Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
|
List Price: Our Price: $46.58 You Save: $43.37 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $46.19 (click here) Category: Sports See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
Customer Review: A Great Sharpener!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great sharpener! I thought the picture of the sharpener was a little confusing when I viewed it on-line, but the sharpener comes with an excellent DVD and a very detailed book/manual. After watching the DVD, it was no problem learning how to use the instrument. Other brand sharpeners tend to be limited in what they can sharpen, but the Spyderco Triangle Sharpener can sharpen just about anything you can imagine and do it well. I have sharpened smooth bladed knives, serrated knives, razor knives and sizzors. It's really nice to have a kitchen drawer full of sharp knives.Customer Review: A Very Good Tool
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the Sharpmaker after looking around many knife-oriented forums, and doing a considerable amount of research both online and in person. Almost everyone I spoke to was complimentary of the capabilities of this tool, and after due deliberation I decided to grimace at the rather steep price tag and take the risk. I choose that phrase because I have, in the past, used other stick-and-base style sharpeners with less than stellar results.
After three months of ownership, I have to admit that I am thoroughly converted. As I expected from the many reviews I read prior to purchasing, the Sharpmaker is NOT capable of restoring a seriously blunted or poorly-ground edge to usefulness, at least not with the stock stones and a reasonable amount of effort. Both sets of stones included with the tool tend toward the fine side and remove material very gradually, making them unsuitable for initial edge shaping. HOWEVER, if you can spare a piece of 320-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper to lay on your bench top, have a clamp-on sharpening system with coarse stones, or have a good set of bench stones (I use a DMT Coarse) for the initial material removal... Look out! Once the blade is cut back to a reasonable back-bevel, the Sharpmaker will put the fine, honed edge on it with VERY little effort, and can maintain that edge with just a few strokes on the fine stones. It is only required to perform the initial heavy edge-setting once per blade, after which time the Sharpmaker will very easily keep a 40-60 micro-edge on the tool for as long as you might require it.
Included with the Sharpmaker is a brief DVD presentation that details the use of the tool to sharpen nearly anything that might need an edge, and a paper reference manual for quick brush-ups should you need it.
Overall, I would not rate the Sharpmaker as highly as I would my friend's EdgePro, but considering that I paid $50 for the Sharpmaker (plus another $30 for the DMT coarse bench stone), and he paid almost a $500 for his sharpening system... Well, if I ever wear this one out (no idea how, maybe take up sharpening swords as a hobby?) I'll be buying another one just like it!
As a closing note: FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS with regard to the placement of the brass safety rods! I was sharpening one of my mother's chef's knives, and when I turned my head slightly to talk to her (foolish, I took my eye off the edge, and I KNOW better) I brought a stroke down over the top of the hand-side stone. Were it not for the brass rods catching the blade as their design intended, I would have suffered a painful cut along the side of my index finger. Good engineering on Spiderco's part prevented an idiot-wound on mine. Watch that edge, and place those safety rods before you start sharpening!
Customer Review: A safe way to sharpen your kitchen knives
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have been paying other people to sharpen your kitchen knives, you can stop now. With less than an hour's practice and after watching the DVD demo video that comes with the Sharpmaker, you will be putting a good enough edge on your dullest knives that you will have no problem slicing breast meat off a whole broiled chicken, or slicing very thin cold cuts from processed meats for sandwiches. It's not only possible, but likely, that you can get some knives to be razor sharp. More on that later. But here's the deal: You have to pay attention and practice what you are doing. For one thing, knife sharpening is a bit of a skill no matter what you use.
Safety first! Handling knives, dull or sharp, comes with inherent risk. Think about what you are doing and pay attention! Distractions like watching TV or trying to talk on the phone or taking care of kids while you try to sharpen a knife is not a good idea. Set aside some time when you are fully awake and sober, not half way into Thanksgiving dinner prep when it's time to carve the bird and you didn't remember to sharpen your carving knife. Hastily trying to sharpen a knife after a couple of glasses of wine and you might be celebrating the holiday getting your hand stitched up at the local Emergency Room. (Experience is a hard teacher).
