Unusual experience with my Sharpmaker

I got a set of the UF Sharpmaker rods and they came with the pits on the corners. So I use the flats. UF's don't remove much anyway so I only use the corners for serrated edges.
 
Robert Ptacel said:
I really don't think they're chips as much as voids or bubbles that form during the forming process of the ceramic. Upon examination under magnification the perimeter of the imperfection is rounded not sharply delineated as in a chip.At least this has been my experience.I've noticed no degradation of the edge on my knives from running across them.
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Yeah Robert I think you're on to something there and I'm going to go over my new Goldenstone for that reason as well as some of the other newer Spyderco sharpening tools I've stocked up on. It makes sense because I'm usually very careful with all of my sharpening equipment and during cleaning of the tools I'm extremely careful.

Also I've noticed that the medium/gray stones from the late 90s/early 2000s seem to wear out faster than the newer ones from about the mid 2000s on. Because my second Sharpmaker that I bought around 2006 doesn't seem to have as many glitches as the older model did.

From that early time period I even had a fine 302 Spyderco benchstone I had to send back because it had surface ripples on it. But all the newer Spyderco 302 Benchstones I've had since the mid 2000s are all perfect from what I can tell.

So far I've found no problems or defects in my Goldenstone ( February 2012), Slipstone (February 2012) or the other sets of 701 Profiles ( February 2012) or the most recent set of 400F Spyderco files.
 
As Sal has stated the gray stones do wear over time and this will be obvious as the corners wear away. People may think it is chipping but it is just normal wear.I've purposely sharpened my knives on the corners of my whites with those "dimples" in them with no discernible effect. The real acid test came when I discovered a very vjsible crease in one of the flats of the gray stone.I concentrated my strokes on that crease,which was very noticeably felt.Upon completion of sharpening I went to the newspaper to check my edge and much to my relief the edge was quite sharp and smooth.This laid to rest for me any concerns about these anomalies in the stones.
 
Can you do recurves on the flats or do you have to use the corners?
 
JD Spydo said:
Also I've noticed that the medium/gray stones from the late 90s/early 2000s seem to wear out faster than the newer ones from about the mid 2000s on. Because my second Sharpmaker that I bought around 2006 doesn't seem to have as many glitches as the older model did.
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I've had the same experience, JD. I've worn out two sets of grey rods from the 1990s. They are cupped and no longer serviceable. In fact, they used to generate a little stone/steel dust on my table when using them on the corners. My newer set hasn't seen enough use yet to tell how fast they are going to wear, but they seem harder. At least there is less dust on the table after using them...

TedP
 
I've noticed the little bumps too, and right out of the box. I'm still able to get very sharp edges as long as I remind myself to not over apply pressure.
 
Robert Ptacel said:
I really don't think they're chips as much as voids or bubbles that form during the forming process of the ceramic. Upon examination under magnification the perimeter of the imperfection is rounded not sharply delineated as in a chip.At least this has been my experience.I've noticed no degradation of the edge on my knives from running across them.
Click to expand...

There are slight factory flaws in some of them and you're right about that because I have retired 2 of the medium/gray and also a couple of the fine/white stones as well. I went ahead and replaced those with new factory replacement stones. But on the other hand I've had stone fracture during the cleaning process.

Now I have found a way to remedy the ones with just slight chips on them. I take a medium to coarse diamond benchstone and very slowing grind out the defect. It works OK with small dents but I've been afraid to try it with bigger defects. I've had a couple of the 302 Benchstones I've bought over the years have manufacturing defects in them that I've had to send back to the factory. Both times they have replaced them for me. Ironically both of the 302 Benchstones I had to send back with factory defects in them were both "FINE" stones. I've found the factory to be very understanding both times.

I kind of wish that someone from the factory would chime in on this thread. I'm wondering if there aren't other ways we could fix these slight flaws with some type of epoxy or some other material.

But overall I find Spydercos sharpening equipment to be some of the very best. Now for the record I've seen 2 other Goldenstones other than the one I've bought and all 3 of them have been 100% perfect from what I can ascertain. I'm hopeful that Spyderco has remedied their factory flaws by now.
 
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