spyderco sharpmaker

The Spydie pamphlet that comes with the sharpmaker says it works for tool steel. Though I have no exerience with M4 and the sharpmaker.
 
I have been an avid 'sharpener' for twenty+ years. Tried them all..
Posted earlier in this thread.
Have Japanese wetstones, high end steels, electric diamond polishers, and professional sharpeners....

Then I invested in a used SharpMaker....

I mean to state - who doesn't want the sharpest knife possible....

too many times in life having the sharpest knife is much like having the ........well you know....
I appreciate the info shared on the thread of 'The Seven Secrets of Sharpening'.......and many other well knowledged threads....

SO I invested in a SharpMaker, a used kit at that. And I cleaned the rods with a white rubber eraser bringing them to new.

And I have NO hair atop my left wrist. And I am an amateur knife sharpener.

Today I took the SharpMaker to a hunter trapper pal of mine, who knows more than most of us in regards to knife use,,,,,, meaning that actual in-situ requirement of a razor sharp knife isn't a wish but a needed tool. I asked and he offer his best knife. Over a fine beer and In less than ten minutes, less than thirty strokes on the fine rods of the SharpMaker, then I **gently** shaved hair from his hand. He simply was in awe.

I have the UF rods and know what level of edge they can achieve with little time and experience.
I truly believe that this is the finest sharpening tool available.
I know a person who spent $700+ for the Wicked Edge System. He admitted that it provided an edge equal to BUT not better - THAN the Spyderco Triangle SharpMaker kit...
.
Just another comment from a SharpMaker owner who remains extremely impressed by this sharpening kit.

Get one.
 
sinkrate said:
I heard that the sharpmaker and other ceramic rod system isn't recommended to sharpen hard steels like M4 as it will cause chips, is this true? I am kind of holding back after i heard about this issue, Thanks!

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Not even remotely true. Have no fear. I sharpen m4 almost daily on the Sharpmaker. The ceramic rods of the SM will work on any steel though I do admit to preferring diamond rods on some of the high wear resistance steels like s90v/s110v. Ceramic works just fine on those too but diamonds are a bit quicker and more efficient and I prefer a more coarse edge on those type steels anyway.
 
Surfingringo said:
Not even remotely true. Have no fear. I sharpen m4 almost daily on the Sharpmaker. The ceramic rods of the SM will work on any steel though I do admit to preferring diamond rods on some of the high wear resistance steels like s90v/s110v. Ceramic works just fine on those too but diamonds are a bit quicker and more efficient and I prefer a more coarse edge on those type steels anyway.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir! Really appreciate that, i guess i'll be purchasing a sharpmaker in the near future!

-Kevin
 
Surfingringo is correct. My Gayle Bradley was reprofiled on a Sharpmaker (using diamond rods--and patience) and has been kept sharp on Spyderco ceramic rods or bench stones ever since.
 
no problems at all sharpening M4 S110V or CTS-XHP! and there really is not a steel that gives me fits! just some take a little longer to get that edge.
 
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Attempt #2 this time with a s30v pm2. Much better.
 
Surfingringo said:
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.
Click to expand...

Im the guy asking the questions others are embarrassed to ask, but what exactly is a burr?
 
A burr is a rough edge left by a tool.

You can either see it or feel it by dragging your nail across the edge. You'll feel it catch.
 
A big Thank you to everyone for helping me solve my curiosity! I guess i'll be picking up a sharpmaker soon! Ya'all Rock!

Jack3dBrett said:
Im the guy asking the questions others are embarrassed to ask, but what exactly is a burr?
Click to expand...

A burr means that the steel is thin enough at the top that it is folding over slightly, because the bevel you've just ground has reached the edge tip.- source knife center

You can check out the link below, i personally think it is very informative.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Secrets-of-Sharpening?p=15571147#post15571147

-Kevin
 
sinkrate said:
A big Thank you to everyone for helping me solve my curiosity! I guess i'll be picking up a sharpmaker soon! Ya'all Rock!



A burr means that the steel is thin enough at the top that it is folding over slightly, because the bevel you've just ground has reached the edge tip.- source knife center

You can check out the link below, i personally think it is very informative.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Secrets-of-Sharpening?p=15571147#post15571147

-Kevin
Click to expand...

This is what I thought it was. Thanks for the info.
 
The Sharpmaker is a great tool and I use my two often also. Even if you expand your options with more expensive guided systems, the SM will stay right there to augment the process. And once you have a really great bevel, it's the best edge touch up tool I've found. You can get a lot of life out of an edge by not doing full sharpenings when a quick micro bevel or edge roll fix will do the trick, with much less metal removed.

I've got one box labeled coarse for the diamond and medium rods. And another labeled fine, for the fine and ultra fine rods.

There are some knives that perform best by stopping at the brown stones. While others I only touch up with fine or ultra fine. Add a handful of strops loaded with different compounds, and you can maintain some pretty amazing polished edges. I absolutely love what the CBN emulsions can do for edge refinement. While I'm still a novice at sharpening, the right tools can make friends drool over your edges.
 
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I'm not trying to discourage anyone from asking as many questions as you want here in the Spyderco forum but just as a heads up, the Maintenance and tinkering forum here is a really great resource too!
 
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