As I mentioned elsewhere, i don't use my guided systems (Spyderco Sharpmaker, Ruixin, Exduct) anymore. In the past few weeks i rather
quickly transitioned to
freehanding on "small stones", i.e. either the 204M/204F/204UF series of stones or the Ruixin-compatible stones.
Today in the morning, for example, i finished sharpening four big kitchen knives, starting with the 204F, skipping the 204UF, and always ending with a single SiC leather strop. One of the big knives was some super cheap old bread knife, it had a serrated blade with
lots of micronicks from cutting crispy crunchy geman bread
, so i had to start with the 204M. It was my first time ever to try to sharpen a serrated blade!
The corner lines of 204M ("edges") are —originally— rounded, smooth(!), and somewhat shiny. When sharpening an ordinary knife, they don't seem to get consumed or worn down. The manual however admits that the 204M do wear down over time. It was hard to believe until i witnessed it today!
When you do a sawing motion of the serrated blade against the 204M edge —which is needed for sharpening the entire length of the serrated edge—, the knife shaves the very surface of the stone and you end up with black (or superdark brown) micro shavings around/on your stone. First i thought that the black stuff was metal shavings from the blade. However, the bread knife is made out of stainless steel, not carbon steel; the blade is shiny, not black, not rusty. Also, i can see with my bare eyes that the corner line is consumed
(and roughened up!) where i did the freehanding. Maybe i used too much pressure while freehanding on 204M, but that's not the point.
That bread knife is really not worth consuming my expensive Spyderco stone nor is it worth my time resharpening. So I quickly completed the sharpening with 204F and UF (these stones don't get consumed) and some stropping and will never resharpen that cheapo bread knife again hah! I also noticed how challenging it was to remove the burr. The most effective method for removing a burr from a serrated edge (or a recurved blade for that matter) is the use of a convex rounded strop (leather or PTS), never mind.
Interesting experience.
I experienced how fast the 204M can get consumed and under which conditions this happens. Simply put, it happens when you use it for sharpening serrated edges. That's possibly why the manual suggests using the 204F for serrated edges. But as i said, because of the many micronicks i couldn't start with the 204F, unfortunately.
And once the corner line gets consumed, its surface becomes less smooth
(and would need to be dressed or re-smoothened/re-polished), it becomes grittier, more aggressive-cutting.
It will be interesting to use this messed up corner line specifically for its higher aggressive-cutting property in future sharpening sessions, we will see. I still have five perfect smooth 204M corner lines left (2*3 - 1 = 5), so I am not worried. Also, i typically use the flat sides ("faces") of the 204 stones when freehanding.
It's kinda funny/unbelievable/ridiculous
to use such a narrow stone for freehanding but it absolutely works and is imho
the way to go for new/old owners of the Sharpmaker product! Even though i really
am new to freehanding, the fact that i can and do freehanding successfully on such frikkin narrow stones is a testament to my confident advancement
in sharpening expertise. I have a total of 'hundred' of hours of practice and experience with the Exduct system, the Ruixin system, the Sharpmaker system, and with guided strops (PTS method) and freehanding strops. It's probably mostly due to my practice/experience with the latter (the freehanding leather strops)
why i advance so fast/successfully —without fails or errors— with my freehanding results, so i shouldn't be too surprised. But it is exhilarating nonetheless!
Seriously, i will not use the Sharpmaker (as "V"-guided pull-through system) anymore! 
Of course, if money didn't matter, i'd love owning and using a
306UF instead of the 204UF: the wider the stone, the more convenient the freehanding. But i am done spending any more money in sharpening accessories, since i am already able to achieve and to maintain scary sharpness confidently, in a non-failing straight-forward way.
I even once reached the point where i could whittle a hair (after ruixin-freehanding on the GREEN10000 and my standard leather strop); just imagine, i am new to freehanding and already managed to reach that point! Not because i am talented ... but because freehanding on a GREEN10000 is so much more effective than using the GREEN10000 in the Ruixin system.
Hence this post is also to encourage readers and Sharpmaker owners to consider
not buying more and more sharpening accessories. In fact, in my Sharpmaker box, henceforth i carry only 3 rods: 1x 204M, 1x 204F, and 1x 204UF. I've put the other 3 stones away, boxed them in my Exduct plastic box, see photo below. From Michael Christy's videos i understand correctly(?) that the finest stone on the market you'll ever need before hopping onto "hair-whittling strops"
is the Spyderco UF; no need to look any further! And the advantages of the Spyderco UF are clear: it doesn't get worn down, its edges/sides/corner lines don't get shaved (because they are minimally rounded and superhard), you can use it dry without water/oil, it is easy to clean. It is such a great stone that most
Spyderco sharpening accessories are built on the identical F and UF stone material, just in different sizes and formats.
In the past few weeks, depending on the knife (heel geometry) and my mood, i'd either pulll out the triangle stones for "204-freehanding" or pull out some Ruixin-compatibles for "
Ruixin-freehanding", same same. The RUBY3000 is imho even more effective/enjoyable than the 204UF but, as mentioned, it also depends on my mood which "narrow-stone-freehanding" i pick on the day. Certainly, opening the Sharpmaker box is always satisfactory and fun, i must admit!
As you can see, i keep the other 3 Spyderco stones as spares wrapped with a thick red rubber band and squeezed tight in between the blue box (Exduct sharpening system) which is stored away in my closet. I stopped using the Exduct system many years ago because it is ****
but luckily once i a while i can still make use of its four diamond sharpeners, e.g. for sharpening gardening tools, scythes, lawnmower blades, etc.
Have you guys tried 204-freehanding, too?
