Spyderco sharpmaker opinions

C

Cody777

Joined
Jul 29, 2012
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I recently purchased an orange delica 4 ffg and was slightly disappointed. It came with an uneven edge and the full flat grind part had a slip up on one side. I reprofiled it with my gatco edgemate and now has a 38 degrees inclusive edge. I can't get to 30 degrees because my sharpener is a piece and the stones hit the clamp. I'm soon to recieve a sharpmaker with ultra fine stones. Would it be hard to shave down 38 degrees to 30 on the sharpmaker? Is it a timely process or is 38 good enough for now?
 
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I love the Sharpmaker once you have an edge indexed to either 30 or 40 degrees. It will take you quite a while to bring that 38 down to 30. Frankly, if I were you (and you've got it at 38 for sure) I would set your sharpmaker at 40 and microbevel it to 40 degrees which should be easy enough if you've already got it at 38. That way you can use the Sharpmaker for it's strong suit...touching up quickly. If you want to bring a 38 down to 30 you will have to make several hundred passes on each side...maybe like 500 - 600. Your hand is going to ache. Reprofiling is very slow going with a Sharpmaker. Again I love mine and wouldn't be without it. What I do is reprofile on stones to about 25 degrees inclusive and then, depending on use, index a microbevel on a Sharpmaker to either 30 or 40 and maintain it from there.

PS. I have two Delica FFGs and two Endura FFGs and I am very happy with everyday cutting chores with a 40 degree micro bevel.
 
Yea that's what I ended up doing just using the 40 degrees. Man do the ultra fine stones help big time. I had a 3 in 1 field sharpener that had ceramic stones and I'd always get a wire edge with the delica. The sharpmaker has helped out significantly. I really didn't want to reprofile it down and waste all that time but I've seen people say they use the 30 degrees for their delica and use the 40 degrees to microbevel it.
 
Ok hold. My edgemate angles were confusing but Im pretty sure that my delica is 19 degrees inclusive because their chart is talking about inclusive angles without saying it. And I sharpened my kershaw leek with the same inclusive angle as my delica and the 30 degrees was still hitting the edge. So should I keep 40 degree microbevel on a 20 degree edge or a 30 degree micro on the edge.
 
The Gatco's angle references are per side (I have a Gatco diamond set). So, the '19' setting would imply a 38° inclusive angle. None of the clamped systems from Gatco, Lansky or DMT would be able to sharpen as low as 19° inclusive, unless the blade was very, very wide. At more typical blade widths (1/2" - 1"), the end of the clamp would begin to get in the way at angles much lower than 15°/side or less.

The other thing to be aware of with any clamped setup is, the marked settings will only be ballpark approximations of actual angle. The width of the blade, and therefore how far the edge is from the front of the clamp, will be the main factor in determining the actual sharpening angle. The only way to be exactly sure, is to measure the angle with the blade positioned in the clamp.
 
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Idk Why I even was quick to say those angles I was even thinking about that it would have to be 9.5 degree on each side for it to be inclusive. I was going to delete that but I can't and you answered before I was going to fix it. The only thing I thought was weird was that on 30 degree on the sharpmaker it wasn't hitting the shoulder on my leek. Idk why I changed my mind on what I originally said. Thanks for the suggestions..
 
Cody

Good move on the 40. The Delica can be a serious slicing machine. It's not rough and tough overall but it can be a real cutter. I found a) an appreciable increase in edge durability at 40 over 30 with b) a minute decline in "sliceability" at 40 over 30...a very good trade off net for an EDC knife. In fact, that is my prescription for all my Spydercos. That 40 degree micro bevel over a 25 or 30 primary bevel is easy to touch up and still bites very well. 40 can fool you. 40 needs to be very clean and crisply apexed to push cut paper. That's less to do about sharpness and more to do with friction against the "micro-shoulder". A slightly worn 40 degree microbevel will seem dull in a paper pushing test and still cut real stuff like a laser.
 
Yea I tested it out on tractor supply flyer and i could do "s" cuts with ease. I was irritated with vg10 before I got the sharpmaker because of the wire edge and getting burrs. I've definitely seen a difference with the sharpmaker. I saw people have good success with 30 degree edge and a 40 microbevel. The why I asked I wanted to hear if that combo is good as some say. I'll keep it as is for awhile. Thanks a lot
 
Cody

Something I do, especially with VG10 is I have an oak board. After a session on the brown stones, I run it rather forcefully through the wood, cross grain. Oak is not especially abrasive with not a lot of silica inclusions (I think). Look closely at the cut and you'll see black...that's a little bit of swarf and a little bit of burr. After that I take it back at the same grit and give it a few very light passes and then up the grit number. Repeat.

I do it, more or less, at all grits, but as my grit gets higher, I make my cut in the wood with less pressure. Once you're on the white stones, your cut will feel almost lubricated as it passes through the wood. That's a good sign that you don't have a burr anymore.

This is not a necessary exercise but it works for me.
 
Cool! Yea I have a steel that likes to burr. 14c28n likes to. But these stones alot lot better than my previous experience with ceramic and I hardly see burrs now. I don't have a loupe at all but might get one for a better look but I'm glad i bought the sharpmaker it's a big improvement.
Do you have a simple easy way to clean the white stones? I used dish soap and hot water with my old one and it cleaned well.
 
Barkeepers friend and a green Scotch-Brite pad
 
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