Thoughts on the Spyderco Sharpmaker?

A

a Trexler Ranger

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Nov 17, 2016
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I've been looking for a decent sharpening system that would be really easy to use and fairly cheap. The Sharpmaker seems to be the best thing and a good size too. Any issues with it?
 
It's a good edge maintenance system if your factory edge is no steeper than 40 degrees inclusive.
If it is then you'll need to reprofile the edge to ensure contact with the apex.
In that case the diamond rods are preferable and depending on the steel needing reprofiling can take some patience.
I don't reprofile any more.
If I don't care for the factory grind the knife gets sent back immediately, or if I deem it a keeper I ship it to a pro for adjustment to my spec.
 
Good advice this ^, also as others have said, it might be better called the SHARP KEEPER. I love mine. It is on the bench and used, certainly every other day, for one tune up or another but if you are starting off with a damaged edge or one that needs reprofiling it will not MAKE SHARP as easily as other systems (a grinding wheel or belt comes to mind o_O). Decent edge to start with - the SharpMaker is excellent. The basic set up is more than adequate. For edges needing more aggressive effort the diamond rods are good to have.

Ray
 
I won't repeat what the others have said above. Great advise. I will only add the that Sharpmaker is at it's best when it's used routinely to keep knives sharp. I tend to light run my knives on it pretty often when they start to get dull. With blades that have a decent edge, I can easily maintain them with the Sharpmaker and a cheap leather strop. The strop is not necessarily needed, it just puts that final touch on the edge.
 
I agree with the others above. Really nice tool to maintain edges.

If you need to re-profile, however, not all is lost. You can wrap sandpaper around the rods to achieve lower grits. Alternatively, you can clamp coarse diamond stones to the rods to achieve similar results. There are even some other inexpensive brands of stone rods that you can use. Google Sharpmaker tips to see threads/pictures.
 
I like to keep my knives sharp enough that it only takes about ten minutes with a stone to resharpen so I'm thinking this should work out. Any concerns with the system?
 
a Trexler Ranger said:
I like to keep my knives sharp enough that it only takes about ten minutes with a stone to resharpen so I'm thinking this should work out. Any concerns with the system?
Click to expand...

System works great. Super easy to set up and use. The main thing to remember is to start with a slightly heavier touch and finish with increasingly lighter strokes as you get towards the final strokes. The rods will load up fairly quickly but can be easily cleaned with some soap and water with an abrasive sponge.
 
For about the same price, I've had better luck with the WorkSharp. I could never quite get the edge razor sharp on the sharpmaker, only paper gliding sharp. Also, the sharpmaker can only sharpen, not very good at reprofiling. With the WS, I can sharpen and reprofile much faster, and am able to get hair splitting edges.

Keep in mind, this is only due to my incompetence with the Sharkmaker, the device itself isn't flawed. I just find the worksharp a better system, keeping in mind that it is much more versatile than advertised.
 
...but keep in mind if you don't have electricity or you want to keep your sharpener readily available - a kitchen counter top or on work bench always at the ready for some light dry passes the SharpMaker is pretty hard to beat (all other things previously mentioned kept under consideration). Just sayin'.


Ray
 
The WorkSharp I thought he was referring to was the diamond stone one, which I like a lot better. I have no intention of buying one of those belt grinder looking things. I tested one at Cabelas and hated it
 
a Trexler Ranger said:
I've been looking for a decent sharpening system that would be really easy to use and fairly cheap. The Sharpmaker seems to be the best thing and a good size too. Any issues with it?
Click to expand...

I would view the Sharpmaker as a maintenance tool rather than a grinder. In the same sense that a steel will straighten an edge on a kitchen knife and cause it to cut better, the Sharpmaker does a good job doing the same thing with sporting knives. It is a poor choice for grinding bevels.

Since you haven't developed the skills to sharpen manually, I suggest you look for a guided sharpening system. It makes it easy to maintain the angle consistently throughout the sharpening process. There are a lot of guided systems. Some brands are Edgepro, Lansky, Gatco, Worksharp and there are many others. Then you can use the Sharpmaker for touch ups.
 
I started out with my Sharpmaker a few years ago and later picked up an EdgePro. It took me a while to gain proficiency with the SM, from not rounding the tip to holding a consistent vertical side-to-side to learning to getting the blade-drop correct through the belly to the tip. The learning curve on the EdgePro is even longer and dealing with all the set-up, water, stone changes, and clean-up takes a lot longer and it's amazing how much you get spread out using all the stuff.

The Sharpmaker gives you two angles to work at--40 inclusive and 30 inclusive. If your existing edge falls somewhere between you can easily sharpen at 40 if that angle doesn't displease you. I picked up both the diamond and ultra-fine hones early on and usually go right to the diamonds when sharpening a blade for the first time on the SM. With the diamonds, re-profiling is not out of the question, but something like M390 is way too much work on the SM.

My preferred edge is a 30 inclusive secondary grind with a 40 inclusive micro bevel. If I re-profile to that, I'll usually do the 30 on the EdgePro and the 40 micro on the SM. From that point forward, the touch ups and re-sharpenings are easy on the SM. For most of what I do on a day-to-day basis, I stick with the SharpMaker and get the EdgePro out on a weekend here and there for more major or multiple-knife sharpening.

For my money, you can't beat the SharpMaker for an entry-level system and it makes a great sharpener for day-to-day work.
 
I agree with all of what was said. The SM is a great tool for touch ups. Even starting out it was easy to learn but took some time to master. Go for it.
Regards
Tar :)
 
I found that while using the sharpmaker, I learned a fair but about angles. I took what I learned from using that and applied it to free hand sharpening. I still think the sm is great, but i don't use it as much as I used to.
 
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