thinking about giving up on my Sharpmaker

B

bdmicarta

Joined
Feb 16, 2012
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Not completely giving up on it but I need something else. I'm thinking about the DMT Aligner. I like the idea of various angles, a guided system and diamond abrasives.

I have a lot of varied knives and a lot of them could benefit from reprofiling. Also I end up buying a lot of used knives that usually arrive very dull. I have a stand that holds a DMT diafold at 18 degrees and works for reprofiling. I could just buy a couple more DMT stones and use that but I think I might get more uniform results with the Aligner. OTOH it's a tough decision because I could buy a whole knife for the price of the Aligner Pro.

edit1:
A little quick searching and I find that the diafold F/EF stone is about 2/3 the cost of the Aligner set so that would not be a good plan.
 
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I gave up on my Sharpmaker years ago. Although it has it's fans, it has it's limitations as well.

I think you should consider an Edge Pro Apex. You can save sooo much time by matching existing angles and can polish them as well. The factory stones do a good job (although others will undoubtedly state that I am wrong on that). I would advise buying the 120, 220, 320, and 600 at minimum. The 1000 and tapes are nice if in budget. The Wicked Edge is a good alternative at a higher price.

Good sharpening,
David
 
I'd say just set it aside for now, while you pursue other avenues and learn some new things. Don't give up on it, though. The Sharpmaker has it's legitimate uses, when applied intelligently, and it's probably one of the easiest and most effective touch-up tools available. I agree, you could benefit by having something more aggressive, like the Aligner or whichever other tool you might decide on.

I still have every bit of sharpening gear that I've accumulated over the course of ~20 years or more. Most of it got stashed away early on, because I couldn't find a way to 'make it work' for me at the time. Fast-forward to today, and I'm starting to dig some of that old stuff out, and I find I'm benefitting from everything I've learned here on BF. Ultimately, the biggest impact you'll see, from using your sharpening toolset, will come from the experience gained over time. So many of those old 'ineffective' tools have miraculously 'improved' since I tried them the first time, 10 or 15 or 20 years ago. ;)
 
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If you have not tried sandpaper, its pretty amazing how good it can work. But I am all for several different systems for different blades.
 
I haven't used the sharpmaker as a system in quite a while. I use the stones fairly frequently but I hold them and use them freehand. I would say go ahead and buy the aligner. Its a great low cost way to get consistent bevels. I freehand for day to day sharpening but if I need to reprofile or remove some damage I use the aligner.
 
I likewise buy my share of used knives that arrive with a dull or mangled or obtuse edge. I use a Work Sharp for reprofiling and setting the initial edge, and a Sharpmaker (including the excellent UF stones) and strops for touch ups. You might want to consider the Work Sharp and hanging on to that Sharpmaker.

Just a thought.

Andrew
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I'd say just set it aside for now, while you pursue other avenues and learn some new things. Don't give up on it, though. The Sharpmaker has it's legitimate uses, when applied intelligently, and it's probably one of the easiest and most effective touch-up tools available. I agree, you could benefit by having something more aggressive, like the Aligner or whichever other tool you might decide on.

I still have every bit of sharpening gear that I've accumulated over the course of ~20 years or more. Most of it got stashed away early on, because I couldn't find a way to 'make it work' for me at the time. Fast-forward to today, and I'm starting to dig some of that old stuff out, and I find I'm benefitting from everything I've learned here on BF. Ultimately, the biggest impact you'll see, from using your sharpening toolset, will come from the experience gained over time. So many of those old 'ineffective' tools have miraculously 'improved' since I tried them the first time, 10 or 15 or 20 years ago. ;)
Click to expand...

YES, THIS ^^^^

SO TRUE ! I have darn near every sharpening device known to mankind. I am 49 yrs old & been into knives since i was 7. Now, life is GOOD ! I can take any blade, new or used & have it ready to go within minutes. Yes minutes. I took 3 of my friends CS Kukri machetes, that he had been sharpening for a month & within 10 min, he was shaving the hair off his arm with all 3. I still use most of the old stuff but for certain kinds of steel/knives.

H F 6" disc/4"x36" belt sander. With H D Diablo belts.
H F 1"x30" belt sander. With H D Diablo belts.
Gatco Deluxe Diamond sharpening kit with Honing stone/ceramic.
12" Case XX High Quality Butchers steel.
6" course/fine sharpening stone.
Lansky Puck.
Carbide pull sharpener.
Lansky serration sharpeners x2.
Crock (ceramic) stick station.
Big John ceramic sharpening stick, 1" thick.
Chefs Choice expandable diamond pocket sharpener.
Numerous small stones in knife sheath pockets.
200-400-600-800-1000-1200-1500-2000-2500 wet/dry cloth backed abrasive paper.
Same with emery boards.

