Any suggestions for sharpening the tip of a Lum Tanto?

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DRKBC
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Any suggestions for sharpening the tip of a Lum Tanto?

#1

Post by DRKBC »

Hi there just wondering if anyone has any tips for sharpening "the tip" of a Lum Tanto. I have a sharpmaker and I have used a felt pen to colour the edge so that I can see where I am sharpening and I can get it fairly sharp ( and maybe that is all it needs to be) but I am having a hard time getting it as sharp as I can get the rest of the blade. As usual any tips would be appreciated.
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captnvegtble
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#2

Post by captnvegtble »

I've never sharpened the tip, but sandpaper on a mouse pad (to maintain the convexity) has been suggested before.
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HotSoup
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#3

Post by HotSoup »

Its so **** hard to sharpen.

Actually, its the reason Im trying to get rid of mine now.

Tanto tips are so **** stupid...
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tvenuto
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#4

Post by tvenuto »

Find adversaries with less abrasive bones.
DRKBC
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#5

Post by DRKBC »

Sounds like I am not alone in my misery :D
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Cheddarnut
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#6

Post by Cheddarnut »

Its called the tanto grind because it "ta(u)nt(s) (y)o(u)".
"...is cabbage a better blue than cars that sing?" C.S.
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DigitalUrbanCamo
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#7

Post by DigitalUrbanCamo »

I don't have a sharpmaker so I don't know. I jumped in this thread thinking (for some reason) you had the edge pro apex.
JD Spydo
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It's about convex sharpening

#8

Post by JD Spydo »

What the one brother said about a very fine sandpaper and using it in conjunction with a soft mousepad is a method I've also heard suggested and a few guys have said they have had decent luck doing it. Being I have the black bladed version of the C-46 Lum tanto I'm hesitant to do that because I don't really want to marr my blade coating on that LUM Tanto.

Convex sharpening is one method of sharpening that I haven't mastered myself but have been watching videos on YOUTUBE and other sources learning how to best achieve desired results with a convex edge. Also you want to keep in mind that the edge on the tip of the LUM tanto folder is a very steep angle compared to most convex grinds.

I'm wondering if the main groove on the GOLDENSTONE ( one of Spyderco's newest sharpening stones) wouldn't work because I've wondered about that myself as well.

The tip of that blade is called the "Hamaguri" or "Appleseed" grind. Personally I've been using my ultra-fine Spyderco 302 Benchstone and trying a rotating motion and it's been doing a fairly decent job without doing any damage to the black coating. But I would like to learn a more proficient method for tackling a sharpening job such at that my own self and I do wish that Sal or one of Spyderco's sharpening experts would chime in on this one.

Also I heard that the original run of the Bill Moran Spyderco fixed blades released back in the late 90s also originally had a convex grind edge as well.
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chuck_roxas45
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#9

Post by chuck_roxas45 »

I prefer a worn 600 grit sander belt mounted on foam and wood to convex.

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Left Hand Path
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#10

Post by Left Hand Path »

tvenuto wrote:Find adversaries with less abrasive bones.
That's a great quote :D
DRKBC wrote:Hi there just wondering if anyone has any tips for sharpening "the tip" of a Lum Tanto. I have a sharpmaker and I have used a felt pen to colour the edge so that I can see where I am sharpening and I can get it fairly sharp ( and maybe that is all it needs to be) but I am having a hard time getting it as sharp as I can get the rest of the blade. As usual any tips would be appreciated.
I have had the same experience - I can get it fairly sharp but not as sharp as the rest of the blade. The Lum Tanto tip is extremely thick, as mentioned. Definitely a challenge to get it to the higher levels of sharpness, especially compared to the rest of the blade. I have used a strop loaded with the Bark River compounds to sharpen convex edges, starting with the black compound (the most coarse).
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captnvegtble
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#11

Post by captnvegtble »

What kind of sandpaper do people use to sharpen blades (type and grit)? Do you use general all purpose sandpaper (Garnet based) or do you use a special metal sandpaper?
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#12

