The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: fightingquaker13 on June 28, 2013, 03:07:39 PM
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I will confess that I have never been very good at sharpening knives. And so as a result, I have a drawer full of gadgets, along with traditional stones and steels.
No more. I have been eyeballing the spyderco sharp maker (which they made before they started making knives) for quite awhile. It always got great reviews. But at a hundred bucks, it seemed steep. I found a few new ones on Ebay for $45 and I figured fine, a chimp can use this thing so I ordered one. Lord does it work.
Its a base with two choices of angle, a rough set of stones and a fine set and a hand guard. It also has a great book and DVD. I took my new Kershaw Blur and it went from pretty darn sharp to scary sharp in five minutes, (I'm talking, cut through a piece of printer paper on an angle sharp) and that was me going slow with the sharpening. The thing will also sharpen serrated blades and stuff like garden tools and fish hooks.
So, if you're like me and have struggled to get more than a "good enough" edge on your blades, check one of these out. I'll give the Spyderco URL but you can get them for half price on ebay NIB.
PS, watch the video.
http://www.spyderco.....php?product=77
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Thanks Quaker. I've never been that successful at sharpening either.
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Is that link fouled?
Doesn't take me to a video
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Is that link fouled?
Doesn't take me to a video
It should take you to their page, you have to scroll down for the video link. If you don't find it, just go to spyderco's home page and hit "catalog" then type in sharpeners (they have a few), find the sharpmaker and go from there.
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What are all the ...... in the link.
My browser doesn't recognize anything past spyderco as a link.
Even when I cut and paste the whole thing, I get not found
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just google spyderco and go from there.
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just google spyderco and go from there.
did that before...found 30 entries under the Knife sharpener section of the catalog...have no idea which one really works
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did that before...found 30 entries under the Knife sharpener section of the catalog...have no idea which one really works
Go to search, type sharpmaker. Here's the url from an ebay site, no video, but it shows the beast.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120937426197?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
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Thanks :D
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I have had one of these sharpeners for years.
It sits in a basket with several other sharpeners that promised razor edges but delivered only relatively sharp results.
With the Spyderco system, there are three basic phases to the sharpening procedure. In the center of the beast are two angled carbide blades. You can drag your knife through this a few times and "scrape" an irregular edge on the blade at an approximately correct starting angle. The result is perfectly fine for cutting tomatoes, but it would not be confused for a sharp blade.
The sharpener also has a flat, diamond chip surface that will grind your blade to a decent edge with only a few strokes. Once again, the finished result will be a fairly rough edge. Again, okay for cutting vegetables, but it still isn't what we would call sharp.
The third phase is the angled ceramic rods. The idea is you hold your blade to at an exactly perpendicular angle to the base, and drag the blade over the ceramics toward you in a downward cutting manner. The end result will be a relatively sharp blade. The problem is, by the time you get something that feels satisfactorily sharp, you also will likely have a "wire" edge that will flex easily until it breaks off leaving an essentially dull knife.
For considerably less money, you can buy a two-sided Arkansas hard-stone. While both sides are pretty darned fine, one side is slightly rougher than the other, and that's where you start. Once you hone a decent edge, flip the stone over to the fine side and hone it to razor sharpness.
Buck Knives sells a sharpening kit that includes the Arkansas hard-stone, a nifty wooden case, and a bottle of honing oil. They also include a concise set of instructions that explains angles and benefits. For example, you don't want to sharpen your kitchen knives to the same angle as your work knife. And your skinning knife needs another type of edge.
It's worth learning how to sharpen your own knives on an oil stone or a whet stone. The results will nearly always be superior to using one of these "systems." Just don't be in a terrible hurry to do the job.
Traditionally,
Crusader Rabbit
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I don't disagree rabbit, they're classics for a reason and I have one. But I just couldn't get the knack of using it correctly. All thumbs I guess. The best I ever got was a pretty sharp knife, but it still wasn't as good as what a good quality knife came with. It was just getting it to good enough. Yeah it would cut a tomato, but taking the skin off a fillet without leaving meat behind? I could do that when the knives were new, but I couldn't retain that edge. I salute you though if you can, because its a valuable skill. Teach your grandkids if you haven't already.
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http://www.hallsproedge.com/bench2.php
And practice...
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If you are doing everything else correctly the secret to a good edge is , as CR points out, time .
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I keep a stone next to my chair. About every two or three days I run my knife over it for about 15sec. each side, this keeps it razor sharp all the time. I do use my knife every day in my work so I like to have it as sharp as possible.