Sharpmaker

Kwon Kwang

Kwon Kwang

Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
2,658
I'd just like to take a minute to sing the Sharpmaker's praises. I can't sharpen knives for crap, but with this tool I got my chipped out and beat-up Tenacious as well as a really dull non-Spydie folder in my EDC rotation again! Both knives now take the hair right off my arm and are going to see a lot more use.
 
I agree, the sharpmaker is awesome, for a long time I contemplated buying another sharpener costing hundreds of dollars, and always came back to Spyderco's excellent system. There is got to be a reason why Chris Reeve Knives recommend it for sharpening their knives:) I also got many other systems, and always come back to the Spyderco; the ultra fine rods do an awesome job.
 
Stupid simple to use.

Just go easy and use the guards and pay attention .

Otherwise. You will slice your hand.
 
It really is great. I used to have someone else sharpen my SE spydies, but with the sharpmaker I can be self sufficient.
 
I habe been using lately the relatively new stone by Spyderco. In the picture my Nilakka and the stropping belt with the stone.
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Ooooh, pretty Nilakka! How is that stone? I thought it was neat but expensive for what it seems to be.
 
I just ordered one and threw the ultra fine rod in with it.

Maybe I was the only one using the "ghetto sharpening system" of un-glazed rings on the bottom of certain glass and ceramic coffee cups and cereal bowls?

The thought of my new precious on a coffee cup was enough to order a Sharpmaker

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The Sharpmaker was the first Spyderco product I bought. Cold Steel used to advertise it in their catalogue, it was their recommended sharpening system. It's a great product, particularly with the coarser grit option.
 
Ok, as a Sharpmaker noob, it was frustrating to have to go back and order a second ultra fine rod, not understanding that while sold separately, they are used in pairs. So hopefully this weekend when I sit down to watch the videos and experiment on some cheap expendable knives, that will be all I need...
 
TheOutdoorNerd said:
Ok, as a Sharpmaker noob, it was frustrating to have to go back and order a second ultra fine rod, not understanding that while sold separately, they are used in pairs. So hopefully this weekend when I sit down to watch the videos and experiment on some cheap expendable knives, that will be all I need...
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Ha ha, the same thing happened to me when I got mine about 3 years ago; hey we are all noobs at one point in time right? And that's a good idea, starting with some cheap knives, I started with kitchen knives to get the hang of it. Good luck man. ;)
 
Thanks! At least I only realized it a day later when I was reading the reviews, so it won't be far behind with prime shipping.

I can usually get my VG10 Delica and Dragonfly scary sharp with a $1 coffee cup, so I'm fairly excited to see what a real sharpener can do. I liked the whetstone for my Moras but it never clicked with me with other grinds. It's funny that I can fix anything that has electronic or mechanical components, but I can't seem to be able to rub a piece of steel on a piece of rock.

Everyone raves about the Sharpmaker. I hope you guys are right, because I could've had another knife for that price ;)
 
I'm a Sharpmaker raver. Does take a bit of practice if you are going for more than just EDC sharp. Watching the video is time well spent. Here is another video that I found very informative and helped me to up the sharpness on my blades - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywogvxTQGXk

I did buy a pair of diamond rods to compliment the standard set. I don't use them often but they are very useful for reproofing or edge repair. 4 or 5 times a week I pass my EDC 10 or 12 times over the white rods just because it is so easy to keep a sharp edge. For a real sharpening session I have realized that I can't cheat - 20 to 30 passes on each stone and their respective faces seems to be the minimum required. The video above showed me that I could do it differently and better so I share it here. To each his own - what works for you is quite subjective.
 
Sat down to watch the video, saw that it was 43 minutes and thought "geez, did I buy the right product?"

But then I sat transfixed the whole time as Sal demonstrated how to sharpen literally everything on earth.

From sharpening potato peelers to de-burring a philips screwdriver, it was an awesome video, and I learned lots.

Last night I sharpened several knives, culminating with my beater Delica. It has an impressive edge just with the two rods, and tonight I'm going to sit down with the UF rods and see how sharp I can get it, before moving onto all my other knives that need it.

Great product! Just one suggestion: you don't need the physical DVD. Even a middle aged man like me is going to go straight to Youtube. Or maybe put it on one of your flash drives instead.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
Oh yes! That would be glorious!
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Right? A custom USB flash drive just for the Sharpmaker would be even better. *cough* sprint run sharpmaker *cough*

After sharpening at least a half dozen knives, with the VG10 Delica and Dragonfly getting the ultra fine treatment, I can say that this is the system I've been looking for: compact, stupidly simple to operate, and completely effective.

One thing I didn't expect was how polished the UF stones make the edge look. It's really impressive seeing a highly polished, uniform edge on my 17 dollar Chinese switchblade, which was my first test knife.

I was a little dismayed though to see how much steel it took off my DF2. It made the blade look funny, because I guess I didn't realize how shallow of an angle I had on it hand sharpened. But the new edge is just as sharp, except shiny and completely uniform looking, even if the blade looks a little weird now.

So, yeah, I'm a satisfied customer. I could pretty much always make stuff sharp, but I've really struggled getting consistent results, even with people coaching me. It would be fun to be a master hand sharpener, but at the end of the day, I just want my stuff to be sharp so it can cut other stuff, and I think that's where my interest in edges ends. So good day to you sirs, for making a product that even primates can use.
 
Hey man I'm not a primate! Ha ha. You're right about the video, I forgot it comes with the sharpmaker, thanks for reminding me; I'm going to watch it again. I'm with you about making things sharp so I can cut things again, I used to get all OCD about sharpening but this sharpener fixed that pretty quick.
Since you mentioned YouTube; there is a guy called "Virtuovice" from Japan that has some very interesting videos about sharpening with water stones, he's a hunter so he's usually sharpening Bark River and similar knives, he is really a master at it, check him out. Sometimes he shows his edges under a microscope, it blows my mind.
 
I think I've seen his videos and he taught me to sharpen the Moras, which I can get as sharp as I've personally seen a knife.

But I was pretty much hit and miss with everything else on a whetstone. I'm not sure where the disconnect was with sharpening by hand, but now I'm not sure I care since the Sharpmaker is so simple.

Did the video show a Scandi grind on the Sharpmaker? Or maybe I'll stick to the whetstone for the Moras.
 
TheOutdoorNerd said:
Did the video show a Scandi grind on the Sharpmaker? Or maybe I'll stick to the whetstone for the Moras.
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I do mine on the bench stone, flat on the bevel which is around 10 degrees per side. Then put a micro bevel with the Sharpmaker fine rods at 30 deg inclusive, and touch up the same way.
 
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