Tri-Angle Sharpmaker... finally a sharpener that rocked my world...

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FliGuyRyan

Joined
Dec 2, 2005
Messages
456
Now, I must admit that my title is a little misleading in the fact that the Sharpmaker is the first "true" sharpening system I've owned other than a Gerber Diamond-rod portable and a Smith Arkansas fine stone.

It all started when I visited a knife store near where I work. I was there to pick up a larger Arkansas stone (mine is really small and thin). In my questioning of the owner, a customer butted in and said, "This is what I use," and proceeded to give me a demo of the system. I was wowed with all the uses and the portability.

To cut more to the point (no pun intended), I bought it, took it home that night and sharpened my whole collection in a few minutes (about ten knives) and made then all the closest to razor-sharp that I've ever felt them. Even my Kershaw Leek Damascus was razor-sharp.

The only knife that I didn't get as sharp was my Zero Tolerance 150 that I was able to get sharper on my Smith sharpening stone. I'm not really sure the difference, only to assume that I was putting maybe a less acute angle on each side of the 150 (it's a dagger too).

Anyways, if you don't own a Sharpmaker yet... well, you're wrong. It's so easy, portable and fun even to use.

My $.10...
RC
 
Yeah, I think I ought to try this system out. I've been freehanding for a couple months now, and I seem to suck at drop points or anything with a curve (well, I can get knives sharp, but I can't seem to get mini burrs off of curves). I have a feeling that this type of system will help me out and will allow me to buy some recurve blades lol
 
You can sharpen anything. Serrations, no problem... curves, no problem. It's amazing. I want to graduate up to a freehand stone someday, but the way I see it the Sharpmaker is what the Gillette Mach 3 is to shaving; and freehand is the straight razor that just takes too much time...

-RC
 
I totally agree. That's what I use to keep all my knives razor sharp. The only thing that I can't do with the original kit is easily re-profile a badly damaged or badly worn knife. Need the coarse diamond hones for that.
 
I knew I should have gotten this from the get-go... I had a choice between an $80 Sharpmaker or a $50 DMT stone. I wanted to buy from this store to support a B&M (last time I'm ever doing that again). I chose the stone because of the price and because I wanted to learn how to sharpen freehand (although if the Sharpmaker were $50, I would have chosen that).

Btw, what are the sharpmaker rods made of?
 
THG said:
I knew I should have gotten this from the get-go... I had a choice between an $80 Sharpmaker or a $50 DMT stone. I wanted to buy from this store to support a B&M (last time I'm ever doing that again). I chose the stone because of the price and because I wanted to learn how to sharpen freehand (although if the Sharpmaker were $50, I would have chosen that).

Btw, what are the sharpmaker rods made of?
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The rods are made of High Alumina Ceramic. But why did you pay 80 dollars for the Sharpmaker? You can get one for less than 50 bucks. Check it out:

http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1215
 
Outdoors Fanatic said:
The rods are made of High Alumina Ceramic. But why did you pay 80 dollars for the Sharpmaker? You can get one for less than 50 bucks. Check it out:

http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1215
Click to expand...
USA made products are very expensive in other countries, the sharp maker can go past 100bucks easily here in Australia, I had to pay 90bucks to get a spyderco native which is 40bucks at walmart in the US.

I prefer to sharpen free hand though, I enjoy sharpening freehand and I can get blades to whittle hair.
 
Roger999 said:
USA made products are very expensive in other countries, the sharp maker can go past 100bucks easily here in Australia, I had to pay 90bucks to get a spyderco native which is 40bucks at walmart in the US.

I prefer to sharpen free hand though, I enjoy sharpening freehand and I can get blades to whittle hair.
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You can always buy online for much cheaper prices.
 
I just ordered the diamond rods and ultra fine rods for my Sharpmaker, those along with the medium and fine rods should make me the king of sharpening (at least in my house).
 
How hard is it to become proficient at using the Sharpmaker?

What is it that makes it so special? I'm sincerely asking because I don't yet have the "skills" necessary to put anything more than a working edge on a knife. :o

In the same way that I love to shoot but don't enjoy cleaning my firearms, I likewise consider knife sharpening a necessary evil. I want to get better at sharpening as it is obviously a very useful skill, and I hope some success will provide encouragement.

Is the Sharpmaker a good choice for a novice?

I've never seen a demonstration of its use and am curious about what makes so many people rave about it. Rave on. :)
 
Bleed, I'm a novice sharpener too and the Sharpmaker allows me to get nice sharp edges on my blades easily. It comes with a nice color instruction manual and a DVD as well. I don't use my knives so hard that the blades need to be re profiled, etc. so the Sharpmaker does what I need, easily, at a reasonalble price ($45 - $50 or so).
 
I just got the Sharpmaker yesterday. I'm pleased with the ease of use; it gets the right angle (almost) exactly. It was only then that I realized how far off of 30º I was when freehanding.

However, I like Diamond better. It seems to give me a cleaner edge. The Sharpmaker's ceramic seems to flop my burr from side to side...

But I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It's a great all-around product. Maybe I just need more practice.

Btw, the instructional DVD was great.
 
muddog49 said:
Bleed, I'm a novice sharpener too and the Sharpmaker allows me to get nice sharp edges on my blades easily. It comes with a nice color instruction manual and a DVD as well. I don't use my knives so hard that the blades need to be re profiled, etc. so the Sharpmaker does what I need, easily, at a reasonalble price ($45 - $50 or so).
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+1

This is exactly right. I took it out of the box, held my knife with the blade straight down and went to it. Three minutes later... HOLY CRAP, sharpest my knives have ever been. It's literally that easy...

-RC
 
FliGuyRyan said:
+1

This is exactly right. I took it out of the box, held my knife with the blade straight down and went to it. Three minutes later... HOLY CRAP, sharpest my knives have ever been. It's literally that easy...

-RC
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It only works that way if the angles are correct. Otherwise you will be very fustrated because you are only removing the metal from the shoulders. Inorder to help you see, I suggest that everyone use a sharpie marker to make the entire edge to see where the stones are contacting.
 
Chinese man said:
It only works that way if the angles are correct. Otherwise you will be very fustrated because you are only removing the metal from the shoulders. Inorder to help you see, I suggest that everyone use a sharpie marker to make the entire edge to see where the stones are contacting.
Click to expand...

Yep, I've been working for hours now grinding away my Delica's VG-10... I'm reprofiling the edge, and boy does this take long.

I should probably get the diamond stone rods.
 
THG said:
I just got the Sharpmaker yesterday. I'm pleased with the ease of use; it gets the right angle (almost) exactly. It was only then that I realized how far off of 30º I was when freehanding.

However, I like Diamond better. It seems to give me a cleaner edge. The Sharpmaker's ceramic seems to flop my burr from side to side...
Click to expand...

THG, just a thought.... I think you might be using too much pressure against the rods. If you are pushing on the blade it will push the burr to the opposite side. Try using only the weight of the knife with almost no pressure and see if that corrects the problem.

I keep the SharpMaker in the Kitchen for my wife to use on the cooking knives. It was the only system that didn't frighten her. I use it for my smaller folders.

Stitchawl
 
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