Spyderco Forums

I would be quite surprised to see the sharpmaker get discontinued. I can't see it being replaced by something that is less portable and has less versatility.

I think this thing looks great. For folks (including me) who reprofile with other tools this will make maintaining microbevels easy.

Are there going to be brown rods available for it? That is kind of important for me.

Hi Darby,

Brown rods are a question. We've never successfully made them in the Cat's Eye shape. They would probably be expensive and due to their friability, they would eventually wear and be expensive to replace. At this time, I have opted for the CBN rods for very dull edges. We'll watch the product reaction before making any changes.

sal

This is exactly what I do. Edge pro for the refining of bevels, and I have my sharpmaker screwed down with all rods lying nlext to it and whenever I walk past it I'll pull a few strokes past uf rods to get it to peak performance again.

Just today I took my sage 5 through medium, fine and uf stones to get the edge nice and sharp, fast and effective. I'm still not satisfied by it though, if I took my time on the edge pro I could get a twice as refined edge on it but this will have to do for using it tomorrow.

I hardly ever use the 30 degree mode btw, I see how it could function as a quick and easy solution but I look at this like I do with other tools. It will do what it needs to do, but why not use a specialized tool for it?

That being said, we knife junkies love our tools and maintain them with love. Probably a bit too obsessively. Hours and hours of nick Shabazz, sharpening videos, reading up on all topics about edge geometry you know how it goes.

Normal people who appreciate a good knife but won't dedicate their life to it really only need a 40 degree sharpening tool which easily puts a sharp edge on their knife and they'll be happy about it. So it goes with my friends. One has a manix 2 S110V lw, another a 940-2, one with a leek. Etc. Told them to get a sharpmaker, and if real work needs to be done on the edge I'll take care of it.

I'm sure it'll be a Succes but isn't it competing with the worldwide loved and appreciated sharpmaker?
I cant think of a reason to get one over a sharpmaker should I have neither yet.

The Sharpmaker offers more versatility for the afi .

sal

sal wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:01 pm

The Sharpmaker offers more versatility for the afi .

sal

So no go on the brown rods, but what about UF? There is no better stone for maintaining micro-bevels than the UF, the fine removes too much metal for this task.

Also, what do the instructions say about micro-bevels in the Gauntlet? It seems like this final step has always been a part of Spyderco's philosophy on sharpening, but the Gauntlet and it's one position abandons that concept.

Zatx wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:25 pm

Also, what do the instructions say about micro-bevels in the Gauntlet? It seems like this final step has always been a part of Spyderco's philosophy on sharpening, but the Gauntlet and it's one position abandons that concept.

Don't forget that for many years the Sharpmaker only had the capability to sharpen at 40° inclusive. I used my 203 MF for 27 years before I finally upgraded to a 204 about 2 years ago. I still pretty much only use the 40° side and rarely need the 30° setting.

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 13, 2019 8:51 pm

Zatx wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:25 pm

Also, what do the instructions say about micro-bevels in the Gauntlet? It seems like this final step has always been a part of Spyderco's philosophy on sharpening, but the Gauntlet and it's one position abandons that concept.

Don't forget that for many years the Sharpmaker only had the capability to sharpen at 40° inclusive. I used my 203 MF for 27 years before I finally upgraded to a 204 about 2 years ago. I still pretty much only use the 40° side and rarely need the 30° setting.

I did not know this, I've only been using it for the last 20 years.

You guys must have been in grade school when you started :)

Sal would you recommend these shaped stones as an alternative to the 701 profile ? My primary concern is sharpening and keeping my 440V SE Millies alive.
FWIW the brown stone in my 701 Set sports a few micro chips on the edges these days..

J

I'm betting it's easier to sharpen serrations with the gauntlet. If i was a really new guy to the hobby or had a minor passing interest in keeping blades sharp the Gauntlet would be interesting. If i saw it on a shelf at bass pro or walmart or wood crafters I'd consider it. It looks nice but not for me at this point. I'm sure the price will drop after spyderco recoups their money on it.

jezabel wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:14 pm

Sal would you recommend these shaped stones as an alternative to the 701 profile ? My primary concern is sharpening and keeping my 440V SE Millies alive.
FWIW the brown stone in my 701 Set sports a few micro chips on the edges these days..

J

Hi J,

The Golden Stone would be closer.

sal

Bloke wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:35 pm

I like the idea of cat’s eye stones but I’m a little puzzled too.

I think the SharpMaker is a cleaver, compact and indispensable sharpening aid. So, I’d have liked to see the cats eye stones in a similar package. :)

Actually BLOKE I agree with you and that's about what I was expecting as well. However this unit might just be great for the kitchen of the average homeowner. And I would like to get the "Cat's Eye" CBN stones to go with my old GALLEY V kit>> or any other grit "Cat's Eye" stone that I don't have for my old Galley V kit I've had for years. But I doubt I'll ever buy one of these GAUNTLET kits unless they put out some really good extra accessories for it It's not what I was expecting at all>> but we'll see what develops.

sal wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:00 am

jezabel wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:14 pm

Sal would you recommend these shaped stones as an alternative to the 701 profile ? My primary concern is sharpening and keeping my 440V SE Millies alive.
FWIW the brown stone in my 701 Set sports a few micro chips on the edges these days..

J

Hi J,

The Golden Stone would be closer.

sal

Yeah Sal I agree with you and I'm starting to lean more toward the GOLDENSTONE as being my prime time, portable, take everywhere, sharpening tool. But how much longer is it going to be before we have the GOLDENSTONE in more grit selections? I would love to have at least 4 or 5 grits to select from on the GOLDENSTONE >> and I bet I speak for a lot of the guys here who also like the GOLDENSTONE. Unless they would press forward and bring back the 701 Profiles>> However I'm beginning to see some distinct advantages that the GOLDENSTONE has over that tool >> especially with precise angles. I still love my sets of 701 Profiles and use them almost weekly for my Spyderedged blades. My old Duckfoot is about worn out unfortunately so I would welcome a CBN and Ultra-Fine Goldenstone both at this point.