spyderco sharpmaker

[bullrick]

Hello Friends

Long time since i posted , although logging in regularly to keep a track of whats happening on the forum .

Now to reming you all, i had bought an Esee 5 few months ago, it was hair popping sharp out of the pack, however not so sharp anymore due to domestic uses like trimming wooden doors which expanded due to rains (boy how good it did that) etc etc...

however i cant stand the fact that its not as sharp as it came out of the box so am looking forward to buying a sharpening kit. have zeroed in on Spyderco sharpmaker as i am a complete novice at knife sharpening...and have read that even beginners can get a hair popping edge with spyderco sharpmaker.

Kindly let me know if it is a good decision, also any resourses where i can learn knife sharpening(on my kitchen knives first), Also would love to use sharpening stones, however not right now as it takes a lot of experience to be perfect on those and my esee is too damn loved to be the victim of my bad sharpening skills.

thanx folks

[essdee1972]

Hi Bullrick!

I have both a Spyderco and a Lansky. Both give equally good results.

Why did I go for a Lansky when I had the Spydie? Because I needed to re-profile something, and the medium rods of the Spydie take too much time. The spare diamond rods cost more than a Lansky full set with 4 grades of stones. So bought the Lansky.

My feelings about the two systems are as below:


Lansky

Pros:

• I get shaving edges.
  
  Can be used in any position (your position - say sitting, standing, reclining, etc.). Of course, you need to follow the safety rules, and keep your finger intact.
  
  Easy and intuitive to use.
  
  Can be easily used to reprofile
  
  If you do not complete your sharpening in a sitting, and have a safe & secure place to keep it (say where kids or other unauthorised persons cannot get their hands on a reasonably sharp blade, no one can accidentally touch the edge and lose a finger, it can't fall and stab someone, etc.), you can keep the system assembled - no need to dismantle every time.

Cons:

• Even though the blade holder has slots for different angles, basic trigonometry says that the actual angle depends on the width of the blade - the distance between the blade holder and the point where the stone touches the edge of the blade. Hence the angle of edge will vary slightly between the extreme points of the edge (the point and the choil / handle side) and the part of the edge directly opposite the blade holder. (a guy has given a very good explanation in the comments on the knifecenter website, with diagrams and all). Hence, you need to fix the handle everytime in approximately the same position on the blade. If it's a stainless blade, you can probably mark a couple of scratches for this, but a coated high carbon steel blade, if subjected to scratches, will rust on that spot.
  
  Another thing is that if you are not careful, you might end up running the edge along the side of the stone, thus destroying a few minutes of hard work.
  
  The user guide mentions sharpening larger blades with two strokes, but I find it easier to use one slow stroke.
  
  The system uses an oil (supplied with the kit) to clean the stones. Once the oil is over, there is (currently) no easy way to get a replacement. Of course, you use a tiny amount of the oil, so it should last a long time, depending on how many blades you have, and how frequently you need to sharpen.

Spyderco:

Pros:

• Again, I get shaving edges.
  
  Easy to set up and use.
  
  Sharpening on the points as well as sides of the triangular rods gives better control on sharpening.
  
  Rods can be cleaned with soap, water, and Scotch Brite.

Cons:

• You need to stand and have a table or something to keep the system on while you work.
  
  Only two rods - medium & fine - are supplied with the kit. Not easy to reprofile!
  
  Tough to sharpen large blades. With me, the big ones end up hitting the base of the system if I cannot swipe the entire blade in a stroke. With a Lansky, a similar occurrence will simply mean the last bit of the edge is not sharpened.
  
  The rods are delicate! I dropped one medium rod once - about 2-2.5 feet, and it broke! Costs a bomb to ship a replacement to India! So I dismantle the entire system when closing down for the day, even if the job is unfinished.
  
  Again, the actual angle will depend upon the user's ability to hold the blade exactly vertical or at the same angle throughout the length of a single stroke, and over a large number of strokes.

