Another Noobie

[noseoil]

Hey all, just wanted to say hello & post a general howdy to everyone. I'm another new guy here with a "first" Delica 4 in the ZDP-189. I managed to chip the blade slightly in two places (metal to metal contact), so I'm working on my first sharpening now (ugh).

I got a Gatco to begin with, and used the fine diamond to start at 19d, which worked well enough, then went to the fine stone in the kit. Boy, talk about some time trying to polish that edge on a rock, taking a while, but it's working, albeit pathetically slowly. I moved over to the leather strop & some #555 black compound I have from a couple of gun projects, but it is still taking a while.

Thinking I should buy another "fine" stone to use as a backing for some black paper, to make quicker work of this process. What do you think of this for a polishing idea? Just some double-back tape and 3M paper to make quicker work of things. The diamond leaves too many scratches to smooth out with a hard rock for finishing & I need something between the diamond & the rock which will cut quicker through the scratches.

Thanks for reading this long first post. tim

[kbuzbee]

Welcome Tim!

The sandpaper idea should work. I'm not familiar with the Gatco options. What stones are available?

Ken

[jackknifeh]

Welcome to here.

Depending on your sharpening experience, ZDP can be a bear. Being harder steel it takes more strokes to remove the same amount of steel as other metals. You should stop trying to cut metal with it though. :)

Great choice on knives to begin with.

Jack

[noseoil]

"Jack" Yep, cutting metal is a big no-no. My buddy passed away & I'm helping with his stuff. Found some WWI medals which needed to be shipped back to his mother (turns out it was her dad's stuff, Chaplain from WWI & WWII) so I was cutting the threads on the inside of the cloth to remove the mount from its backing. Turns out someone had pushed the pins on some of them into the backing & my knife wasn't up to the task. Had it for just two days & dinged the blade, go figure.

It's back to hair shaving sharp right now, but I need to do a polished edge to be happy with it. You're right, this stuff is a booger to sharpen, but I know I can do better than I have right now, just need better technology to make things easier. tim

Spyderco Delica 4 & a "few" HK's

[Blerv]

Welcome to the forum :) .

[noseoil]

Glad I live in Arizona (no blade length restrictions) concealed carry OK too. Bit hot in the summer, but mostly nice here. Thanks for posting the list & glad I don't live in a "liberal" state.