Spyderco Sharpmaker Thoughts Please :-)

Not sure what to do now, having spent nearly £100 thinking I was buying something that'd be brilliant, now seems I've got to spend another £80 buying diamond rods to get it to do the job I thought it was going to do in the 1st place.

I guess my thinking is if it defintely works then I probably would for the long term convenience and most people seem happy with it / find it easy and quick to use on knives that have the correct angle set .... be interested in hearing from people that have the diamond rods and what they think of them?

T tiguy7 .... funnily enough I saw your pic / jog that you posted before I started this post and thought that's be really good, if I had the skills I could be tempted.

Another Shepherd Another Shepherd .... did check it out and they look god but don't seem to be available in the UK

T TheOne45 ..... could be tempted to do that but I'd doa double one so you don't have to keep turing it round, problem is I just want to get the knives done and it'd be a while before I found time to do it.
 
Most sharpening that can be done very quickly only comes about if the edge & grind geometry have been adequately thinned out first. That usually only needs to be done once for any one blade. If that hasn't been done, then the thick geometry of the blade & edge will make everything slower in resharpening. If you're lucky, you'll sometimes get some very thin grinds straight from the factory, so resharpening is easy from the start. But with most knives, there's still much room for improvement beyond the factory grind.

The fastest way to thin out the geometry, without using powered grinders, is with a larger stone, benchstone-sized. A large stone in appropriately coarse grit doesn't necessarily need to be expensive either. Something like Norton's Crystolon (silicon carbide, a.k.a., 'SiC') can be used for that, and won't be as pricey as most quality diamond hones in similar sizes (8" x 2" or larger). Since it only needs to be done once, investing some time for thinning the grind on a large & coarse stone is worthwhile, after which devices like the Sharpmaker can easily handle the touch-up sharpening in minimal time.

The SM's optional diamond/cbn rods can help speed things up, relative to the standard ceramic rods. But they're still a very small abrasive surface area, at 1/2" x 7" or so, for heavy reshaping of a blade's edge grind. The abrasive working surface area is what makes the much bigger difference in speed. An 8" x 2" or larger stone in a grit size similar to the SM's diamond/cbn grit can cut grinding time down to 1/4th or less, as compared to trying the same job on the SM's smaller diamond/cbn rods. This means a grinding job that takes 2 hours or more on the SM might only take 15-30 minutes on a bench stone of a similar grit rating.
 
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Witterings said:
Not sure what to do now, having spent nearly £100 thinking I was buying something that'd be brilliant, now seems I've got to spend another £80 buying diamond rods to get it to do the job I thought it was going to do in the 1st place.
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I don't suppose you can return it? It's really the wrong tool if you need to rebevel knives, even with coarser stones as you cannot put pressure into it the way you need to.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
I don't suppose you can return it? It's really the wrong tool if you need to rebevel knives, even with coarser stones as you cannot put pressure into it the way you need to.
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I've spoke to then today and yes I can return it .... they have a sharpening expert there's that's on holiday until Friday so I'm going to speak with him 1st.

I spent more time with it today and on some knoves it's "better" but even those knives I can then get considerably sharper going back to my Lansky Turn Box, there are certainly 2 kvies that it doesn't touch though.
 
Witterings said:
I currently have a double sided diamond stone for the heavier duty work and a wetstone for honing and can get my knives scary sharp but it just takes too long and want something more for everyday use that's effective and puts a "decent" edge on mainly kitchen knives but also pocket / EDC's as well.
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I don't understand.
You can get more then decent edge on the knife just with coarse diamond stone (like DMT coarse) and a strop and it takes just a few minutes.

Witterings said:
I also have a Lansky Turn Box but I find if the knife's dull it's pretty useless
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I was just looking at it and as I can see it comes with 2 medium diamond rods and 2 ceramic rods. I don't know what did you expect but those sharpeners are not made for heavy reprofiling but to maintain the edge when it starts to get dull.

So; what am I missing here?
 
