Sharpmaker and other cool toys

[unnerv]

I just recently got the Spyderco Sharpmaker and a digital microscope so I thought I would post a few pics I took with the microscope of the edge. I am still a newb when it comes to sharpening but I thought you guys might find these pics interesting.

The pics are about 200x of a cheapo kitchen aid chefs knife that had been badly abused.

I started with the diamond with 20 strokes on each the pointed and flat side of the stones.

I then went to the medium brown stone with 20 strokes each on the pointed and flat.

Next the fine with 20 strokes on each pointed and flat

After seeing the last pic, I did 20 more stokes on the fine flat and then did 5 upward strokes lightly.

I think I probably should have done a few more strokes on the medium stone before moving to the fine.

And just for reference, here is a shot of a fresh out the box kershaw ZDP mini cyclone.

 

[RA40]

Interesting.
Curious about your microscope...can you snap a pic of it?

 

[unnerv]

It is from Thinkgeek.com
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/9955/

 

[Valolammas]

Very interesting pics, thanks for posting! Not that I know what they prove, but it's always cool to see something like that. My wife has occasionally talked about getting a microscope, and now I'm starting to think that it might be a good idea... (My wife is a biologist, she'd use it on moss & lichen samples and stuff like that. I'd just play with it.)

 

[KingSmono]

That is awesome. Like ^^ said, I'm exactly sure what I'm looking for, but to my un-trained eye, the knife appears to be getting sharper... man, I'd be view any and everything under that microscope.

I got a digital infrared thermometer for Christmas, and I've been taking the temperature of EVERYTHING... haha

 

[unnerv]

yeah, to tell you the truth, I am not sure what it means either. I can tell you that it was sharp enough to cut arm by the last pass, but I it looks like it could have used more work I think.

My Favorite pic is the 1st one because you can see little chunks of metal hanging off the blade. That diamond really rips it up.

 

[cutlerylover]

cool pics, I have seen cheaper versions of that microscope...I might just have to get one to play around with!

 

[Paladin]

Excellent photos, I appreciate you taking the time to share. I've been using the Spyderco triangle shapener system for over ten years, but just have the fine and medium "rods". That diamond hone really removes the metal, I would probably reserve its use for restoring badly damaged edges only.

Paladin

 

[V8TOYTRUCK]

Wow nice toy and very useful photos. You can totally tell what each rod does

 

[piney12]

I have a Sharpmaker as well....it works great. Nice to see the photos, though.

Lee Valley Tools makes a compound that you can put
on a leather strop for about 10 bucks or so. Looks like
a stick of green clay with superfine polishing particles
in it. I just take a section of an old leather belt glued to a
small oak board as the strop and "charge it" with the
compound.

Really makes a nice finish for the Sharpmaker even
after the 'ultrafine' stone is used. Only takes a few
passes to maintain the edge every so often.

 

[mkphc]

nice pics!
I have a sharpmaker too, awesome & invaluable tool
I'm very heavily into knives & sharpening, and have since converted over to Bark River, and over to leather & compounds, I would love to see the magnification of a stropped edge.
Now you've got me wondering what they look like.

 

[souptree]

Great pics! Thanks for posting them..... :thumbsup:

 

[bhds]

Very cool pictures! What kind of angle/angles are you putting on it?

 

[unnerv]

I haven't done special angles, just the straight 40. I am just getting into the sharpening thing now, so I figured I should start simple. There are a couple of nicks in the knife that I have not ground past yet. I am debating if it is worth the effort tho, as it is just a cheapie kitchen knife that I was using to test the diamond triangles to see how they worked.