spyderco sharpmaker

blanex1

blanex1

Joined
Feb 11, 2015
Messages
1,430
hi guys, i would just like to say i got my sharpmaker in the mail today,i am vary happy with it,i have done 5 knifes and i'm real pleased with the sharpness and final edge on the blades,it leaves a factory edge but as others have said to get a polish on the end product you need to go with the vary fine rods or maybe to finish it off with a 2x6 ultra fine bench stone,otherwise i'm real pleased with the sharpmaker,its fast simple to set up & easy to use,don't no what took me so lone to get one ! thanks for reading.:)
 
Congrats. It took me awhile to get around to the Sharpmaker too. But as long as we get here, it's all good.

Practice more with the Fine rods and you can easily get beyond 'factory'. The Fine rods are about 4000grit which other brands would call Extra Fine, at least.
 
TravisH said:
Congrats. It took me awhile to get around to the Sharpmaker too. But as long as we get here, it's all good.

Practice more with the Fine rods and you can easily get beyond 'factory'. The Fine rods are about 4000grit which other brands would call Extra Fine, at least.
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well beyond. Congrats...your edges will quickly get even better as you perfect your technique.
 
The 204 Sharpmaker is truly a genius design and the two of them I own I use a lot>> however I discovered another Spyderco sharpening tool that I like much better for sharpening serrations. I find that the 701 Profiles are superb for Spyderedged and other serrated blades.

But the 204 Sharpmaker is without a doubt the best portable field sharpening kit out on the market period. I'm hoping for more stone selection for the 204 Sharpmaker in the future.
 
Noobie here. Have ordered the Sharpmaker but was thinking that for the money I should have went ahead and invested in the Workshop Ken Onion Edition? Also, Buck recommends on its site a 13 to 16 degree angle for sharpening it's knives. How does this translate on the Sharpmaker where it seems the 40 degree (two 20s?) is heavily recommended? I would think the 30 degree angle on the 204 Sharpmaker would be closer to the factory recommendation. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I'm very happy with my Sharpmaker. I'm sure you will be, too. A noobie shouldn't, in my opinion, use a belt grinder. It's a quick way to kill your knife by mistake.
 
The 40 (2x20) is fine for most knives. However you are correct that the 30 setting of the 204 would more closely match the recommendation from Buck. I generally rebeveling my knives to 12°/side, and then microbevel on the 30 degree setting for all but the roughest use knives, or knives with really thick edges. I have a Kudu now that will be quite thick behind the edge when done rebeveling, so until I get more patience, I'll use the 40 degree setting, with a 17°/side backbevel.
 
NickRepublic said:
Thanks me2. Microbevel is way beyond me at this point but I look forward to the challenge.
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Hi Nick, and welcome to the forum. A microbevel is not beyond you. It is by far the simplest way to sharpen and maintain a knife edge. Here's a few tips you can follow. There are a million ways to skin a cat but I'm going to outline what I believe is one of the simplest ways to learn.

Get yourself a set of the diamond of cbn rods for the sharpmaker and put them in the 30 degree side. Sharpen one side until you can feel a burr form along the opposite side. (Depending on how dull your knife is and how obtuse your edge bevel is this can take quite a while). After you have a burr, switch sides and sharpen the other side at 30 degrees until a burr forms on the first side. At that point alternate sides using continually lighter strokes until the burr is gone from both sides. Now your knife is sharp and you have a clean apex. All the hard work is done at this point.

From there, all a microbevel is is sharpening very lightly at a more obtuse angle (lets say 40 degrees since that's the other sm setting). You will find that once you do the first part right and have a clean apex, you can put an extremely sharp microbevel on with just a few passes and very light pressure. When your knife gets dull, just continue to sharpen the microbevel. This is way more fast and efficient since you are only removing a tiny bit of steel at the apex. Slowly over time and repeated sharpenings, your microbevel will start to take over your main bevel and you will need to go back and reset the main bevels to 30 degrees but it takes a good bit of use and many sharpenings before that is necessary. Take a bit of time to practice this and you will be very pleased. Don't tell yourself it is too hard. It's not. It is the easiest way to maintain an edge IMHO. You will definitely need the more aggressive diamond rods to do this with the sharpmaker though.
 
As someone who spent plenty of time on the sharpening short bus, a micro-bevel is absolutely within your power as a Sharpmaker noob. Just watch the video and listen to the experts like Surfergringo.
 
Just got mine today...
Simple and amazing results...
Went right to the Ultra Fine rods....with my sharp knives....
Did six in about twenty minutes....
Very little hair remaining on my left wrist...
Extremely impressed...
Get one..!
 
I just got a Fold-A-Vee, it's neat, I'm doing some preliminary sharpening practice on it before I grab a Sharpmaker.

So far I like it but I really wish it was a Sharpmaker.
 
Spyderco sells diamond rods... for those looking to shave more steel etc.

Also, you can use the side rod hole to insert a rod laterally, allowing the user to sharpen their blade to whatever degree angle they desire.

The Sharpmaker is portable, and as long as you can find a stable surface to operate this sharpener, you are good to go~
 
The Sharpmaker is where I started with my sharpening as well back when. The thing worked very well for what it was...

A note on maintenance: Barkeeper's Friend and a Scotch Brite pad work great for cleaning the stones when they become too covered in metal residue.
 
Thanks for the great advice Surfingringo! Will do. Have some old kitchen knives that would be perfect to practice this on.
 
I got mine today and love it! Finished a cheap steak knife before moving onto my Starmate! I've now successfully increased the likelihood of drawing blood! :D
 
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