IMO there is more value from a setup like KME that can actually sharpen a dull knife, reprofile a thick edge that comes with almost all knives these days. Sharp maker will maintain a still sharp knife for a while, until it can’t anymore. And by that time you need a real sharpener anyway.
 
Bing Gao said:
IMO there is more value from a setup like KME that can actually sharpen a dull knife
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I have home made sharpener with similar clamps as KME (about 40 mm wide) and I can say this setup is not the best option for sharpening kitchen knives (longer blades).
That's why I made magnetic table for kitchen knives.

By the way;
I have seen you can get diamond rods (150mm long , 6mm diameter) from 80, 120, 200 grit and up if you still insist on Lansky Turn Box.
 
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I found that my sharpmaker dulled the tips of my knives for many years, until I started tapering the handle in towards the middle as I sharpen towards the tip. I can get my knives ripping sharp with it now, and while I want a better sharpening system, it’s hard to pull the trigger when I can whittle hairs with what I have now.
 
If you already have a turn box, then don’t bother with the sharp maker unless you just really want one. It’s a great tool, I never use mine these days, but it is just a modified turn box, it will perform similarly, maybe better for select things like hitting the very heel of the edge, and offering at least one other angle, but it’s really for maintenance.
 
Witterings said:
I ordered one any way and it was delivered today .... got to be honest it's no better than the Lansky Turn Box, have been working on a knife for ages and it's made no difference at all .... so frustrated.

Does anyone know what can I use to reprofile edges at a consistent angle that;s compatible and will then work with this for keeping them sharp.
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Love the SharpMaker, but it can be slow. I ordered the CBN rods for dull knives or reprofiling, and they work a treat. In fact you have to clean metal dust off the table after sharpening. You won't be sorry you ordered them.
 
The sharpmaker doesn’t have to be slow. Just change your technique… I’ve been using mine like this for years. And yes, it’ll take all the way dull to all the way sharp.

 
AntDog said:
The sharpmaker doesn’t have to be slow. Just change your technique… I’ve been using mine like this for years. And yes, it’ll take all the way dull to all the way sharp.
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I see nothing special in that video. What am I missing?
 
Mr.Wizard said:
I see nothing special in that video. What am I missing?
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Uhhhh, that the technique is entirely different? It’s not alternating strokes only downward. You just hold it vertical and scrub one side at a time up and down. It’s MUCH faster and doesn’t round the tip because you don’t use the corners (only the flats), and don’t lift the blade off the stone.
 
AntDog said:
Uhhhh, that the technique is entirely different? It’s not alternating strokes only downward. You just hold it vertical and scrub one side at a time up and down. It’s MUCH faster and doesn’t round the tip because you don’t use the corners (only the flats), and don’t lift the blade off the stone.
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I didn't realize that was unusual. I had a crock sticks setup with white and brown rods and even with vigorous scrubbing it was painfully slow on anything seriously dull. I'd have gone mad before a 20° to 15° reprofile was complete. I have a stand-alone Fine Sharpmaker rod and it is top quality but not any faster than other fine ceramics.
 
If you want faster sharpening speed, you need better sharpening technique combined with a coarse stone, not gizmos.
 
Are we talking about reprofiling edge (change the angle of the edge) with ceramic rods on one of those childish V-sticks sharpeners? Oh man.
But on the other hand; if you have time, patience and stamina … then why not.
 
The Sharpmaker is one of the greatest implements ever devised for final sharpening and honing.

However, it must be paired with a coarse stone of some sort. I started with Coarse DMT blue bench stone mounted to an angle jig like the ones made of wood in the link above. Then I moved to a coarse/fine Norton India stone.

First, shape the edge with the coarse stone so the bevels meter and form a small burr. Do this at a slightly lower angle than the desired spot on the Sharpmaker. Three degrees per side is what I’ve used since 1999.

Then use the desired Sharpmaker grit to deburr and sharpen the edge. 10-15 passes per side should do it. I often stop at the Medium stone flat surfaces.
 
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