I've had a sharpmaker for 5+ yrs and its worked 99% of the time for my EDC folders. I struggled with certain knives and your demonstration illustrates clearly why that 1% didn't work well with the sharpmaker. Nicely done, this was extremely useful (wish I saw this years ago!).
I suggest watching the demonstration video that comes with it, you will learn why the 30 and 40 degrees also how to use the safety rods and the handle to hold the sharpener so you can use a steady pressure. I also saw another video where a guy made the same knife you were using ,Hair Splitting Sharp. With a little practice I have had close to the same results making the extra fine stones obsolete. Make sure you clean the stones properly also helps after some usage. All of this is explained in the DVD that comes with it. Everyone,,Please take the time to watch it, it is worth it.
Just got a Sharpmaker today in the mail, and after watching this and your other video about using it, I want to thank you! I actually think seeing your videos was as helpful, if not more helpful than the book/DVD that came with the actual system. Thanks J! Great content as always.
Holy crap!! (Duh moment?) I just realized that you can freehand on the Sharpmaker! If you turn it upside-down, the two grooves that are on the bottom-side of the Sharpmaker fit the two rods perfectly - with the flats facing upwards when they're in place. It makes out to be a pretty nice 1" x 7" stone. Rock on!!!
Quick tip: the 30° bevel side is so you can remove the shoulder from the edge of your blade allowing you to once again profile it at 40°. Did you watch the DVD that came with your Sharpmaker? It outlines all this in great detail. So stop ignoring the 30° grind. You should use the 30° angle to make sure your bevels meet, then use the 40° angle to put a micro bevel on top of your already super fine edge. This way you get the utility of the 40° bevel, on top of the razor edge of the 30° bevel.
Great video! I have the very same knife too...along with several other Spyderco blades. I have the same Sharpmaker setup as well...it's an amazing system to keep knives razor sharp...fun to use, very intuitive and less harsh on the blades as well. The Ultra Fine stones are well worth the cost!!! CHEERS!!!
I got my Sharpmaker about 3 days ago, and got my Resilience crazy sharp, but also dulled my Endura to snot. It wasn't until I watched this that I realized I had no idea that the two sides were different ( 30. deg and 40 deg) So thanks man haha
Thanks for this review. I was going to buy the wicked edge but this review convinced me to try the sharpmaker first and it saved me $300. First knife I tried was Kershaw skyline that I beat on (respectfully) at work. After 10min of piss-poor work I took all the hair off my wrist in one pass. Awesome value!
I have the sharp maker and it works for me. I had a chipped knife and a really dull knife I have used the Norton hand carbide sharpener to remove the chips then use the sharp maker to bring it to shave sharp. The knife was a mora clipper. I m sure this was not the best but as I watch more of you videos and practice i think I will get better. Great job on the videos by the way.
Just got one. After watching all the videos (including yours) I also did a knife from "can't cut BUTTER", to hair shaving sharp! Pretty good for a novice!!! Great system! Great video, subscribed too btw...
@slowfox19 There are no factory edges at 21 degrees inclusive. Most are 21 or more per side, making the edge 42 degrees +. Very few knives are less than 30 degrees inclusive without a reprofile.
@SwitchbackOutdoors The 30 setting is for your back bevel. once you get your main bevel completely thinned out to 30 degree's you switch over to the 40 settings and put your micro on. At least that's the way Spyderco tells you to do it. But do whatever works for you.
If you want more precision when trying to sharpen a knife with an edge that's more then 40°, you can put a pencil or one of the brass rods under the middle of the base. Then tilt it left or right depending on the side. Degrees increase with the diameter of what you use under the base. It still allows you to keep that natural straight up and down motion.
The 15-degree holes are for JP blades. If you're sharpening folders...which are all 20-degrees (per bevel) then you'd use the holes to the left. :P This device allows you to sharpen kitchen knives as well. The fine stones is for sharpening...there should be coarse grit stones (haven't looked into this kit) to re-profile the edge (if you have nicks.