Having given the proper warning above, here's what you can expect: Bad, cheap knives sharpen fast and dull fast. High quality knives take a longer time to hone a great edge, but the edge lasts and lasts with just a little touch up from a sharpening steel. My advice is keep two or three cheap knives handy for daily chopping and slicing and keep two or three really high quality knives for those cutting jobs when perfection is required. I sharpen my Henckel knives about once a month. I sharpen my cheap junk knives about once a week or more. Now a word about "razor-sharp"knives. With practice, you can get even a junk knife razor sharp. You can lay the knife on the skin of a store-bought tomato and pull gently across it without pressing down and the tomato will yield paper thin slices with almost no juice pooling on the cutting board. That's an amazing feeling - having a knife that sharp. But unless it is high quality steel, and sometimes even if it is, that edge will vanish quickly without retouching. For most daily uses, you don't want or need a razor edge. You'll be spending a lot of time keeping that edge on even a Henckel. Settle for a serviceable edge that is not razor sharp, but which will do your daily kitchen work for the better part of a week before you have to get out your sharpening equipment.
So why choose the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker over the others? For one, it's nearly impossible not to get a good knife edge if you watch the DVD, follow the instructions and practice a little bit. But beyond that, I like the way this device packs away into its own single box for easy storage between uses. I like the quality of the ceramic rods and the triangle shapes. I like the brass safety rods and how it's easy for either a right or left handed person to use this tool. It's a solidly built sharpener that will last a long time. The rods clean up with kitchen cleanser like Comet or Bon Ami with just a little scrubbing to make them really eat up the steel on a knife to make the edge. Rods do eventually wear out, but not for a long long time. Speaking of steel, there is only one other thing I suggest you buy when you get your Sharpmaker: A "sharpening steel." A good sharpening steel will save you from having to re-sharpen your knives more often. You see, knives that are sharp don't dull right away. What happens is that the edge is so fragile it will just make a microscopic bend as it cuts. Running your knife across a sharpening steel a couple of passes every few uses and you straighten out that microscopic bend, bringing the knife back to "life." A sharpening steel will not take the place of a sharpening tool. It won't sharpen a dull knife. But it will restore the fine edge to a knife that is already sharp. I've been using my Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker now for about three months and using a good sharpening steel for backup. I am very satisfied with this product.
Customer Review: A shapening system that actually works!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was turned on to this sharpener during a visit to a local knifemaker's shop. He's known for incredibly sharp blades and has won major cutting competitions. If its good enough for him to use....
It's simple and it works! Fast. Easy. And a heck of a lot less money than some over complicated "gadgets" that seem to hit the market on a daily basis.
Customer Review: Amazing Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker is absolutely amazing! For years I have used stones for sharpening and always got a decent edge. Last year I bought my mother the Chefs Choice 130 Pro sharpener for Christmas, its much quicker and for kitchen knives it's probably the preferred sharpener. The Spyderco is a little more time consuming, but you are able to create an unbelievable edge with no skill.
For Christmas this year, my girlfriend gave me the Spyderco, claiming it was better than the Chefs Choice 130; I was apprehensive. The sharpener itself is surprisingly austere, while the included DVD is mindbogglingly boring. While boring and amateurish in quality, the DVD is comprehensive and quickly teaches you everything you could possibly want to know about sharpening with the Spyderco. On a side note: I believe the owner of Spyderco and his wife introduce the product in the DVD. During the whole video the owner looks horribly constipated and upset about his situation... it's mildly disturbing.
To test the product I pulled out several completely dull and slightly chipped knives. Following the directions exactly, I was able to sharpen the worst knife to a clean razor edge in less than 10 minutes. Left me wondering why anyone would buy the Ultra Fine Triangle or the Diamond rods, you really don't need them, you can turn rough junk into a hairsplitter with everything in the box. Wonderful product! I'm so pleased, I'm buying one for each of my employees next year for Christmas.