What angle do you use on your sharpmaker? I need advice.

L

Lil' Temperance

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I use the 30 degree angle on my sharpmaker for my CPM440V blades and the 40 degree for other steels. Am I selling myself short by using the 30 degree angle on my lil'Temperance. I can't seem to get a "scary sharp" edge on it using the 30 degree bevel using 20 strokes per side on each step. Alternating sides with each stroke like your supposed to. Any suggestions on how to get that "SCARY SHARP?:eek: :eek: " edge that Spydercos come from the factory with? You could use both my lil temperances for sugical devices they were so sharp out of the box.
 
For starters I think that all Spyderco knives are sharpened at the factory with a 40 degree angle, so using thee 20 degree slots would be better. Also you can't rely on counting strokes to get a good edge. A dull knife will take longer to sharpen than just touching up an already sharp one. Do a few strokes on each side, alternating, and see if the edge bevels have met. Only after they have met should you progress to the finer stones, alternating strokes.


Lastly I have read the CPM-440V is harder to sharpen on ceramics than other steels. As long as you havn't dulled the knife to bad though there should be no problem.


Erik
 
It's not really dull at all it'll still shave hair but just barely and I can't seem to get it any sharper than that.
 
F150,

To expand on Erik's point - if the knife is sharpened at 40 degrees from Spyderco, you are going to be grinding for a >long< time before you are able to set the bevels at 15 degrees per side (30 degrees setting on Sharpmaker). Especially, especially with CPM-440V!

Try sharpening with just the 40 degree setting - it sounds like your edge just needs a bit of touching up, and at the 30 degree setting you aren't even hitting it...

Hope that helps,

Matthew
 
Spydercos come from the factory at 30 degrees, not 40: Sal says so in the video. Depending on which knife it is, I use either setting.

Work one side until forming a burr, then move to the next. Don't just do the 20 strokes per side thing -- you might not be doing much to the edge yet. Mark the edge with a marker if needed to gauge your progress.

CPM-440V can take a while to sharpen and doesn't get as 'scary' sharp as other steels like VG-10.
 
I did the marker thing to track my progress and I'm here to tell you that IT WORKS both my Lil'Temperances are SCALPEL sharp. Thanks for the guidance guys.
 
20 strokes is not nearly enough if the angles dont match. Run a black magic marker down the edge of the blade. Then stroke it a half dozen times per side and examine with a 10x magnifer and I will bet you will find the marker still there at the edge. 20 strokes per side is nowhere near enough to reprofile. 20 strokes is about right after the angles match perfectly and your just refreshing the edge. I use 40 degrees on all my knives and they are plenty scary sharp as well. The trick is to be gentle against the white stones at the end of the sharpening session. Use light strokes for fine polishing.
 
440V is a very abrasion resistant steel and ceramic rods don't cut real fast. I use a diamond hone if I need to remove significant material from 440V then I finish with a few light strokes on the ceramic rods.
 
Good Evening Everyone-

Adjustable angles on a Spyderco Sharpmaker? Am I missing something here? Mine came in a carry case with a black plastic base, brown "rough" ceramics, white "fine" ceramics, and two brass "accident prevention" guide rods.

In addition to the obvious "V-shape" holes, there are holes in the base to allow the ceramics to be inserted for tasks like sharpening scissors or recreating a new tip.

Do I just have an older, non-adjustable version or something?

Thanks,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
uh, I have a question too...when you say 30 degree angle, does that translate to the edge having a total of 60 degrees (30+30) - or is it (15 + 15). I hope someone can clarify as one of the reasons I haven't gone on to purchase the sharpmaker 204 is cos it can only go down to 30 degrees, whereas I hoping for a 25 degree (ie. total of 50 degrees) angle on my edges.:confused:
 
Blue Jays,

Sounds like you have the 203 - the older version. The 204 has two pairs of slots for v-sharpening: one at 30 and one at 40.

Spyken,

Those are inclusive angles on the sharpmaker: 15+15=30 and 20+20=40 not 30+30=60 and 40+40=80.
 
ThinkOfTheChildren (what a great screen name)-

Looks like you are right on the money. Purchased this sharpener about five years ago from the late James K. Mattis of Chai Cutlery. A little off-topic, but I only recently heard that he passed away. :(

The Spyderco Sharpmaker does a good job, but if the newer model is adjustable, I just may have to upgrade.

Thanks, T.O.T.C.

Regards,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
I think you can order the 204 base as a replacement part and use your old rods to get both angles. I use the 40 degree holes on my EDCs. If you watch the video that comes with the Sharpmaker these days, it points out that the 30 degree setting is mostly for relieving the shoulder material just behind the cutting edge on flat ground knives that have worn enough to need a major sharpening.

You guys aware that there are Diamond triangle rods just coming out from Spyderco for the 204 right? Hehehe.

jmx

PS I haven't needed to do a reprofile and if I did I'd probably use my old bench stones, but the Sharpmaker certainly makes it easier to keep shaving edges on my EDCs (plain small Sebenza & Socom Elite).
 
Originally posted by spyken
uh, I have a question too...when you say 30 degree angle, does that translate to the edge having a total of 60 degrees (30+30) - or is it (15 + 15). I hope someone can clarify as one of the reasons I haven't gone on to purchase the sharpmaker 204 is cos it can only go down to 30 degrees, whereas I hoping for a 25 degree (ie. total of 50 degrees) angle on my edges.:confused:
Click to expand...

25 degrees per side? Is this a big chopper you're using? I think even the most conservative among us leave our folders at 20 degrees per side. I feel that even that is often leaving much too much performance on the floor, and depending on the steel and the usage, I like either a 15 degree edge, or 20 degrees with a very healthy 15 degree backbevel.

As ToTC said, the 30 degrees is total. The Sharpmaker 204 comes with 30 (15 degrees per side) and 40 (20 degrees per side) slots.

Joe
 
what degree of angle was the 203 sharpmaker? i have three of them, should i keep the base or upgrade?
 
I had the same problem when I first got my 204 sharpmaker. I was following the manufactures instructions on alternating sides. Then I read the following portion of a sharpening FAQ authored by Joe Talmadge.

"You grind one edge along the stone edge-first until a burr (aka "wire") is formed on the other side of the edge. You can feel the burr with your thumb, on the side of the edge opposite the stone. The presence of the burr means that the steel is thin enough at the top that it is folding over slightly, because the bevel you've just ground has reached the edge tip. If you stop before the burr is formed, then you have not ground all the way to the edge tip, and your knife will not be as sharp as it should be. The forming of the burr is critically important -- it is the only way to know for sure that you have sharpened far enough on that side. Once the burr is formed on one side, turn the knife over and repeat the process.

To re-cap, you've sharpened one side only until you felt a burr along the entire length of the opposite side, then you switched sides and repeated the process. I suggest you do not follow the directions that come with many sharpeners, of the form "Do 20 strokes on one side, then 20 strokes on the other". You go one side only until the burr is formed; if that takes 10 strokes or 50 strokes, you keep going until you get a burr, period. Only then do you flip the knife over and do the other side.

Having raised a burr, our job now is to progress to finer stones, in order to make the edge smoother and remove the burr. So now we run the blade along the stone from end to tip, this time alternating sides with each stroke. Switch to a finer stone, and then do it again."

For the entire sharpening FAQ go here.
http://www.balisongxtreme.com/baliplanet2/BasicTerms/shfaq.htm
 
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