Time to reprofile

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Forgetfull

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Oct 14, 2009
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How long would it take for me to re-profile the edge to 30 degrees on my s30z pocket knife using the Sharpmaker with only the included rods? 15 minutes, an hour, millennium? Is this a dumb idea?
Thanks,
 
First off, it CAN be done, but will take a while....Take a sharpie and mark the entire edge of your blade. Take a few swipes and look at where the marker is removed.

DSC00874.jpg


This shows where you are currently hitting and how much metal you will need to remove to get to the actually edge....

I would HIGHLY suggest that you either purchase a diamond stone and prop it against the rods, or you purchase sandpaper and clip it onto the rods. This will speed up the process since the 2 options cut much faster then the medium rods on the SM.

If you don't have access to the the diamond stone or sandpaper, prepare for at least a several hour job. Clean the rods OFTEN as they will load up with metal. Make sure to take breaks often and don't get too fed up.

Good luck! :thumbup::o
 
Don't even try to reprofile with just the original brown stones. It will be hopeless unless you want to sit there for hours and hours. Kraz is right, get diamond or sandpaper ect. I hate to say it, but the best way is probably to just buy an Apex and do it with that, then use the Sharpmaker for touchups. I put marker on the edge, touch it to the sharpmaker a few times, then look where its hitting the edge bevel. Assuming you are not hitting the edge like you should be, set your Apex to an angle that removes metal at least that high up and then reprofile. If you made the angle acute enough once you are done, you'll see the sharpmaker just acting on the edge from then on. Then you can carry and use your knife and touch up are a breeze. The Lansky turnbox croc sticks also have a 20 degree setting, and are a very compact option to use when you have a plain edge to touch up and don't want to drag out the Sharpmaker. I use them all the time.
 
I can definately tell you to forget the browns on the sharpmaker, you won't get anywhere except giving up and having an ugly knife edge. Get either the diamond stones for the sharpmaker or do what was suggested above.
 
I fully agree with Marlinaholic and I do the same thing! I bought an Edge Pro and needed to "thin down" or reprofile the factory edge on a new Ka-Bar full size knife. Not only did it work pretty quickly (you only need to re-profile once), it lets you make quick work of bringing it up to razor sharpness on your Sharpmaker then, once you get those big "shoulders" out of the way! I set my Edge Pro angle to the "backbevel" angle on the Sharpmaker, just to keep things "interchangeable". Then I know that the "edge" angle on my Sharpmaker is going to hit the edge---not the shoulder. This is a great sharpener combo to have, I found out!
 
I think you might be an old man reprofiling something with a sharpmaker. The lansky kits aren't bad at that. I used them for reprofiling since they didn't have any repeatability with their angles. I used them as a one time reprofile kit knowing everytime they'd change the angle ever so slightly. You could also invest in a 1X42 belt grinder and reprofile it in about 5 minutes. I own an Edge Pro and it's great but for the money I've spent on sharpening toys in the last 10 years... I shoulda just gotten a good belt grinder. I'm amazed at how sharp I get knives with it and they always look like factory new edges. I was gonna go with a big expensive machine but the little Kalamazoo is affordable and works like a charm. Nice slow belt speed too.
 
Try clipping some 120 grit Wet or Dry sandpaper onto the rods and use that to do the heavy work of your reprofiling.
 
That'll work too----just not as neat a job as the Edge Pro. I've built jigs that prop up medium or coarse bench stones at the "Spyderco angles" and used them as giant croc sticks as well. After each stroke, I'd lean the stone to the other side----flip, stroke, repeat. It'll work, but not nearly as fast or neat bevel as the EP. I speak from experience. Everyone likes something different though and has different budgets, etc. Really, aside from looks and avoiding burning the steel, I don't know if it matters HOW you get the PRIMARY bevel since the secondary bevel is the one you cut with.
 
Alright, that settles that. I guess I wont be attempting that project, especially since I have a couple knives I need to reprofile. I was just trying to bee cheap since money isn't really growing on trees for me right now and the Edge pro is $120+.
Unfortunately I don't feel too comfortable with using a belt sander. I'm not the best free hander and I don't want to mess up some expensive blades. Is there anything else I could try aside from getting an Edge pro, belt sander, sending the knives off, or buying the $40 diamond stone (the reason that just buying Spyderco's diamond stone isn't appealing is I don't like unitaskers)?
 
Also, what is the point of sharpening the knife with the pointed side of the triangle rods? I'm failing to see how using the pointy part is better than using the flat side of the triangle.
 
The edges of the rods apply honing force to a smaller area and hence greater pressure. The edges of the rods are a bit rougher. The rod edges cut faster, but they can damage the blade edge if you apply too much pressure when the honing gets down to the final thin apex. You can overstress the metal. The big advantage of the edge of the honing rods is for sharpening serrations.
 
Jeff Clark said:
The edges of the rods apply honing force to a smaller area and hence greater pressure. The edges of the rods are a bit rougher. The rod edges cut faster, but they can damage the blade edge if you apply too much pressure when the honing gets down to the final thin apex. You can overstress the metal. The big advantage of the edge of the honing rods is for sharpening serrations.
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Awesome thanks, that makes sense. I guess I'll skip the edges if the blade isn't that worn out.
 
iammark said:
... I've built jigs that prop up medium or coarse bench stones at the "Spyderco angles" and used them as giant croc sticks as well. After each stroke, I'd lean the stone to the other side----flip, stroke, repeat. It'll work, but not nearly as fast or neat bevel as the EP. I speak from experience. Everyone likes something different though and has different budgets, etc. Really, aside from looks and avoiding burning the steel, I don't know if it matters HOW you get the PRIMARY bevel since the secondary bevel is the one you cut with.
Click to expand...

I do this as well with my diamond benchstones, but I lay the stone against the flat side of a rod and do 10-12 strokes at a time on the same side of the blade, then swap sides. Seems to be cheaper and more effective than the diamond SM rods.

'Course, I also have an Edge Pro if I muck anything up and need to fix it... :D
 
ChapmanPreferred said:
Given enough time, the brown Sharpmaker rods will accomplish your task, but it will take a considerable amount of time.
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Just sit down with your favorite epic movie and go at it. I've done this several times and it's not as bad as people say. Just be sure to keep your stones clean (they'll cut faster).

That said, I use a coarse diamond stone to prepare a blade for the SM now.
 
I ended up buying the diamond SM rods. If you already have a good feel for the Sharpmaker, I don't see why you'd buy another system just to reprofile. You can always put the diamond rods on the bottom of the base for a pseudo-bench stone. Or you might look at the Spyderco Duckfoot.
 
You could do it with a rock out of the creek, if you live long enough!:p

But you appear to be serious about maximizing the use of your knives, and their benefit to you.

Do yourself a favor and buy an Edge-Pro. Go very basic to start with, and add on as time and money allow.

www.edgeproinc.com
 
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