Posted by: admin : Category: Spyderco Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
- Specifications: One medium-grit stone; One pair of fine-grit triangle stones
- Sharpens plain edges and serrated edges. Furrow along the stone’s length for awls, darts, fishhooks and punches
- 12.5 degree setting on the end of each base for sharpening scissors.
- Autoclave safe
- How-to-Use DVD Included
The Tri-Angle Sharpmaker includes two sets of high alumina ceramic stones: A pair of medium-grit (brown) stones for aggressive sharpening and a set of fine (white) stones for professional grade finishing. The stones are triangular for sharpening Plainedges on the flat sides and SpyderEdges (serrations) on the corners. Included is a set of brass safety rods protecting the users hands while sharpening. All components snap into the self-contained ABS plastic base and lid — ready to travel with you. Die-cut into the base are keyed slots and holes fitted for the stones. They accurately set the stone’s sharpening angle at a 30° (15° each side) or 40° (20° each side) for knives and a 12.5° scissor setting. Turn the base over, a channel lets you lay two stones side-by-side (flat-side up) for use as a benchstone. The lid snaps halfway over the base creating a handhold for stability while you’re sharpening. Included is a set of brass safety rods to protect the users hands while sharpening.
Rating: 
(out of 112 reviews)
List Price: $ 84.95
Price: $ 47.49
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August 31st, 2010 at 3:40 am
Review by A Customer for Spyderco Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
Rating:
I have been sharpening knives on flat stones by hand for many years. I just got a Spyderco Sharpmaker, and it’s the best contraption I have ever used.
The stones are good quality. Similar cheaper brands have lumps on otherwise perfect stones, making them almost useless. Both the coarse and fine stones leave a relatively fine edge considering how well they remove metal.
The triangular shape of the stones makes them work very well for regular knives and serrated knives as well.
It comes with an instruction book that tells you exactly what to do. If you follow the instructions, you will get a very sharp edge. The only skill involved is holding the blade up and down, and that isn’t hard at all.
The price looks high, but you get a total of 4 long stones (two fine, two medium) of good quality. It is well worth the price to be able to keep your knives sharp on your own instead of paying someone to do it, which adds up fast.
I don’t recommend sharpening systems that involve clamping a guide system to the blade because they tend to slip and/or scratch the blade, are annoying to use for quick touch-ups, and don’t actually maintain a good angle along the whole blade due to the mechanics involved.
August 31st, 2010 at 4:03 am
Review by Gregory E. Foster for Spyderco Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
Rating:
Boy! If I sound excited about this item, you bet your butt it’s true! This marvelous tool belongs in EVERY kitchen, ASAP!
I am 59, almost 60, and have used knives all my life, both outside, and inside, and especially in the kitchen. One thing I was never taught by my dad (died when I was 10) and also was never able to “master” in these subsequent years, was how to sharpen a knife! Trust me, I can take a dull knife and make it duller!
Then, Zam! I’m at a local (big, well-known, name) shop here two weeks ago, and they are giving a knife sharpening seminar in the hunting & archery department, so, naturally, I trecked upstairs to check it out.
Well, the guy doing the demonstration showed us 3 things, a flat oilstone system, a hydrastone system, and this little baby. He thoroughly went through all three systems with us, carefully explaining their workings, and what they are best for.
Hydrastone and oilstone are for outdoor/sporting/pocket knives, where you want and need a very fine edge to the blade, and always polishing at the end with a leather strop and jeweler’s polish.
But, for KITCHEN, the single best item is this system from Spyderco. I saw it work, I even tried it myself, and can do it! And, if I can do it, you can, too! Trust me! I purchased this ON THE SPOT, and it was NOT an impulse purchase, either!
Every knife in my block, and in my utility drawer is now razor sharp, able to slice down a piece of adding machine tape (paper). What a truly GREAT feeling to pick up ANY knife and be able to cut with it! I’m in heaven! Another tip…when finished with ANY knife, wash and rinse in hot soapy water and wipe dry immediately….DO NOT allow foodstuff to “sit” for any length of time on a blade, especially if you have been cutting fruit.
OK, I’ll stop now, I realize I’ve made this a long review, but I am very pleased and excited about this product, and want you to know about it, and to know that it is a GREAT product, and it REALLY WORKS! And WELL! ~operabruin
August 31st, 2010 at 5:01 am
Review by P. Hausberg for Spyderco Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
Rating:
For 40 years I have been looking for the perfect knife sharpener and this comes pretty close. Sharpens conventional blades plus serrated baldes, sissors, chisels….just about anything that needs a sharp edge. Comes with an excellent 20-25 minute video and a very good full color instruction book.
