What am I doing wrong?

[SarcoBlaster]

OK, here's the deal. I've had my Sharpmaker for several months now and have had on and off success with it. More often than not, I'll get a wire edge that just gets turned down. It feels super sharp, but once I cut a cardboard box, it gets dull again. I'll try and try, but can't seem to get an edge that holds. I just got a Griptilian and it could use a sharpening, but I made a few passes on the fine stones and I thought I had it, but I cut one box and bam, it's dull (well, not completely dull, just not shaving sharp) again. Also, everytime I make a few passes, I'll look and see that I have a wire edge. I have no clue what I'm doing wrong, I've seen the video, read the instruction manual, etc and still can't seem to get it right. If anybody has any tips, hints, and/or info, I'd really appreciate it if you'd share it. Thanks!

-Randy

 

[AntDog]

To get rid of a wire edge, try stropping. Stropping is an important and sometimes overlooked part of the process.

I use a piece of leather loaded with 1200 grit silicon carbide compound. If you don't have any leather, use cardboard. After you strop that wire edge off it should stay sharp a while.

 

[Roadrunner]

I agree with AntDog, wire edges are tough to remove without stropping of some kind. www.handamerican.com has pointers for stropping, it should help you out. Look at the sharpening FAQ too.

 

[Sergiusz Mitin]

Randy,
It is possible to remove wire edge without stropping as well.
When you have finished main part of sharpening – profiled your bale as you wish and honed it up to required smoothness – now you should perform last step, to get rid of wire edge.
Clean your sharpening rods with coarse dish cleaner before this last step. Work on the flats, not on the edges. Do alternating strokes, each next lighter and lighter.
But first of all – work on perfectly clean stones!