Why Sharp Skate

Paired with my new Angle Dock, the Sharp Skate® now has absolute repeatable accuracy for any thickness of tool. This feature took me a long time to finish because the relationships between the skate, the blade and the dock all had to interact perfectly. I am very proud of the outcome. I think it's an elegant solution to an old problem. All the sharpening devices I've seen measure the distance from the edge of the tool being sharpened to the tool holder. The problem is that that distance will not be accurate for any thickness of tool. It will only work for a single fixed tool thickness. If you sharpen a 1/4" thick tool and a 1/2" thick tool to 27º (identical angles), the bevel on the 1/2" tool will be much longer than the 1/4" tool. That means that you cannot use the same distance from tool to set the 27º angle for both tools. My Angle Dock takes the measurement from the top of the bevel. This is a consistent measuring point for any thickness of tool. It means you can sharpen 5 tools that are completely different to exactly the same angle and repeat that angle again and again precisely.

Sharp Skate® 2 features new wheels that are RC 54 instead of the 68 for the first version. This makes the Skate much quieter and I redesigned the profile of the wheels to make broader contact with the stone surface. I copied the profile from a really well used version 1 skate. The new wheels are quieter, more stable and minimize stone ware. Burrs are strong from the Sharp Skate®, that's because your contact with the abrasive is really good going sideways. If you remove your burrs between grits and learn to utilize my "jointing" technique, you will find that your edges get even better still.

The Sharp Skate@ has 9 wheels and they are a very high tech steel that slides over the surface of the stone. They are very slow wearing and they are removable, replaceable and cleanable. The whole Sharp Skate is very cleanable. The really big feature is the distance between the edge of the blade and the center of the wheels, it is well under half the width of the stone. This design allows you to get to every part of the stone evenly, out over the edges, over the corners no problem. It feels like free hand sharpening.