Spyderco Sharpmaker Review

Anyone have a link to the rods I should get to reprofile edges on knives that aren't 20 degrees? I know I COULD do it with the mediums that come with the sharpmaker, but that'll take a while.
 
I can sharpen my Gerber Paraframe (it was the dullest knife I've ever bought) to shaving sharp, my problem is the blade just looks like crap when I'm done. It feels like I get the left side good but the right side not so good, but then I look at both and it's the exact opposite. One side will look uneven and have different highlights all over.

That, and I seem to miss parts of the blade, so only sections will be shaving sharp. Usually top/middle part isn't as sharp as the lower middle and lower section. This is why I have yet to sharpen my Leek, because I'm afraid I'll make it worse. I keep testing ony my Gerber until I hopefully get things going well.
 
jfindon said:
I can sharpen my Gerber Paraframe (it was the dullest knife I've ever bought) to shaving sharp, my problem is the blade just looks like crap when I'm done. It feels like I get the left side good but the right side not so good, but then I look at both and it's the exact opposite. One side will look uneven and have different highlights all over.

That, and I seem to miss parts of the blade, so only sections will be shaving sharp. Usually top/middle part isn't as sharp as the lower middle and lower section. This is why I have yet to sharpen my Leek, because I'm afraid I'll make it worse. I keep testing ony my Gerber until I hopefully get things going well.
Click to expand...

Same here. One side of the blade always seems to be more sharp than the other. I've tried to make sure and concentrate on using the same stroke on both sides, but just can't get it right.

I'm still tryin' though.
 
My 2cents - follow Chineseman's sharpie technique. It works.

Second - one thing I found is that for one knife which had a good 20o bevel per side to start, the sharpmaker worked perfectly for a while. Then it seemed to not work that well. The sharpie technique told me that I had sharpened up the V and was now working on the shoulders. So at this point I had of a choice - go at it like a bat out of hell on the grey corners or re-bevel with something different.

I decided to dust off the Lansky guided rod system - rebevelled at 17o. Then re-sharpened with the sharpmaker using the 15o angle. Worked like a charm and even improved over the original angle. So all in all I agree the sharpmaker is great at touching up a dull knife. However, too much sharpening can result in you having to re-bevel. In that case it is better to go to another method.

I recall many other posters in the pask lamenting the combination of the APEX edge pro + spyderco sharpmaker combination. The edgo pro being a PITA to set up, but remarkably efficient and precise at setting a bevel and polishing it up. The sharpmaker being the best bet to keep a knife tuned and re-sharpened.
 
Brutus013 said:
Anyone have a link to the rods I should get to reprofile edges on knives that aren't 20 degrees? I know I COULD do it with the mediums that come with the sharpmaker, but that'll take a while.
Click to expand...

I did a bit of looking, and are the rods people are talking about to put a new bevel on a knife the $40 rods? That's a bit expensive. If that's how much the rods cost, I'll just do it on the medium ones and spend an extra hour doing it.
 
For those that are getting different results on each side, try the sharpie method. You will see that the shoulders are uneven. If you do not want to buy the diamond rods then use sandpaper. I've seen people attach sandpaper to the rods (on the flats) and it works just as well. If this doesn't work, purchase a cheap diamond benchstone and lay it against one of the rods at the 30 setting to rebevel.
 
Brutus013 said:
I did a bit of looking, and are the rods people are talking about to put a new bevel on a knife the $40 rods? That's a bit expensive. If that's how much the rods cost, I'll just do it on the medium ones and spend an extra hour doing it.
Click to expand...

On a steel like S30V, you won't spend an hour. Think more in terms of days, possibly weeks unless you want to make a full-time effort of it.

My first attempt to reprofile an S30V Leek (from the 20-ish per side factory grind to 15 per side) on the medium stones... well I never finished. Put the knife aside and finished when newgraham had the diamond stones back in stock.

If you want to reprofile *and* save money, buy some (300 grit should be about right) sandpaper, wrap it around your stones and use that.
 
GregY said:
On a steel like S30V, you won't spend an hour. Think more in terms of days, possibly weeks unless you want to make a full-time effort of it.