August 31st, 2010 at 5:11 am
Review by J. Piterak for Spyderco Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
Rating:
I purchased one of the Tri-Angle sharpeners years ago when they first came out. I used it for literally thousands of sharpenings, without a single problem.
Unfortunately that late, lamented sharpener vanished in a move, and I replaced it with a new one.
Big mistake.
I opened my shiny new sharpener, and went to insert the sharpening stones. Unfortunately, the base holes were too small. After several frustrating minutes of forcing the sharpening rods, I got the unit setup, and sharpened my first knife.
Or tried to.
Now, remember, I used to own one of these, and used it almost daily for years. The new unit was having a terrible time sharpening a dull knife with the course stones. Worse, after no more than a dozen passes on these stones, I noticed more wear on the triangle edge than I had seen with 4 years of regular use with the old set.
In the end, I finally got a passable edge by hand sharpening the knife on a diamond stone for the course stage, and using the fine stones on my Spyderco. — But in the interim, my handy calipers say the triangle point on the course stones had been worn by .072″ (that’s more than 1/16 of an inch)!
So, while the design of this sharpener can’t be beat, the new manufacturing leaves a lot to be desired. Until Spyderco fixes their quality, avoid this sharpener like the plague.
August 31st, 2010 at 5:45 am
Review by R. E. Easton for Spyderco Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF
Rating:
I’ve had one for two months and have mixed feelings.
I’ve never been able to manage the accuracy required to sharpen anything freehand so I needed an aid to help me out. The Sharpmaker is really good at assisting with maintaining the two knife angles. It does take a little attention to make sure that you hold a blade vertical through the entire stroke, but it takes a lot less that holding a blade elevated off a flat stone. In that respect this product works really well.
However, it turns out I have a house full of neglected knives, scissors, etc. Not only are they not sharp, many are actually damaged with nicks out of the blade edge. In order to sharpen these edges, you need to remove quite a bit of material. The medium stones supplied with the Sharpmaker are fine for touching up a mildly dull blade, but they just aren’t up to the task of removing lots of material, at least not quickly.
Further, it seems that most of the edges I have to sharpen aren’t anywhere near preset angles that the Sharpmaker is designed to sharpen. I have some knives at just over 40 degrees. I have some kitchen knives that are chisel ground to around 12 degrees on one side (a little steeper than the 15-degree angle that the 30-degree edge is designed for). Of my 5 pairs of scissors (different brands), none of them is angle to match the 12.5 degree slot in the base of the shapener. For scissors, it isn’t too hard to hold the cutting face flat to a stone since most are pretty broad. But for knives, if they don’t match the 30 or 40 degree angles, you have two choices if you don’t want to revert to free hand sharpening.
1) For edges that are a tiny bit steeper than 30 or 40 degrees
a) put a micro-bevel primary edge on them.
b) if you want to retain a nice chisel ground edge, the microbevel is not an option and you’ll have to reprofile the blade by removing a lot of material at the blades edge.
2) For edges with an angle just over 30 degrees:
a) put a 40 degree microbevel on the edge
b) reprofile the blade by removing a lot of material at the shoulder of the edge.
3) For edges that are just over 40 degrees your only option is to reprofile the blade removing a lot of material at the shoulder of the edge.
Of course, reverting to free hand is always an option, but that sort of negates the system that this product offers.
If you do decide you want to reprofile or remove a lot of material to eliminate nicks, you are not going to be able to do it easily with the medium stones. I’ve tried, it’s a time consuming affair. I have ordered a set of these to hopefully address this problem. I hear that they make re-profiling blades much easier.
I know this review sounded fairly negative. But it’s not a bad product. It just works well only if you have edges that are already in good condition and are at the right angles. If your edges are, then you’re golden. Use this sharpener regularly to keep them in good condition. If you have edges that aren’t, then you are almost necessarily looking at spending another $45-50 on Diamond SharpMaker Stones or using a different product to do the rough reprofiling required to get an edge to exactly 30 or 40 degrees.
Update (2009-Jan-23):
I’ve received the Diamond SharpMaker Stones and used them for a little while. These really help a lot to remove material when steepening an angle or removing chips in the edge. Unless you have edges at the right angle and in good condition, I think you really need to pick up the diamond stones along with the Sharpmaker to have a versatile enough system.