Sharpening Magnacut

[Manifestgtr]

I took my Mule to the stones for the first time today so these are initial impressions only. The first edge usually involves some minor degree of reprofiling but I’m going to ATTEMPT to ignore those aspects for the time being…

The factory edge was just below hair shaving and in the interest of full disclosure, the only use I put the factory edge to was a quick box breakdown. The factory edge on mine seemed a bit steeper than the typical 17 degrees but that could just be me.

Ease of sharpening, at this point, seems to fall somewhere around D2. Not brutal, by any means, but not 1095…it was about where I expected it to be, given the hardness, chemistry, etc.

Sharpenability is high, bordering on extreme. I consider Spyderco’s K390, Cruwear, VG-10 and Opinel’s XC90 to be the most “sharpenable” steels in my collection…they can all by coaxed into extreme levels of sharpness with relative ease. First impressions are that Magnacut falls just below these. That impression may change down the road as it took a few sessions for Cruwear to show me its true colors…and we all know Cruwear’s potential.

I have a habit of polishing steels for the first sharpening just to see what they’re capable of…by the time I reached 1 micron, the mule would no longer reliably whittle hair…they would just keel over and split on contact.

Verdict for first impressions…

Ease of sharpening: typical for a modern “super steel”

Sharpenability: high, bordering on extreme

Edge stability/retention: to be determined

[Revival]

What stones did you use and did you stay with the factory angle?

I sharpened mine today using Venevs and down to 0.25 micron on kangaroo just for fun. Factory angle appeared to be 17°on mine and stayed with that. It was cake with the Venevs and impressed with the edge it took.

[Fireman]

Thanks for the report. I am pretty curious as to how the sharpening and performance does past three sharpenings.

[Manifestgtr]

What stones did you use and did you stay with the factory angle?

I sharpened mine today using Venevs and down to 0.25 micron on kangaroo just for fun. Factory angle appeared to be 17°on mine and stayed with that. It was cake with the Venevs and impressed with the edge it took.

I put it to the ole DMT plates and brought it down a little closer to what felt like 15-17 degrees. Just 300 and 1200…I have plates up to 8k but that’s one of those “I’m in the mood” stones. I still haven’t gotten any diamond water stones for whatever reason. My sharpening nowadays is divided solely between diamond plates and shapton glass. Every once in a while, I come close to pulling the trigger on a couple of Venevs…sooner or later.

Thanks for the report. I am pretty curious as to how the sharpening and performance does past three sharpenings.

Absolutely, man…I’m really curious to see how things develop deeper into the steel

[Soanso McMasters]

I took mine to 15 DPS and .5 micron. Sadly, the tip on one side was sharpened at something looking like around 12 degrees from the factory and it’s making my OCD act up. I hogged off some material on a basswood spoonblank and noticed no loss of sharpness.

[AlexRus]

Thank you all for sharing

My MagnaCut Mule is somewhere at USPS...

[Manifestgtr]

I took mine to 15 DPS and .5 micron. Sadly, the tip on one side was sharpened at something looking like around 12 degrees from the factory and it’s making my OCD act up. I hogged off some material on a basswood spoonblank and noticed no loss of sharpness.

My m390 Manix came like that, oddly enough. It definitely took a couple sessions to get it even.

My MagnaCut Mule is somewhere at USPS...

International shipping over the holidays, man. That’s gotta be fun.

[Soanso McMasters]

I noticed that the steel felt a bit different on the stones than any others I’ve sharpened. Not bad or good, just a different tactile feedback. I’m using the sharp maker. Did anyone else notice that or is it in my head?

[TkoK83Spy]

I noticed that the steel felt a bit different on the stones than any others I’ve sharpened. Not bad or good, just a different tactile feedback. I’m using the sharp maker. Did anyone else notice that or is it in my head?

I don't have this Mule, but I have always felt that way about sharpening any of my M4 knives. They just seem to have a different feel, a different bite on the stones. You sir, are not alone.

[Soanso McMasters]

I noticed that the steel felt a bit different on the stones than any others I’ve sharpened. Not bad or good, just a different tactile feedback. I’m using the sharp maker. Did anyone else notice that or is it in my head?

I don't have this Mule, but I have always felt that way about sharpening any of my M4 knives. They just seem to have a different feel, a different bite on the stones. You sir, are not alone.