My first attempt to reprofile an S30V Leek (from the 20-ish per side factory grind to 15 per side) on the medium stones... well I never finished. Put the knife aside and finished when newgraham had the diamond stones back in stock.

If you want to reprofile *and* save money, buy some (300 grit should be about right) sandpaper, wrap it around your stones and use that.
Click to expand...

Good plan, thanks.
 
I like the SharpMaker, but since deciding to bite the bullet and learn to freehand with a DMT, I haven't used it once.

It didn't take much practice to get the hang of freehand, and then it was as though a whole new vista of sharpening options suddenly opened up. You can actually reprofile within the span of a human lifetime with a DMT coarse, and the DMT fine yields a nice working edge -- push cuts yet is toothy enough for the draw cuts.

My initial DMT purchase was a coarse/fine 8" Duosharp. In retrospect, I should have gone for the 10" or whatever the largest size is that fits in their very handy elevated hone base.

I think I will upgrade to 10" coarse, fine, and extra-fine if those work with the base, and give the 8" to my dad. Tempted to try the Diasharps this time around. Fine seems to be the most handy all-around grit. You can reprofile with it, albeit more slowly, but you don't strictly need extra-fine for a good edge. Fine is the grit to have on your DMT keychain or Duofold hone to take to the woods, IMHO.

Another sharpening vista opened up after I got a real strop. I have thereafter been known to cackle evilly and mutter, "OMG this thing is a freakin' scalpel!" on many more occasions than ever before, and now have a temptation to turn every blade convex.

So keep practicing, keep exploring, and don't be afraid of free-hand. And the strop - holy cow - that's the ultimate "secret" weapon. Ganbatte! :thumbup:
 
I think this kind of sums it up.

Knife Outlet said:
I think the best response is to have you understand that the Sharpmaker is a different animal for different purposes. The V sharpeners are quick and effective for edge maintenance. They aren't very good for grinding new bevels. That's where the Lansky will be a better choice. Perhaps the ideal thing is to own both. You can use the Lansky for bevel grinding and the Sharpmaker for quicker mainenance in between sharpenings. Makes sense to me. Yes, Spyderco measures the whole angle and Lansky measures the bevel angle. You have that right. Take care.
Click to expand...

The Sharpmaker is one of the few sharpeners that recognize that you need at least two angles (even for the primary edge) so I give them a lot of credit. It also packs neatly and is convenient. Starting with a 15/20 degree compound profile on most knives makes them very sharp and durable and easier to sharpen or maintain sharpness. The next time they usually just need a touch up of the primary edge and since there is no shoulder of thicker metal to remove and the primary edge is very small it is much easier and the Sharpmaker works great for this kind of maintenance.

However, while re-profiling and edge that is not to the specified angles on the Sharpmaker is possible, I prefer it just for touch ups. I think most of the folks having problems with it are starting with edge angles greater then the the 15 or 20 degree angles on the Sharpmaker.

If you are going for a 20 degree edge and you have a blade that has a 15 degree secondary angle with a small (micro) 20 degree edge (primary cutting angle) then the Sharpmaker works very well. I like to use it instead of steeling in the kitchen. In this case I just use the 20 degree angles for my German knives and the 15 degree angles for my Japanese ones both with the fine ceramic stones. Something like 15 degrees is the primary angle on most western style Japanese double bevel kitchen knives like Global and MAC.

The original 15/20 compound double bevel could have come form professional sharpening or from you but it is quite a bit of work to establish on a Sharpmaker. If you are trying to re-profile a blade to those angles then the Sharpmaker's regular stones are too fine and it will take a long time. I am sure the coarser stones or the sandpaper trick would help if you choose to do it all on a Sharpmaker. If using the sandpaper trick I would suggest starting with around 220 grit wet or dry with water on the 15 degree angle. I think it would be easier to perform that step on a stone or by gluing the sandpaper to a piece of glass or wood and using it like a bench stone and then go back to the Sharpmaker. The only thing the sharp maker would do for you in the course step is help set the angle but it seems like a lot more work.