Post by JD Spydo »

captnvegtble wrote:What kind of sandpaper do people use to sharpen blades (type and grit)? Do you use general all purpose sandpaper (Garnet based) or do you use a special metal sandpaper?
Most of your good sandpaper is either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. Now the 3M company has a sandpaper that I've used on many construction jobs called "Sandblaster" >> it comes in several grits and I would say for this type of sharpening the finer the grit the better. Now there are also several types of emery cloth sandpapers that are basically only meant for metal work and you can get those in a variety of grits. Norton and 3M are the brands I've personally had the best luck with dealing with emery cloth type paper.
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#13

Post by DRKBC »

JD Spydo wrote:Most of your good sandpaper is either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. Now the 3M company has a sandpaper that I've used on many construction jobs called "Sandblaster" >> it comes in several grits and I would say for this type of sharpening the finer the grit the better. Now there are also several types of emery cloth sandpapers that are basically only meant for metal work and you can get those in a variety of grits. Norton and 3M are the brands I've personally had the best luck with dealing with emery cloth type paper.
Do you usually use a couple of different grits to get to the finished product? How fine? Do use a particular technique?
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#14

Post by Sht »

As I have yet to stab thru a car door or anything of that sort. I'v been touching it up on my strop. If I ever get around to buying a wicked edge I might try to thin the edge out a little.
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JD Spydo
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We need a video on sharpening unusual edges

#15

Post by JD Spydo »

DRKBC wrote:Do you usually use a couple of different grits to get to the finished product? How fine? Do use a particular technique?
I've used as many as 3 different grits to get the results I desired. I mainly only use Sandpaper for reprofiling and smoothing out blades that have been very badly beat up and abused. Like I said earlier I really haven't mastered "convex sharpening" yet but it is something that I do plan on learning soon. I was hoping that one of the sharpening gurus would put out a video on sharpening convex blade edges.

I got the priviledge of meeting the late Bill Moran on 2 occasions before he passed. He told me that the convex edge truly was the best you could use.

Now that Hamaguri tip on the C-46 Lum Tanto folder is not your typical convex edge. It's a very thick edge and I've wondered what Mr. Lum had in mind when designing it?

It amazes me that so few of the sharpening fans chime in on threads like this one. When I had my thread on sharpening the Captain model and plain edged hawkbills a while back I was also amazed at how little interest it generated :confused:

I would truly like to see Sal do a video on sharpening many of these very unusual and unorthadox blade edges.
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#16

Post by DRKBC »

JD Spydo wrote:I've used as many as 3 different grits to get the results I desired. I mainly only use Sandpaper for reprofiling and smoothing out blades that have been very badly beat up and abused. Like I said earlier I really haven't mastered "convex sharpening" yet but it is something that I do plan on learning soon. I was hoping that one of the sharpening gurus would put out a video on sharpening convex blade edges.

I got the priviledge of meeting the late Bill Moran on 2 occasions before he passed. He told me that the convex edge truly was the best you could use.

Now that Hamaguri tip on the C-46 Lum Tanto folder is not your typical convex edge. It's a very thick edge and I've wondered what Mr. Lum had in mind when designing it?

It amazes me that so few of the sharpening fans chime in on threads like this one. When I had my thread on sharpening the Captain model and plain edged hawkbills a while back I was also amazed at how little interest it generated :confused:

I would truly like to see Sal do a video on sharpening many of these very unusual and unorthadox blade edges.
A video would be great, for me it is a really awkward blade to sharpen but maybe not with the right technique and equipment.
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#17

Post by JD Spydo »

DRKBC wrote:A video would be great, for me it is a really awkward blade to sharpen but maybe not with the right technique and equipment.
Yeah I think that convex edges would be much more popular if people knew how to sharpen them. Again I would have loved to have picked Bob Lum's brain to see what he had in mind when designing both is Lum Tanto blades that he did in collaboration for Spyderco. The C-46 is one of my Holy Grail user blades and it would be nice to know how to sharpen it better. I'm sure there was an intended purpose for a blade with that type of a tip. There truly does need to be a book written on sharpening non-conventional type blades.
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