Another set that I really like is the Benchmade Blue Box set, which has two T6, two T8, and two T10 and they are really well made... (The only Benchmade product I own) :D Again, bear in mind this is all conjecture based on what I perceive to be the benefits of his style. Also, I've never actually watched the sharpmaker DVD, so there's that. My sharpening techniques are basically a result of trial and error over the years. In my understanding: WHENEVER you cut something, obviously you start with the apex and move the knife into the material (so in a way the material goes towards the spine...) In the video we see Sypderco founder and R&D lead, Sal Glesser who runs you through everything you need to know as a sharpening noob. He begins discussing a bit of history about knife maintenance and goes on to describe the four main knife-grind types. He then details how knife sharpening devices have evolved over time which is rather interesting. You can really tell that Sypderco doesn’t just want to sell you something…they want to educate you on why their products are so effective. For flexible blades, you only use the corners (steps 1 and 3) as it is difficult to keep the edge sitting on the flat surfaces.

Just to make it even clearer for those who might be totally new to sharpening and the sharpmaker: What Bloke is saying basically:From my personal experience, a quality Torx set, libricant, and sharpener is a great place to start.

As we know, some knife steel is easier to sharpen than others. Specifically, the harder (and generally more premium) steels like D2, 154CM, VG-10 and S30V are notably more difficult to sharpen. This is where the Sharpmaker really comes into its own. After reading everything here, and watching many videos, I still a question about what seems to be a very debated topic...30 degree vs. 40 degree for my knives?? The instructional video says to use the 40 degree, and every 10th time or so, use the 30 degree. A lot of YouTube videos say to use the 40 degree and mention nothing about ever using the 30 degree for most knives, but there are plenty of videos out there that state to use the 30 instead...so I am confused. My instinct is to just do what the instructional video says to do. Some users here have reported excellent results from stropping with a dremel. I have not tried this myself, but the basic idea is to use a buffing wheel loaded with compound, set the dremel to the lowest setting, then use it to buff the edge in a way that the wheel spins away from the cutting edge. Ive also used my sharpmaker on all of my high vanadium steels and it hasn't had a problem applying a shaving sharp microbevel to any of them. I have no issue getting shaving sharp edges on high vanadium steels from AlOx water stones either. You just need soft stones that continuously release abrasive and expose fresh sharp grit. The king stones work well for this. Maybe it's burnishing instead of cleanly cutting, but I haven't been able to tell a difference in sharpness or edge retention vs my diamond abrasives yet. Still playing with it. The king stones produce a good amount of swarf... seems like it's cutting to me. If you were moving into grit sizes close to the carbide size of the steel you're working with it could become an issue in theory. NOTE: When new, the brown/grey stones have a slight glaze that initially slows the cutting down. This glaze will wear through after a few sharpening sessions, but you can rub the two new stones together to speed this up and improve the cutting performance sooner.)Sharpmaker is the easiest way to sharpen. Master that, then if you feel like going beyond, there are other tools out there. The sharpmaker does everything you need pretty well, especially for combo edges or serrations. I'd skip the strops for now, as mentioned, too many people think they are all you need to "sharpen" and in my opinion they are best used to refine an already sharp edge after a proper sharpening (which isn't really worth worrying about as a newbie sharpener). Add diamond rods after you get the ceramics down. Practice on a swiss army knife or kitchen knives as they have softer steels and are a good place to learn proper technique. I don't have enough knowledge to evaluate that information; maybe you can edu-ma-cate me. My simple question is:

He uses the 40 degree setting: As you wrote, and as I experienced with my Delica CE and now Endela SE, the 30 degree setting is the way to go if you want to maintain the factory edge (and not create some 40 degree microbevel) at least on a Spyderco SE knife Good quality torx set. Low end but good enough = Husky, high end but more expensive = Wiha. While it isn't necessarily critical to be able to disassemble your knives, I think it's crazy to not at least have the option to. Irrespective of which you buy do heed the warnings that come with the rods. Use absolute minimal pressure so you don't dislodge the diamond or CBN particulars. :eek: I somehow found myself with a burgeoning little collection of Spydercos. I'd had a Native for many years without much thought about collecting, per se. It was a tool and when one broke I'd get another. Fast forward to today and I am enjoying my knives so much that I find myself buying ones without any specific purpose in mind other than the fact that I like em. Looking directly from behind the knife, this is the critical aspect for the Sharpmaker – you keep the blade held vertically at all times, the stone angle is then determined by the Sharpmaker. Visually, keeping the blade vertical is the easiest position to judge, much easier than any other angle.

What You Get

I’m going to see if I can simplify this for you a little bit. Every 10th time he suggests you use the 30° angle Get or make a decent strop. While I believe stropping is often used as a bandaid for poor sharpening techniques and I think too many people think you can "maintain" an edge with practically nothing but a strop, they do have their uses. I rarely use them for plain edge though. That's a shame, but I can kind of relate because I didn't like beer the first time I tried it. :rolleyes: I knew your vid already before, tried your method with the just one sharpmaker rod, and prefer it over the method shown in the sharpmaker instructional DVD (which I just watched again, had already forgotten many of the things said there)

The video is a good starting ground but is far too tame. You need to be able to evaluate where the edge truly is, this will only come with both time and practice. None of mine have come at 30, all of my SE blades hit the shoulder at 30. They all seem to be more like 35ish inclusive. My leaf Caribbean also never hits the edge at the tip even at 40, I have to sharpen the tip freehand. I think that one has to do with how much the blade sweeps up at the tip. Form a micro bevel with clean DMT Extra Fine bench stone to remove the burr,,,, final light passes on diamond leather to refine the apex. The Sharpmaker and Spyderco ceramic bench stones are excellent and I have used them for almost 30 years. Be careful not to press to hard and use too long or you will easily form a tough small burr, then complain it does not work very well on the newest tool steels. The Sharpmaker is extremely good at what it does, which is to allow people with no great skill set in freehand sharpen to create and maintain a consistent edge across a surprisingly wide gamut of bladed tools in the home. It's also flexible enough to be useful for more skilled users, in touching up those edges. It's not without its limitations, all of which are extremely well documented here. However, if you are sufficiently adept in sharpening to reach for bench stones at all times, the Sharpmaker's utility for you is pretty limited.

Use

I totally agree with virtually everything you just stated. I've yet to find a blade steel that couldn't be sharpened with Spyderco's 204 Sharpmaker. Now I've told everyone who ever did a thread on the Sharpmaker that you should buy all the extra stones they have available for that kit i.e. the Ultra-Fine, CBN, diamond ect. Because for it to be a complete kit the old adage "The More The Merrier" certainly applies in this case.