Good to know I’m not totally crazy, or if I am, it’s not because of this! I don’t have anything in M4 yet. I’d like to try it as well as Cruwear.

[bbturbodad]

I noticed that the steel felt a bit different on the stones than any others I’ve sharpened. Not bad or good, just a different tactile feedback. I’m using the sharp maker. Did anyone else notice that or is it in my head?

I haven't done a full sharpening but my wasn't very sharp out of the box so I gave it a quick touch up on my Venev 400 grit stone and it has nice feedback with a "lively" feel. In comparison I would describe VG10 as having a dull feel when sharpening. It's really easy to sharpen and went from not biting into my fingernail to tree toping my arm hairs with about 3 mins of work. I have a feeling this is going to get scary sharp with higher grit finishes.

[Evil D]

I like to try to sharpen new steels the same as anything else I've used because I feel like it helps to keep the playing field level between steels since my sharpening is the biggest variable. I reprofiled mine down to 15dps like I do most other knives and put the final edge on with my Sharpmaker using the medium/fine/ultra fine and I made a couple swipes on a strop but I really didn't feel like it made a difference.

What I've seen so far is excellent sharpening response, and I didn't have any burr issues at all and that's even with having to create a significant burr on one side while trying to even out the bevels and center the up the edge. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to really use it much to say much more about edge retention and such.


I did just try to wipe the blade off and before I realized it I filleted my pants

[Manifestgtr]

I did just try to wipe the blade off and before I realized it I filleted my pants

HAH…now that’s an aggressive edge

[rashman]

i’m still rockin the factory edge. it came sharp, but not shaving sharp.
edge needed some attention after i put it to work (got some of the best life out of a factory edge, m4 type performance.)
stropped on leather with 16 micron CBN. wow! amazing edge response- about 25 passes brought me to shaving sharp.

[99Dirk]

Reprofiled mine to 18.5° using Hapstone and DMT stones thru 3 micron, then stropped at: 5, 3, 1, & 0.5 (Jende Diamond Emulsions).

It's truly hair popping sharp, haven't tried to whittle a strand yet but may next time I strop.

First impressions are similar to what others have posted. Reprofiling (to clean up a bit of tip uneveness and for my own baseline preference) was easier (20-40% less effort/time) than M4 and seemed similar to LC200N. With my setup and process this between S45VN and M390.

Trial testing will be at different angles: 17-20° in .25° steps first. Then varying the final polish from 9 microns to 3 with and without stropping.

Gut feeling is that 17.-18.5 w/ 9micron and stropping to 3-1 microns will be the sweet spot.

YRMV - but that's the fun.

Round two will be guided system vs. hand (Norton Waterstones).

D.

[Manifestgtr]

Round two will be guided system vs. hand (Norton Waterstones).

D.

That’ll be interesting…you’ll probably be among the first to venture into water stone territory with Magnacut

[Crox]

I worked on mine free hand as I do all my knives. I worked to take off the “shoulders” and make a micro convex edge. Final angle matches factory. Diamond plate to start. Then Shapton Pro - 330, 1000, 2000, leather strop.

I also had some uneven grind closer to the tip. I didn’t try to fix it this time - it will fix eventually.

I’m not super in tune but found it easy enough to sharpen. Similar to m390 and M4 that I did recently. Not as easy as 1095.

I could have given a bit more time on the 1000 and 2000. I can see some scratch pattern still.

This thing is crazy sharp. Very nice.

[cholla_remover]

There's a pile of sharpening info on Bladeforums, to the point that it's hard to sift through. I read that typical compounds like aluminum and chromium oxide are softer than the carbides in Magnacut, so stropping with diamond or CBN is best.

My humble sharpening kit is a Doublestuff stone and a strop. I've been carving hardwood with this knife and the factory edge is holding up fine. My initial plan is to maintain it via stropping.

For now I'd like to keep it simple, not using too many steps. Some say the fine side of the Doublestuff is equivalent to 6 micron. What would you recommend for a "grit" progression for stropping with diamond spray? Say, 3 micron to 1 micron?

[sal]

Hi Cholla_remover,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[Manifestgtr]

Hi Cholla_remover,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

Indeed

For now I'd like to keep it simple, not using too many steps.

Even 3 micron is totally sufficient if you’re looking to keep things simple. I often stop at 8 micron (my first strop) for carry knives. I like stepping down to .1 because it’s fun but it’s also completely unnecessary outside of fine woodwork, sharpening contests, etc.