This sharpener is not limited to just the pre-set 30/40 degree angle. You can use the hole on the side of the sharpener to insert the rod laterally, which allows you to sharpen a blade to any degree angle you desire.
@V6outdoors Yes that is a good way to do it if you want to use the sharpmaker alone. I prefer reprofiling with DMT stones or other coarse free hand stones. Or the egde pro. I have never used the diamond sharpmaker stones, but I may get them just to give them a shot. :)
I have them and they do work. I just brought the factory edge of my bugout, which I'm pretty sure was done at between 50-60 degrees, down to the sharpmakers 40. It took about 100 passes on each side though.
the marker along the edge should've been part of the original tutorial with Sal. I was having so much trouble with getting a great edge. The pressure and angle were fine but without the marker, there's no way to see if your hitting the apex. After watching this I realized my paramilitary2 needed to be cocked in just a little to hit the apex. Thanks for the video man.
Jason Miles don't ruin your night Jason, re-profile on the 30° side, then put the 40° bevel back on top of that.The whole purpose behind the Shartner is that you hold the knife perpendicular to the floor. If you freehand the bevel you might as will not even use the sharpener.
good advice, the edge needs to be re-profiled first and use the sharpener with the blade perpendicular as intended. The sharpie trick was the ah-ha that made me realize the factory edge way to steep for the sharp maker right off the bat. Would you recommend diamond triangles to re-profile?
This sharpener was kind of a bust for me. It seemed like a lot of my knives just wouldn't sharpen unless they were already somewhat sharp. When you said that it won't bring an edge back from the dead, that made sense to me, I guess I need to add something else to my arsenal.
+magetaaaaaa I think they will bring back a knife from the dead -- if it has the correct 20/20 secondary bevel. Usually the problem is you are not hitting the edge of the blade. Try the Sharpie trick to see.
Instead of leaning the blade, I think I'd just make a base from a 2x4 drilled to the desired angle. Those digital level/angle cube apps work pretty good and should get you pretty close to the desired angle.
@ultragooey Your best bet to use the 40 degree side would be like this: Get the diamond stones, thin the edge using the 30 degree setting (just enough to knock the shoulders off), then you should be good to go with the 40 degree setting. :)
@ultragooey Reprofiling with sharpmaker stones is pretty much impossible. The diamond stones still take forever. I will reprofile it to close to 30 degrees using the DMT stone, and then I can use the 40 degree setting to sharpen it for years to come. But no, that is not a bad way to do it. You would want to go less than 40 though, and not right at 40. The lower the better, as that will allow you to use the sharpmaker for longer. I may do a video on this idea alone. :)
Or you can just put one of the sharpmaker stones under exact middle of the base and change your angles that way by titling the base. That way you can always keep the knife vertical.
All of the spydercos I have tried on the sharpmaker do not seem to like the 40 degree very much. they get kind of sharp but not like my other knives do with the Sharpmaker. the stones (files) are just so damn useful for many things, so even if you quickly learn you do not like the system, I guarantee you will find work for the stones!
Just used sharp maker for the first time, put my ZT0770 through it, I didn’t think it would work with just using the white stones because my knife was fairly dull but I figured I’d try and get lucky, just 20 passes with the white stones and I was shaving arm hair no problem.
@zujostix Yeah that doesn't work as well as you'd think. The stones are too far in, and it's nearly impossible to sharpen the whole length of the blade. Using the stones free hand is great, though. :)
Well you just sold another one I appreciate the review. If you don't mind me asking tho. What type of steel do you get your sharpest edges with just curious?
Great review. Can you tell me what are the coarse stones are used for? I mean if the fine stones are enough for the job so why having the coarse ones? Thanks!
I've seen a few sharpmaker vid and they are always sharpening a spyderco stright blade. Obvious you can use any knife, but what about knives with a belly or hawk bills?
I have the sharpmaker and always used the mid-stones to start and then the (regular) fine stones. Now seeing you only using the UF stones makes me wonder: How often should I use the mid-stones? Or how dull does it have to be before I should use the mid-stones again? For example: I already have trouble to oben letters with my spyderco now.
