You guys were right. I went and picked up a sharpmaker today. Brought it home, watched the video 3 times, read the book. The first knife I tried on it I was very pleased with(an old bucklite). The second knife I sharpened was a BM Nimravus Cub. It is now hair poppin,razor sharp. This sharpener is the deal, I'm sharpening challenged and it worked for me first time out of the gate. I could not be more happy. thanks for the forum. dtsoll
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Success with sharpmaker!!!!!
- Thread starter dtsoll
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 23, 1999
- Messages
- 3,831
That is AWESOME! Another Knife Nut served 
Here's a warnign though: you won't be satisfied with stopping there. All sorts of stones and strops and steels and powered equipment are in your future. It is a sickness that can only be managed by accepting the symptoms with open arms. And charge a couple bucks to sharpen your friends' blades, so you can pay for more equipment!
Here's a warnign though: you won't be satisfied with stopping there. All sorts of stones and strops and steels and powered equipment are in your future. It is a sickness that can only be managed by accepting the symptoms with open arms. And charge a couple bucks to sharpen your friends' blades, so you can pay for more equipment!Yeah, here's the deal, I will now be able to use my knives because I know I'll be able to sharpen them again. I was keeping most of them in the drawer for fear they would become dull, then what? I can sharpen somewhatly on a stone but far from hair poppin sharp. As you all know theres somethin about carrying a knife that is sharp. Anyway, Kudos to Spyderco for a fantastic, user friendly sharpener. dtsoll
PS-that's right I'm three grin happy!
PS-that's right I'm three grin happy!
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
- Messages
- 1,480
I got My Sharpmaker back when they came in a nylon pouch and no instructions or tape.It didn't take long to figure it out and I've been very happy with the results.tom.
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2001
- Messages
- 1,308
It certainly is an evolution, learning to sharpen knives.
The first time I ever tried to sharpen a knife was back in about 1990. I bought a small Eze-lap sharpener that was like a brass handle with a screw-in diamond-coated rod. You unscrewed it, pulled out the rod, and screwed it the other way onto the end of the handle. I used to use it to put an edge on my tiny Buck Gent.
It's amazing how much you learn over time, because I now know, based on the edges I get with my Spyderco Sharpmaker and Profile, that I was actually NOT very good at sharpening back then.
Dtsoll, I'm right there with you about being afraid to dull a blade for fear of not being able to restore it to sharpness. In fact, even though I now have strong confidence in my sharpening skills, I still am loathe to use my sharpest knives because I know I get kinda obsessed with *perfecting* an edge. So I end up sharpening my Mini Griptilian for a half hour after cutting bakery string.
I am one of those guys who got the Sharpmaker before it came with video instructions (!?) but the printed ones were adequate. Later on, a guy at a South Florida Gun and Knife Show demonstrated how wicked an edge can be made using the Profile, and now that's all I use. It's more of a "freehand" system than the Sharpmaker, so it takes a lot of concentration, but I find the whole thing kind of therapeutic. Good luck with your blades!
The first time I ever tried to sharpen a knife was back in about 1990. I bought a small Eze-lap sharpener that was like a brass handle with a screw-in diamond-coated rod. You unscrewed it, pulled out the rod, and screwed it the other way onto the end of the handle. I used to use it to put an edge on my tiny Buck Gent.
It's amazing how much you learn over time, because I now know, based on the edges I get with my Spyderco Sharpmaker and Profile, that I was actually NOT very good at sharpening back then.
Dtsoll, I'm right there with you about being afraid to dull a blade for fear of not being able to restore it to sharpness. In fact, even though I now have strong confidence in my sharpening skills, I still am loathe to use my sharpest knives because I know I get kinda obsessed with *perfecting* an edge. So I end up sharpening my Mini Griptilian for a half hour after cutting bakery string.
I am one of those guys who got the Sharpmaker before it came with video instructions (!?) but the printed ones were adequate. Later on, a guy at a South Florida Gun and Knife Show demonstrated how wicked an edge can be made using the Profile, and now that's all I use. It's more of a "freehand" system than the Sharpmaker, so it takes a lot of concentration, but I find the whole thing kind of therapeutic. Good luck with your blades!
I still can't get a decent edge on mine, and I keep going to my medium grit benchstone. 
I must be doing something wrong, but I'll be damned if I know what it is. I think I'll take it with me to the next gun show and ask a knife vendor what I need to do to correct this.
I do get pretty good results with the bench stone, but shaving sharp is hard to come by. I will say that the "useful sharptime" is longer with the benchstone, however.
I must be doing something wrong, but I'll be damned if I know what it is. I think I'll take it with me to the next gun show and ask a knife vendor what I need to do to correct this.
I do get pretty good results with the bench stone, but shaving sharp is hard to come by. I will say that the "useful sharptime" is longer with the benchstone, however.
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2003
- Messages
- 195
i love my sharpmaker.
The most important things you must know when using sharpmaker are:
1. KEEP SAME ANGLE AND BLADE POSITION
2. CREATE A BURR AND REMOVE IT (Both sides of blade)
The most important things you must know when using sharpmaker are:
1. KEEP SAME ANGLE AND BLADE POSITION
2. CREATE A BURR AND REMOVE IT (Both sides of blade)
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2001
- Messages
- 423
Hi Farmboy.
Try the old marker pen trick, (coat the edges with marker pen and see where the sharpmaker is taking it off). It's possible that the initial grind is flatter than the pre-set angles on the Sharpmaker, this means you would just be taking metal off the sholders of the grind rather than the edge.
If this is the case just use your benchstone to put a steeper primary grind on before going to the Sharpmaker.
I do this check on all new knives, even those that come from Spyderco.
Try the old marker pen trick, (coat the edges with marker pen and see where the sharpmaker is taking it off). It's possible that the initial grind is flatter than the pre-set angles on the Sharpmaker, this means you would just be taking metal off the sholders of the grind rather than the edge.
If this is the case just use your benchstone to put a steeper primary grind on before going to the Sharpmaker.
I do this check on all new knives, even those that come from Spyderco.