Overall, both are good systems. I tried free hand sandpaper sharpening. Had to buy a new kitchen knife for my wife. Gave it up!

[slingshot]

Hi Bullrick,

The Spyderco Sharpmaker is a good sharpening system. I have used it for sometime and it works fine. I agree with EssDee about its limitations as well. But for all my small blades and folders, it works perfectly. You also need to get the hang of the free hand technique.

In your case, the ESEE 5 should have no issue on the Sharpmaker. However its a heavy blade and will be tiring to use after sometime.

On the Lansky or the GATCO, I cannot sharpen knives with a full flat grind. I could remove the handle scales and clamp the handle, but some knices dont have the option to remove the scales. A lot of my knives have FFG, so I never had the option of using one. The ESEE 5 has a saber grind so you will have no issue in using a Lansky.

The best option for the ESEE 5 would be to get a set of japanese honing stones and a strop. Or, you could also use sandpaper with a mousepad, to get a convex grind.

Whatever you use, will need skill. On the Lansky, you will need to now exactly where to clamp the blade everytime. And how to be careful that you dont over do the tip.

But I suggest that whichever sharpener you go with, enjoy the sharpening experience. Its great fun

[Mack The Knife]

Kindly let me know if it is a good decision.

Yes, it is. You can also use it as a benchstone by inverting the base and placing the stones flat side up. See the videos here - http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/SP204M ... -Grit-Rods

Buy the coarse diamond rods as well. The ultra-fine are not really needed. Better to cry once, rather than cry twice and pay for shipping again.

You will have no problem sharpening and keeping your 5 sharp on the Sharpmaker. It can sharpen blades larger than the 5 without a problem.

The Lansky will also do the job, provided you use it correctly, and when you run out of oil, use any light mineral oil.

P.S.: You can use the Sharpmaker whilst sitting down. Infact, that's the only way I have ever used it.

[bullrick]

thanx for your precious replies gents, just one more thing, i hv a very small bent on the tip and a very small chip on the edge of the blade , will i be able to remove those with shaprmaker??

Regards
Bullrick

[Mack The Knife]

i hv a very small bent on the tip and a very small chip on the edge of the blade , will i be able to remove those with shaprmaker??

Yes but get the coarse diamond rods as it will speed up the process.

Depending on how much the tip is bent, you could try straightening it out with a steel or the spine of another fixed blade with Rockwell Count greater than the 5's (>Rc 57) or use a piece of glass laid flat. If the above is not possible, you can use a b@$*@*d file, if you don't have sharpening stones, to reprofile the tip. Steeling is prefered as you don't loose metal.

Assuming your edge is chipped and not rolled, you can either live with the chip until it eventually disappears with future honings or you have to be prepared to loose some blade width. You have to decide whether you want to loose that blade width in one go or gradually.

If the edge has rolled, you can steel it back with the spine of another fixed blade knife.

Don't get sentimental about the finish on your ESEE. They were built to be used rather than admired.

[bullrick]

and i love using it, by the way just wanted to tell you guys i went to phuket last month (official trip-sach mein ) and i happened to chance upon the tools department of the store "home Pro", got myself a Hatchet 600 gms and the price was Just 99 THB, which comes out to be roughly Rs. 200.

Not very sharp dont know about the quality of steel, but looks like those ray mears hatchets.

Tried using it on the door (mentioned in 1st post), but my Esee 5 was much efficient and strong in comparison, however will try sharpening it and maybe it will work also like ray mears hatchet.

Regards
Bullrick

[Mack The Knife]

RM uses hatchets and axes from Gransfors Bruk, which cost a bit more. However, there is no reason why yours can't be made to work well.

You can learn about using and maintaining one from the relevant links at http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/ or elsewhere on the internet.

Here's how a GB axe is made -

[essdee1972]

Thanks for the link, Mack!

[Mack The Knife]

Most welcome.