+12hampf This is not a super tough steel. But with the diamond stones, it will take much less time to do the job and reprofile the blade. It will work with the grey stones, but it will be probably a long way.
@JDYTC Bro, Sal may say that, but that doesn't really mean anything. I check the angle of every new Spydie I get with a laser goniometer. I'd say about 1 in 10 come with a 30 degree edge from the factory. Most are around 34 at the heel, and 45 at the rail.
I just ran through some cheap kitchen knives I bought at the grocery store. I didn't even bother with the ultra-fine stones because my wife puts these knives through the dishwasher. Anyway, I could cut my arm hair after I was done. I have never been able to get a knife hair-cutting sharp freehand.
A few questions, if i get the ultra fine stones how do i go about sharpening a knife? Do i start with the gray stones and go to the fine then ultra fines stones and do 20 strokes on both stones of each set? How do i know if i need to use the gray stones, do i only use them if the knife I'm trying to sharpen can't cut paper? And lets say i use a knife thats already quite sharp a lot through out a whole day and i want to sharpen it to keep it sharp. which set of stones would i use and how many strokes would i do on each stone. I would really appreciate it if you responded. Thanks
what about reprofiling the edge of that knife to 40 degrees by using the coarse stones? would that be a bad idea, as far as having a better way to do it?
So it sounds like this kit would not be recommended if you are wanting to put a new bevel on your knife and reprofile it, right? What would you recommend for that? Have you used kits like the Lansky?
Yeah I didn't realize that when I used it the first time and thought "why are the only angles so steep?!?!" And I couldn't sharpen anything. Once I got the hang of it I got every knife I own razor sharp
Jdavis882, I'm dying over here. The only knife that's giving me trouble is the Sage 1. I'm just not getting it. My paramilitary 2 is crazy sharp. I tried the sharpie and I'm killing the edge
@jdavis882 Why don't you submit that suggestion to Spyderco and Sal? They tend to listen and if a newer model comes out it could have something like that on it
I don't have the money to spend on an apex system, but i'm getting nowhere with the lansky/gatco kits. I'm thinking of trying this one out, but I need something that I can use to reprofile and edge.
@jdavis882 ok, that's kinda what I figured. I was just wanting to know if the coarse stones were enough to do some kind of reprofiling since the setup acts as some type of jig to somehow keep my strokes consistent. Not too comfortable with reprofiling freehand yet.
have you used the ultra fine Spyderco stones? how well do those work with the sharp maker? i heard u can get that hair popping edge pretty easy with those
its greater than 40? i thought spyderco sharpens to around 30? and wouldnt you like to keep the original 30 degree angle? just wondering because i just got a sharpmaker for christmas :) Thanks in advance
Further, what do you think about zknives' knifesteelfaq stating that it's almost useless to upgrade to S30V and sharpen the edge at 40°? 'If that same user would take advantage of S30V's superior toughness and drop the edge angle to 15° per-side, they would see a large leap in cutting performance, along with the extra wear resistance. (...) *Now* you can see what all the fuss is about!' Google: quote above or 'zknives knifesteelfaq' and cmd/ctrl F: 's30v' I'm curious, thanks. Sorry to bother you
I bought this system + the uf stones and a Sage 1( the knife in the video ), which is why I was glad to see this video...but the info on spyderco's website says that the Sage series knives are all ground to 30 degree edges, so why not just use the 30 degree side for that specific knife instead of tilting it? Read the paperwork man!
Spyderco grinds most knives at 30 degrees to give the knife a 30 degree back bevel. You're actually supposed to sharpen your spyderco knife on the sharpmaker at the 40 degree setting when you get it from the factory. A 30 degree back bevel with a40 degree micro bevel will generally give you the best compromise between sharpness and edge retention
If the knife had a 30 degree bevel, sharpening straight up and down on the 40 degree setting would hit the edge, not the shoulder like he showed with the sharpie. Pay attention man!
@zujostix Haha I actually did mention it to him at BLADE this year, but he politely shrugged the idea off I think. I doubt the sharpmaker will change much in the future, if ever. It's so iconic. :)
