Wanting a sharpmaker but...

V

Vanguard.223

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Sep 5, 2012
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Want to make sure I understand it first. Say you have a knife with an edge angle less than 40 degrees but above 30 degrees, would the sharpmaker work using the knife on the 40 degree setting? I'm quite new to sharpening systems, and any input on this one would be great.

Thanks!
 
You want to sharpen the edge at the established angle or more obtuse.
The more obtuse, the easier it will be to "touch-up", but it will also be modifying the edge angle the most.
If you sharpen using an edge angle more acute than the established angle, you will not be sharpening at all.

Read some of the stickies.
There's tons of previous threads that can answer your questions more completely than I can.

Good luck. :)
 
I would say depending on the steel, as the sharpmaker's stones are more for maintaining a good sharp edge already on the knife. You may need to re-profile before using the sharpmaker, or be prepared to spend a lot of time getting the edge right with the supplied stones. JMHO

Omar
:rolleyes:
 
Nullity said:
You want to sharpen the edge at the established angle or more obtuse.
The more obtuse, the easier it will be to "touch-up", but it will also be modifying the edge angle the most.
If you sharpen using an edge angle more acute than the established angle, you will not be sharpening at all.

Read some of the stickies.
There's tons of previous threads that can answer your questions more completely than I can.

Good luck. :)
Click to expand...

I see what you mean about the touch ups, thanks! So yes, say the edge is at 35 degrees, using the 40 would be best as the 30 degree setting would only be slowly reprofiling it. Thanks! I've read through lots of the last threads and just wanted some more thoughts to make sure it's right for me!
 
It is Very slow reprofiling with the sharpmaker...... But it is great for quick touch ups, far better than something you have to clamp the knife into just to give a couple of passes to tune the edge.
 
I would not use the sharpmaker to reprofile anything. It would be used to sharpen or "touch up" knives with what I would consider already having a working edge. I was just worried about having to have the angle exactly matching either 30 or 40 degrees.
 
Freehand on sandpaper...you can do so on a pad or a hard surface.

I mostly use a sharpmaker, but have had a few blades that needed reprofiling first and since I am lacking in the tools/shop department I use sandpaper...and it works amazingly well. In fact if I didn't have the sharpmaker I would have zero problems getting hair shaving sharp with just a few different grits of paper. And paper is way cheaper than good stones.

One cool thing about using sandpaper besides it being cheap is you can build yourself a little kit out of an altoids tin and have a very good field sharpening kit in your bag and not be "lost" without your home sharpening system.

Sharpening options seem to either be skill based or product based...I like skill based (stones, or sandpaper), but I don't turn my nose up on a product like the sharpmaker as it works fast and has multiply methods of use.

I say give sandpaper a try.
 
Is there a certain technique to sand paper or would you use it the same way you would a stone? Thanks for the suggestion I will look into it!
 
The Sharpmaker can fit your needs very well... If you are at 35 deg, just use the 40 deg setting to hit the edge. Use a dry erase marker on the edge and drag across the stones just a few times to see if you are actually hitting the edge. Most of the time, touch ups are merely "standing up" the edge and not really removing material. Touch up often!

Even if you are at 30 deg, Spyderco recommends that you use the 30 deg as a back bevel and actually use the 40 deg to sharpen the edge. Most Spydercos come with a 30 deg edge from factory but you are supposed to use the 40 deg setting to maintain them...

If you had to remove material, what i did was clip some diamond sharpners to the Spyderco stones and get the proper angle but have the cutting power of diamond. It made it super easy to reprofile just about anything to 30 deg. Sorry, no pix but they looked something like this.

DMT-W7EFC.jpg
 
dcmartin said:
The Sharpmaker can fit your needs very well... If you are at 35 deg, just use the 40 deg setting to hit the edge. Use a dry erase marker on the edge and drag across the stones just a few times to see if you are actually hitting the edge. Most of the time, touch ups are merely "standing up" the edge and not really removing material. Touch up often!

Even if you are at 30 deg, Spyderco recommends that you use the 30 deg as a back bevel and actually use the 40 deg to sharpen the edge. Most Spydercos come with a 30 deg edge from factory but you are supposed to use the 40 deg setting to maintain them...

If you had to remove material, what i did was clip some diamond sharpners to the Spyderco stones and get the proper angle but have the cutting power of diamond. It made it super easy to reprofile just about anything to 30 deg. Sorry, no pix but they looked something like this.

DMT-W7EFC.jpg
Click to expand...

EXACTLY the response I was looking for, thank you sir! I think I'm sold on it.
 
Vanguard.223 said:
EXACTLY the response I was looking for, thank you sir! I think I'm sold on it.
Click to expand...

The Sharmaker is good stuff! I miss mine, I sold it after i picked up an Edge Pro but i find for touch ups it is the best! I have since graduated from an Edge Pro to a Wicked Edge. I use the W E to remove material, re-profile and set the edge but I'm going to pick up another Sharpmaker soon....

Oh, I find a "butterfly" clip (just a plain old stationary one) works the best at holding the diamond pieces to the Sharpmaker stones.
 
I have also just wraped the spyderco rods in sand paper and tied them with breadbag ties...kind of the poor mans way but it works. Gives me a whole lot of grit options using the same system.

when I used the paper as a stone or on a pad I more or less used it just like it was a stone...the coarser the paper the less I worried about nice even strokes (I would hit one side for 10 or 20 odd strokes then the other) as I was trying to "change" the angle (was not really hitting the edge yet), but as I got the angle I wanted then it was used like a good stone.
 
Personally, I'd just go ahead and learn freehand. You will eventually see that freehand is the most convenient once you've gotten over the steeper learning curve.
 
I have various stones and rods that I use to give me knives a nice "working edge" and I have a dmt diafold ( coarse and fine) and an extra fine 6 inch diamond that I'll be getting tomorrow. I just wanted the sharpmaker for that extra level of sharpness I guess.
 
If you are at something less than 40, then using the sharp maker at 40 is ideal for the casual user. It creates a micro bevel and makes touch ups easy because you don't have to remove much material.

If you want to use the sharp maker for advanced sharpening it is recommended to buy the extra fine stones.
 
That's good to hear! I didn't realize the Sharpmaker was only $50! That's a steal! Do you know what extra fine stones cost?
 
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