needs.
Just my $0.02. For reprofiling I prefer something like a 180 or 220 grit sand paper.
 
coop1957 said:
I'm a big fan of the Sharpmaker but not of the diamond stones. I find them to be too aggressive / coarse for my needs.
Just my $0.02. For reprofiling I prefer something like a 180 or 220 grit sand paper.
Click to expand...

How would I go about that?
 
As an alternative, there are other rods available for the SM that will replace the diamond ones from Spyderco. They are diamond, BTW. I can't remember the name of the manufacturer, but IIRC, BladeHQ carries them.
 
If it's a first sharpening and the bevel is not 30 degrees exactly to start it will feel like your punching air, especially with the medium stones to start, it may take a long time or start with diamond stones once you pick an angle and stick with it it should get easier to maintain.
 
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