Sandpaper glued on a piece of 2/4 is really a cheap way to try free hand sharpening. A block of wood is nice because it raises the blade up off the bench high enough to clear the handle and your hand. You could even just tape it on all side to try it out. This would only cost you a few $. If you have problems holding the angles accurately you can just do the initial re-profile (15 degree) angle by hand and finish it on the Sharpmaker. If your angle is close then it should be easier to clean up on the Sharpmaker then to profile from scratch there. I think this is where most folks are having problems and where the most material needs to be removed. That is what re-profiling is. Geese, don't use a file.

I would set the 15 degree angle by hand on the sand paper or bench stone, using the Sharpmaker occasionally to check the angle with the magic marker trick, until you have a burr from both sides. Then work the 15 degree angle on the Sharpmaker to clean it up and make it look good. Work it with the medium (brown) stone on the Sharpmaker at 15 degrees until the scratch marks from the sandpaper or stone are gone and then do the same with the fine stone.Then go to the 20 degree angle on the Sharpmaker with the medium then the fine per the Sharpmakers instructions to finish the 20 degree angle. That should save a bunch of time and get you through the steps faster where folks are giving up too early. This actually works just as well as a bench stone if glued to glass on a wood block and last for many sharpenings. It works better glued so you don't gut into the paper and tear it but works taped if you are careful.

Check this link out for a sharpening tutorial. It is focused on kitchen knives but the principles are the same, only the angles are sometimes different. It is very in depth and also covers devices like the Sharpmaker and other devices mentioned in this thread.

Here is a couple of interesting Utubes on using the Sharpmaker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSG_W5BSwcw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE-woRbenKQ
 
Last edited:
The Sharpmaker is great for retouching. However, the knife's edge need to be 30 or 40 inclusive degrees for the Sharpmaker's system to be at its most effective. I reprofile my knives to 30 degree, using a DMT guide, a Winchester diamond bench stone, and a protractor. It's a hassle to get the angle exact; but the actually reprofiling takes just a few minutes. I use the Sharpie trick to ensure that I am removing just enough stock. After reprofiling, I use the Sharpmaker to maintain the edge.

If I can just freehand, I'd do it. But, I am just not good at freedhanding.
 
Folks, I just ordered a sharp maker. One issue I may have,however, is that I like to ensure that I raise a burr along the entire edge, and that's not possible if one alternates sides. Perhaps some see poor results, because they don't fully forma burr before starting the other side.Anyone else care to comment?
 
Matt Dillon said:
Folks, I just ordered a sharp maker. One issue I may have,however, is that I like to ensure that I raise a burr along the entire edge, and that's not possible if one alternates sides. Perhaps some see poor results, because they don't fully forma burr before starting the other side.Anyone else care to comment?
Click to expand...

A burr mainly tells you that you've reached the apex of the edge... it's not necessary to create one. You can mark the edge with a Sharpie and see where you're removing metal. Or, if you know the knife is sharpened at an angle lower than the angles of the Sharpmaker... you'll already know you're hitting the apex.

Of course, you can also do one side at a time on the Sharpmaker... if you want to see if you've created a burr.
 
Matt Dillon said:
Folks, I just ordered a sharp maker. One issue I may have,however, is that I like to ensure that I raise a burr along the entire edge, and that's not possible if one alternates sides. Perhaps some see poor results, because they don't fully forma burr before starting the other side.Anyone else care to comment?
Click to expand...
The sharpmakers biggest problem is that is doesn't remove metal very well.

The brown alumina ceramic stones load up wayyy too fast when sharpening. I would have to clean them after working one side to a burr on a vg10 delica. But you can switch stones and sides etc.

It's a great tool for touch ups and honing but if you have a repair, reprofiling or a dull knife it's just not very effective unless you get the diamond rods.

Hence why it's known as the "sharp keeper"

The white alumina ceramic rods are nice. Some swear by the Ultra fine rods too.

It's a good system for getting into freehand.

Very convenient.

I find what works best for a "treetoping edge" is to build your Apex on the 30° side.

Make the burr as small as possible.

Burr both sides, the second side goes by faster.

Make sure you have a burr from the heel to the tip.

Then reduce burr by alternating passes on the brown.

Then move to the white rods and alternate passes.

Scary sharp if exucuted properly.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top