Blade Linx

ceo51378 · Master Blader Joined: 23 Jan 2004 Posts: 1743 Location: MD

Just an FYI...

Those of you who have been around a while know that I'm always looking for a new toy to put that hair splitting razor's edge back on a blade.... enter the Tri-Angle Sharpmaker by Spyderco. I have been hesitant about picking one of these up soley because of the strange choice of angles used for the rods. It incorporates a 30 and 40 degree set angles. In the past, I have always used 25-30 degree angles for my knives. But I though... what the hell, I'll give it a shot. And I'm glad I did! The package came with in instruction vhs video (I had to dig out my VCR from the attick to watch it) and a full color manual. The kit comes with 2 brass rods (hand protection), 2 medium/coarse tri-angled rods, and 2 fine rods. It is enclosed in a very sturdy ABS plastic case that doubles as a base for the rods.
After watching the video and flipping through the manual, I decided to have a go at it. With VERY little practice, I managed to put a scary sharp edge on various knives including a Leatherman Wave and Juice, good ol' swiss army, Predator, Piranha Amazon, Kalashnikov, Magnum, Benchmade BM42, AKC leverlock, and a couple henckles kitchen knives. I chose these knives for the varying grades in steel. Whether they were high stainless or high carbon (and everything in between), the Sharpmaker made light work of them and I was able to attain an edge well beyond 'shaving sharp'... to be more specific, I was easily able split a slice from a strand of hair (think about it Wink

). Everyone knows the old 'slice the paper in half' test.... try holding a flyer in the air and cutting out the coupon with no effort... no, I am not exagerating. Needless to say, this sharpening system put all my others to shame... including my diamond stone Lansky sharpener. There is no oil to use and the rods clean up easliy with water.
Here is what it won't do.... the Sharpmaker will not reshape a blade. If you have a nasty chip in it or a rounded-off tip, you will still need to resort to a benchstone or lanksy. However, there is a $70 some dollar option to add 2 diamond grit stones for that task... but that's a little too pricey IMO.
I have no complaints with this system and is defanitely worth it's $45 price tag. I purchased mine from the spyderco store online - they actually had the best price on it. Before I forget, this sharpener also has directions for sharpening routers, bits, scissors, shears, fish hooks, chisels, hatchets... anything and everything with an edge...even reshape your screwdrivers.

picker7769 · Darth Blader Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 3155 Location: MO

Chris... thank you very much for that info! I'm going over to Spyderco right now and order one. I recently got a 'Chef's Choice Manual Hone' from MKW. This one is different in that rather than shaping a hollow-ground edge, it creates a 'dual wedge' - which is supposed to stand up better to hard use w/o 'rolling over'. Problem is, it seems to work very well on some knives, but actually dulls others. Any ideas here??

Ok, gonna go get a Spyderco.

Picker 007 Cool

picker7769 · Darth Blader Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 3155 Location: MO

Hey, Chris, what's going on?? I went to Spyderco intending to get one of the Tri-angle Sharpmakers. I believe U said the price was $45?? On their website the price is almost $70!! So what's going on here?? I wanted that set, but not for $70...

I cut and pasted their ad below...

Price: $68.95

Send this page to a friend When you need to get it sharp, the 204 is all you need. Spyderco's Tri-Angle Sharpmaker includes two sets of high Alumina Ceramic stones: A pair of medium grit (dark) stones for aggressive sharpening, and a pair of fine stones (white) for professional grade finishing. There is also a set of brass safety rods to protect the user's hand during sharpening. For sharpening plain edges, the flat sides of the stones are ideal. For serrated edges use the corners. The stones fit into keyed holes and slots molded into the polymer base and have a 40 degree and 30 degree sharpening angle for knives and a 12 1/2 degree scissor setting. A groove running the length of the stone is for sharpening pointed objects like darts, awls and fishhooks. All components pack into the base and the lid snaps shut making the 204 self contained and small enough to carry in your shirt pocket. No lubrication is required during use for dry, mess-free sharpening. Includes instruction video and book.

Picker Confused

ceo51378 · Master Blader Joined: 23 Jan 2004 Posts: 1743 Location: MD

Ask and you shall receive. Wink

http://www.spydercostore.com/SPY/site/product.cfm?id=204MF

ceo51378 · Master Blader Joined: 23 Jan 2004 Posts: 1743 Location: MD

BTW, this sharpener also makes easy work of serrated blades and blade with a recurve....

picker7769 · Darth Blader Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 3155 Location: MO

OK, I went to the URL U gave me and there it was at a reasonable price, so I went ahead and ordered one. Still can't figure that out tho. Maybe the place you found is some kind of internet retail outlet that sells Spyderco 'seconds' or something - because the Spyderco site definitely wants a lot more for the same thing..

One thing I did find at the Spyderco store is a commemorative knife honoring those who died on 9-11. They will only make 2821 of these - one for every person who dies during the twin towers incident. Then the mold will be destroyed. ALL the profits are going to police/firefighter/rescue personnel fund for relatives of those who died. I'm seriously thinking of ordering one. The price is high and it's not a SB, but it has a lot of meaning, the money goes for a good cause and the knife is truly a limited edition. See pic below..

Picker Cool

picker7769 · Darth Blader Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 3155 Location: MO

This is definitely not my night... for some reason it double-posted my last post and when I wnet to delete one I couldn't find a 'delete' or 'edit' button. What the hell is going on with this site now?? (Besides being the slowest place on the net to get from one click to another... ) Evil or Very Mad

007

ceo51378 · Master Blader Joined: 23 Jan 2004 Posts: 1743 Location: MD

That's ok... I took care of it for you.

picker7769 · Darth Blader Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 3155 Location: MO

Thanks, man, and thanks for letting me 'horn in' with my horn-handled Dualspeed..LOL I just think anyone posting a review oughta do it here so we can keep the site a little more coherent. God noze we get so much stuff flying around everywhere that keeping a forum for what it's intended is almost impossible.

Anyway, when I do sit down and write this one up, I'll put it here.

Picker Cool

ceo51378 · Master Blader Joined: 23 Jan 2004 Posts: 1743 Location: MD

Sounds like a plan to me. Wink