What i do now is: Correct/change the profile on the 4"x36" belt sander. Correct/sharpen the point of the knife on the 6" disc. Finnish sharpening it on the 1"x30" belt sander. Then, if I want more, hit it on the butchers steel. Hone it on the ceramic sticks. (Usually only one swipe on each side of blade on the butchers steel & ceramic sticks). Done.
Not perfect, but it shaves hair & paper. Good enough for me. :D
 
I spent 30 years using various whetstones, but I've learned to love my Sharpmaker over the last several years. As pointed out, they have their limitations--especially when it comes to re-profiling (SLOW), edge angle (limited to 30 & 40 degree bevels if you follow the normal procedure), and a little tough to maintain a sharp point (tends to slip off the edge of the rod, rounding the tip). Occasionally, I will work my keester off to re-profile a knife with the diamond rods but, once you've established your bevel, it's usually just a matter of a quick touch up (I've learned to appreciate knives with suitable bevels--e.g. Kershaw and ESEE). I also appreciate the ease with which I can transport it--sometimes just a medium rod for field sharpening. I think they're probably a great way of introducing the uninitiated to knife sharpening. I also like the fact that it's damn hard to mar the surface finish of your knife when using it. Hair-shaving sharp every time and the ultra-fine rods give a very shiny finish.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Don't give up on it, though. The Sharpmaker has it's legitimate uses
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I'll keep it and still use it, but I need something more aggressive for getting my edges set up the way I like them. My older Sharpmaker only does 20 degrees, I don't mind this but it doesn't work with some factory edges. Years ago I made a stand to hold an EC diafold at 18 degrees for reprofiling, then I could use the Sharpmaker to put a 20 degree microbevel on it. The only thing I didn't like about this system was that the majority of the bevel was coarse and ugly. If I had more variety of stones I could make it look better.

I had forgotten about the 1" HF belt sander. I have some interest in one of these for other uses anyway so I'll probably get one at some point in time to try some sharpening with. I'm afraid with one of those I wouldn't be able to control my angles very well.
 
wvdavidr said:
I gave up on my Sharpmaker years ago. Although it has it's fans, it has it's limitations as well.

I think you should consider an Edge Pro Apex. You can save sooo much time by matching existing angles and can polish them as well. The factory stones do a good job (although others will undoubtedly state that I am wrong on that). I would advise buying the 120, 220, 320, and 600 at minimum. The 1000 and tapes are nice if in budget. The Wicked Edge is a good alternative at a higher price.

Good sharpening,
David
Click to expand...


Same here, except that I got the EP just a few months ago. Spectacular results (by my standards) with little skill required.

I like the factory stones, but don't like the tapes. For polishing, I added 5K & 10K chosera stones. I think that the tapes may actually work a little better, but I don't like having to order new tapes.

JMHO,
Allen
 
I did buy a dmt aligner kit to go with my sharpmaker. Reprofile with diamonds, touch up with the sharpmaker.
I do think the sharpmaker is a time efficient touch up sharpener. I also think it is efficient with your steel. I can't think of a sharpener that removes less material.
 
IMO, the 204 is an excellent way to do final microbevels and resharpen between trips to the coarse stones. I usually start with a 220/1000 combo water stone, then add a microbevel a few degrees higher with the 204. I have resharpened pretty heavily used knives 5 or 6 times before going back to the combo stone. Knives used for cutting bone and outdoor landscape cutting/light chopping.
 
I keep my Sharpmaker set up and on the shelf in the kitchen. Once a week my kitchen knives get a 20 stroke touch-up. During the week they get 'steeled' (on a borosilicate glass rod) before each use, and 2-3 times a year they actually get 'sharpened' on my EdgePro. But the Sharpmaker touch-ups are an indispensable part of their maintenance.

Rather than putting away the Sharpmaker, keep it handy, but get yourself a DMT Aligner (or some other clamp system) to do the hard work.

Stitchawl
 
I use my Sharpmaker for touch-ups only. All the real reprofiling and near mirror edges come from my Edge Pro. I typically do a 30-35 degree reprofile (inclusive) and then use the Sharpmaker to touch up at 40 degrees for a micro-bevel. Works very well for what I use a folding knive for. My custom kitchen knives see a different routine but I still do touch them up from time to time with the Sharpmaker at 30 degrees when I'm in a hurry. My Sharpmaker also is always set up and in a cupboard shelf in the kitchen.
 
tomsch said:
I use my Sharpmaker for touch-ups only. All the real reprofiling and near mirror edges come from my Edge Pro. I typically do a 30-35 degree reprofile (inclusive) and then use the Sharpmaker to touch up at 40 degrees for a micro-bevel. Works very well for what I use a folding knive for. My custom kitchen knives see a different routine but I still do touch them up from time to time with the Sharpmaker at 30 degrees when I'm in a hurry. My Sharpmaker also is always set up and in a cupboard shelf in the kitchen.
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Best way to use the Sharpmaker imo. Once bevels are set so they're a bit below the 30 or 40 setting, it's just so fast and easy to maintain a sharp knife. And as was mentioned before, it removes so little material, I can go months without having to go to an edge pro or similar. Very good piece of kit as far as I am concerned!
 
Since I got my paper wheels I use my Sharpmaker occasionally to touch up a box cutter. It's a good tool, but too slow for me. I can do more in five minutes with the wheels than I could do in an hour with the Sharpmaker.
 
Bernoulli said:
Since I got my paper wheels I use my Sharpmaker occasionally to touch up a box cutter. It's a good tool, but too slow for me. I can do more in five minutes with the wheels than I could do in an hour with the Sharpmaker.
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Why would anyone spend an hour with a Sharpmaker?
If you need to reprofile, use a coarse grit sandpaper. Minutes.
If you need to sharpen, as the video shows, 20-30 strokes per side is all it takes. 3-4 minutes
Touch up an edge? 10 strokes per side. 1 minute.
It would take longer to walk out the the garage, turn on the lights and the power, turn on the grinder... run the blade, then turn off the power, turn off the lights, and walk back to the house.


Stitchawl
 
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