What Sharpmaker rods?

Boattale

Boattale

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Nov 27, 2019
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I like my sharpmaker a lot but need better rods. Do I want diamond or boron nitride? Can't see needing both but I'm willing to be persuaded.
 
I have the diamond rods and have used them for years. They are great for sharpening really dull knives or touching up something with a not so great edge. I use it primarily for kitchen knives and my streak knives. If I have a dull edge I start with the diamond, then the medium, and finally fine rods.
 
Boattale said:
I hate wondering about which rods so I ordered both diamond and CBN. I'm hoping they kick some K390 and magnacut up a notch. S35vn might benefit too. Thanks for the feedback.
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I’m curious to hear your thoughts comparing the two. I bought the diamond rods and find they’re pretty coarse feeling on the blade edge, like the texture of 80grit sandpaper. After some use they have smoothed out but further reading leads me to believe the CBN rods work great on the “super steels” without that super coarse feeling to them. Had I done the research prior I would have ordered both sets like you.
 
Boattale said:
I hate wondering about which rods so I ordered both diamond and CBN. I'm hoping they kick some K390 and magnacut up a notch. S35vn might benefit too. Thanks for the feedback.
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make sure ya dont mix them up. unless spyderco has changed something they look identical. I prefer the cbn.....but functionally both work fine.....I wish spyderco would step up the game and get us some 600 grit rods for the sharpmaker for these higher carbide steels they and everyone is using now.....
 
Blues said:
I use a marker with D on the bottom of the diamond, so I can differentiate them, though they look different enough without any marking.
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My guys used to mark my gloves left and right, so I could put them on correctly, though they look different enough without any marking.
 
Boattale said:
I like my sharpmaker a lot but need better rods. Do I want diamond or boron nitride? Can't see needing both but I'm willing to be persuaded.
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I have both . They seem crazy coarse for anythinng aproaching one of "my edges" which is basicaly : polish it or go home .
I spent quite a while this summer testing a Vivi toothy edge side by side on identical very basic 1.4116 stainless fixed blades . Toothy is still not for me . These two test knives were very thin at the spine and relatively thin at the edge . Both performed well without a clear winner . I just like polished ; how it feels when I cut / carve stuff .

With that out of the way I would NEVER be able to produce anything but a toothy edge with the Diamond / CBN rods on the sharpmaker (and refine the Vanadium carbides) . . . sure I could use the basic stones to refine the apex .

Not my thing .

I use the Spyderco Triangle Rods quite often , I was using them last night . . . just holding one in my hand and also in my Edge Pro Apex (see my many years old post here about that (with images) .

The currently available diamond rods will cut the high vanadium blades but then how does one refine the edge ? Lighter and lighter strokes I suppose .
Again ; not the way I go about working my edges . I would then want way finer diamond rods to finish the job if I were using the Sharp Maker.

and I even strop (a very few light stokes) on my Edge Pro .

My three cents .
 
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Watching this thread with interest.

I've been tempted for a long time to try the diamond or cbn rods with my SM. But I've yet to commit to one or the other and haven't yet pulled the trigger on a purchase.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Watching this thread with interest.

I've been tempted for a long time to try the diamond or cbn rods with my SM. But I've yet to commit to one or the other and haven't yet pulled the trigger on a purchase.
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What? This is heresy. You will be required to do so forthwith and report on your findings...

Don't make us knock on your door.

☺️
 
Blues said:
What? This is heresy. You will be required to do so forthwith and report on your findings...

Don't make us knock on your door.

☺️
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Well, it looks like that ☝️ was the nudge I needed. CBN rods are on order. 😁

I'm intrigued by what seems to be a possible consensus here about the CBN producing a somewhat finer finish than the diamond. For coarser diamond-honed edges, I've been spoiled on my DMTs in how cleanly and relatively burr-free they finish an edge. I've always been disappointed in other brands by comparison. So, if the CBN is a bit finer, I think I may be more interested in trying them out without as much worry about buyer's remorse.
 
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David, I think they estimate them as being roughly 400 grit, give or take. Before you use 'em on a blade I'd recommend taking the back of a butter knife or other blade you don't care about and give them a bit of work to try to knock off high spots. (I probably still might need to do that another time or two.)

Be interested in your take since so much of our approach to sharpening is similar.
 
Blues said:
David, I think they estimate them as being roughly 400 grit, give or take. Before you use 'em on a blade I'd recommend taking the back of a butter knife or other blade you don't care about and give them a bit of work to try to knock off high spots. (I probably still might need to do that another time or two.)

Be interested in your take since so much of our approach to sharpening is similar.
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Yes, I recall that about them being somewhere around 400 grit. I'm already anxious to see how that compares to DMT's 325 and 600, if it's closer to one or the other. I've never had any complaints about finishing in that range on my DMTs. Even more so, when I've applied a barely-there microbevel with the SM's medium ceramic afterward. That's made for a wicked-slicing, aggressive edge I really like.
 
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