Spyderco Sharpmaker Review

[colt45er]

Well there has been a lot of talk lately about the sharpmaker and using it.

I have to say if you are thinking about getting one just listen to Tyler and go buy one. I got mine from Amazon for like $52 with free shipping. it took less than a week to get here and is fantastic.

My picture taking skill suck so here is one off of Google.



You get a sturdy base that can be screwed to a table top if you so choose, a lid that contains the unit. You get two brass rods to keep you from cutting yourself, two medium grit ceramic sticks and two fine grit ceramic sticks. It also comes with an detailed instruction book and a DVD that walks you through using it.

This is called the tri-angle because it allows you to use three different angles. 15* 30* and 40*. In the DVD and Manuel it walks you through which angle is best for your use.

The rods are triangular and you can use the points or the flats on the triangle. You start off with a dull knife and run each side 20 times on the point of the grey stone (alternate side to side, 40 strokes total)

Then you rotate the stones to the flats and give each side 20 more passes.

Then you put the white stones in and do 20 on the points and then 20 on the flats per side. By this time, the knives will shave hair, trust me.....my left leg is half bald because I wanted to test all the knives I sharpened.

The ceramic sticks also have a place to sharpen hooks and dental tools, etc.

You can lay the sticks flat to do chisels and other tools. The video walks you through basic knives, to electric filet knives, to thinning shears, to router bits, to fish hooks.

I suck at keeping a knife at the right angle with normal stones. I can sharpen with this thing so I am sure you can too!! You hold the knife vertical and go to town. I sharpened all of our kitchen knives while watching a rerun of NCIS the other night.

Now I feel like dulling knives so I can sharpen them up!!

Go get a sharpmaker and give Rep to Tyler for convincing me to help convince you to buy one!!

 

[SWMP15]

Good deal- thanks for the heads up!

 

[byggpoppa]

Yeah thanks. I have had my delica done on one at the 1500 and it was awesome. Had no idea the price was so reasonable and I'm a spyderco fan... this is a no brainer. Appreciate it.

 

[uniquejohn]

looks like a good inexpensive system, think I will try it....thanks

 

[milltech]

I've had one for a few month's, works flawlessly...............

 

[magic man]

Thanks for the review, I really need to get a sharpener and actually take care of my knives.

 

[Tomcat_AL200]

Had mine for a year, and I have yet to come a cross a knife, blade, or tool I couldn't sharpen on that.

 

[451_Detonics]

I have been using the original version for over 20 years, still the best system I have used, even Cold Steel recommends it...you know it's good when a competitor says to get one! If you hard use your knives you might want to get a set of the diamond steels rod covers. These work great for nicks in the blades and heavier tools like machetes.

 

[ZgGlock88]

good to know ive been looking into getting one

 

[DarkRose]

I've never had much luck using the traditional "crock sticks" style sharpeners, is there anything different about the Spyderco that makes it easier to use?
Dad can get any blade he owns to shave with ceramic white crock sticks in a wood base, and I've just never seemed to have "the knack"...
Maybe this setup could be the ticket? I'm not too bad with my cheap Lansky knock-off, but being a knock-off, it broke and I'm in the market for a better system...

 

[abnk]

I purchased one as well at Tyler's recommendation. I have tried four inexpensive knives on it so far, two of which serrated.

I appears to work well and quick if the blade is already sharp, but if you plan on re-profiling the bevel, count on spending hours. Also, I think the process shown in the DVD is overly simplified with the 20 alternating strokes.

One caveat to new users, do not pull from heel to tip as recommended in the DVD and manual. I rounded off a tip pretty good this way. Instead, stop before reaching the tip.

Another caveat, you might want to disregard the instructions on serrated blades and go by feel instead. Their instructions of three or four strokes on the serrated sides countered by one on the flat side did not work well for me. It always left a burr on the serrated side, so for me, the ratio was ~10:1.

I am still not comfortable enough to sharpen a good blade with it, but as I get better, I'm sure it will not be a problem.

Overall, I think it's a great buy.


PS. The guy's name in the DVD is Sal, not Manuel.

 

[Doc Unique]

I am a knife dealer. And I must say that IMHO the Spyderco Sharpmaker is the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to sharpen most knives.
A definite thumbs up!

 

[indyjoe]

If you have knives that are REALLY bad or totally off profile, [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Spyderco-204D-Diamond-Triangle-Pair/dp/B000WUKFBM"]get the diamond rods for this[/ame]. I have been gradually getting knives back into shape and some people have trashed my cooking knives .

[RANT]Seriously, if your best cooking knives are sharp as a butter knife, then leave mine the hell alone and for heaven's sake, stop cutting inside the stone pan with my good chef's knife. And no, a sharp knife is not dangerous, YOU using a knife is dangerous... ARGH![/RANT]

The diamond rods make it easy to bring it all to a 30 profile, then only a little on 40, if the edge is still rough. Then the black -> white transitions are really quick. Just do not put much pressure on the diamond rods, and let them do their job. Otherwise, you are just wearing them out too soon.

So nice when a knife goes through a tomato like butter, rather than taking a joy ride on the skin.

 

[colt45er]

This setup is great, just used mine last night to touch up my ESEE rc-5. One thing I learned from Tyler, you don't have to put much pressure at all on the blade against the stone. Let the stone do the work for you and things will work better.

Indy_Guy_77 we still need to get together and let you play with it some. Plus we need to take pictures of my can and compare or cans.

PS. I just realized the above makes J and I sound like lovers. While we get along just fine, we are not lovers, we are in fact both happily married.
PSS. To women BTW.

 

[Pale Rider]

is there anything different about the Spyderco that makes it easier to use?

Yeah, it comes with a DVD that walks you through everything. When I picked one up I figured "eh, i know how it's supposed to work so I'll skip the DVD." Then I wised up and watched the thing. It really becomes idiot proof after that. Give it a go man. There is only one knife I own that I haven't be able to sharpen on this thing, but it's a Cold Steel and we know they are super high speed so my low-speed skills maybe the problem.

 

[indyjoe]

PS. I just realized the above makes J and I sound like lovers. While we get along just fine, we are not lovers, we are in fact both happily married.
PSS. To women BTW.

We all know that is just cover.

 

[abnk]

So no one else had the tip-rounding problem I had?

 

[tyler34]

So no one else had the tip-rounding problem I had?

I don't have that issue but then again if I did I could always regrind a new one. IIRC don't they cover that in the DVD?

 

[abnk]

IIRC don't they cover that in the DVD?

I don't believe they cover the tip specifically in the DVD (I've watched it twice). I re-beveled the tip last night and while it's better than it was, I'm still not completely happy with it.

 

[ZgGlock88]

When sharpening with the sharpmaker you can't let the tip of the blade slip off the stones at the end of the stroke that's what rounds the tip of the blade