How do you use the Ultra Fine?

[Scottie3000]

I use mine dry and only use it to sharpen a microbevel. I do not use it to sharpen an entire edge bevel or to create a microbevel. I'm happy with how it performs this way. I use the bench stone not the rods.

Typical sharpening process for a new Spyderco:

Grind off the factory bevel with a DMT XX course, taking it down to the 8-10 degrees per side range.

Polish up on a DMT fine.

Form a microbevel using the sharpmaker fines at 15 degrees per side setting (Only takes a couple passes)

Free hand polish the microbevel with the UF bench stone.

Strop.


I repeat those last two steps whenever I touch up my knife. I like how little steel the UF stone removes, as it lets me go months before I need to reset the edge and form a new microbevel, extending the life of my blades.

That's almost my exact sharpening regime too. If I'm feeling like it, I'll polish the back bevel but it's just for looks.

[tripscheck'em]

I'm not aware of any factory knives using microbevels.

I think the key thing about the microbevel isn't so much that it toughens the apex but instead it severely reduces the need for angle consistency on your passes because the surface area of the new edge is so small, and you don't have to do nearly as much work to get superior results.

This, exactly this.

I can touch-up a knife from unable to scrape arm hair to hair whittling sharp in 30 seconds. That's why I don't care about edge retention much at all.

Yep, I'm now in the process of micro-beveling all of my knives, getting awesome results, I mean ridiculously sharpness, the ultra fine is really flexing now. Thanks so much for your feedback, I'm kicking myself for not doing micro-bevels when I first read about them. I thought I could muscle my way past s30v and the rest like I did 8cr13mov by grinding directly against the entire primary bevel, what a nightmare that was. That old method works well enough on the low grits but it requires way, way more work than with the micro-bevels, and on the fine ceramics? Forget about it!

[zeroed4x]

I clean the rods with Barkeepers Friend and a scouring pad.

I'll second that. It's the only way to clean ceramic rods.

Can't find any barkeeper here. So I use pencil eraser to rub and take it off, most of it will be gone, though not 100%

You can probably use Comet or any other "scouring" type kitchen cleaner. Barkeeper's is supposed to be gentile so it doesn't scratch stainless appliances, I really doubt something a little more abrasive like Comet would hurt the ceramic. It can't be any more harsh than the Scotchbrite pads we use.

I've run out of Barkeepers and used baking soda and it works as well.

[.357 mag]

I used to have a UF bench stone and ended up selling it. Kinda with I had it now. Today I would use it just to remove any burr that might be on the edge. Generally I only sharpen to 600 grit.

[cmyhero]

Barkeeper's Friend is available in most Walmarts and in virtually all Bed Bath & Beyond stores as well as Target and Ace Hardware. It is also found in Lowes and Home Depot.

[JD Spydo]

I began using the UF with a light film of mineral oil and noticed an improvement: it cuts faster. Before when I was doing it dry, it would hardly cut at all and after only a few passes,

This is really interesting because you would think after I've used all my Spyderco sharpening stones over the years I would have had the presence of mind to try one of them with some type of lubricant, oil, soap or anything that would possibly aid in uniform abrasion.

I got my very first Spyderco UF 302 Benchstone back in around 1999-2000 or thereabout. And I've never used them in any way except bone dry. I also have some of the coolant-oil that we used in CNC machines when I worked in the machine shop I worked at. It has a very high lubricity rating and it works very well as a coolant too.

I even have some old Buck Honing Oil in a brand new bottle that a friend gave me recently. I've also wondered if soaps like "Dawn" or any other liquid dishwashing soap for that matter might be ideal for use in whetstones and/or benchstones?. I guess I got to leaning toward the use of dry stones over the years because I never heard Sal or anyone else at Spyderco recommend anything but using them dry. Actually you're the first person I've heard tell about good results using them with lubricants. Also John Juranitch who wrote the "Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" always recommended only using your abrasive stones or sharpening tools dry>> he maintains that they cut more consistent that way. John Juranitch's sharpening book is interesting and informative even though he has another school of thought on the subject.

But I'm now anxious to get out one of my sets of Spyderco 302 Benchstones and try them with some type of lubricant and/or solvent. I'll keep you all posted and see how it works. Now I always did use Arkansas stones ( novaculite) with lubricants.

[Water Bug]

I don't use the Spyderco Ultra Fine Tri-Angle Stones at all with my Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker... the main reason is that the Spyderco White Fine Tri-Angle Stones, that come with the Sharpmaker, are more than enough for me. The second reason is that when I've used the Ultra Fine Stones, the edge on the knife that I'd worked so long and hard to achieve gets knocked off... which means I pretty much start all over again.

For me, I go with what's standard issue with the Sharpmaker (i.e., the Brown and White Tri-angle Stones). The only items I add to my Sharpmaker are the Spyderco Diamond Tri-Angle Stones.