Finally got a sharpening system

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FullCircleHook
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#21

Post by FullCircleHook »

Yeah, I went ahead and got the gen 3 right off the bat due to all the FFG blades I have, but I sometimes wonder if I should have saved the money though.
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curlyhairedboy
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#22

Post by curlyhairedboy »

I've used a lansky for a while, but if I were to upgrade, I'd get the KME. Glad you're enjoying yours.
EDC Rotation: PITS, Damasteel Urban, Shaman, Ikuchi, Amalgam, CruCarta Shaman, Sage 5 LW, Serrated Caribbean Sheepsfoot CQI, XHP Shaman, M4/Micarta Shaman, 15v Shaman
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dplafoll
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#23

Post by dplafoll »

I love my KME. Worth every penny, especially if you ever want to profile a knife and/or you have very hard steels.
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ZrowsN1s
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#24

Post by ZrowsN1s »

One more thing I forgot to mention. It was a PITA to get it unscrewed, but I unscrewed the 'eyelet' assembly and flipped it upside-down. Now I can get lower angles.
-Matt a.k.a. Lo_Que, loadedquestions135 I ❤ The P'KAL :bug-red

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jacala
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#25

Post by jacala »

ZrowsN1s
Could you provide a photo of the Eyelet Mod please.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Termite Toothpick
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#26

Post by Termite Toothpick »

I haven't seen up close the KME or used one. But I got to check out the WE at the IWA Outdoor Classics here in Germany and that sold me on their system. I love it and was very glad to get my hands on it and to see it in action before hand.
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curlyhairedboy
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#27

Post by curlyhairedboy »

Gotta say nothing's as fast as the sharpmaker though. I need to find a place to leave it set up.
EDC Rotation: PITS, Damasteel Urban, Shaman, Ikuchi, Amalgam, CruCarta Shaman, Sage 5 LW, Serrated Caribbean Sheepsfoot CQI, XHP Shaman, M4/Micarta Shaman, 15v Shaman
Fixed Blades: Proficient, Magnacut Mule
Special and Sentimental: Southard, Squarehead LW, Ouroboros, Calendar Para 3 LW, 40th Anniversary Native, Ti Native, Calendar Watu, Tanto PM2
Would like to own again: CQI Caribbean Sheepsfoot PE, Watu
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Surfingringo
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#28

Post by Surfingringo »

curlyhairedboy wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:52 am
Gotta say nothing's as fast as the sharpmaker though. I need to find a place to leave it set up.
The sharpmaker is unrivaled for maintaining edges...especially microbevels. No matter how much time I spend on the main bevels (even with a guided system) I can always take the sharpness of my edge to the next level with just a few licks on the sharpmaker. I really don't think there is a faster more efficient way to maintain extremely sharp edges than with the Sharpmaker.
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curlyhairedboy
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#29

Post by curlyhairedboy »

Surfingringo wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:58 am
curlyhairedboy wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:52 am
Gotta say nothing's as fast as the sharpmaker though. I need to find a place to leave it set up.
The sharpmaker is unrivaled for maintaining edges...especially microbevels. No matter how much time I spend on the main bevels (even with a guided system) I can always take the sharpness of my edge to the next level with just a few licks on the sharpmaker. I really don't think there is a faster more efficient way to maintain extremely sharp edges than with the Sharpmaker.
I need to find some barkeeper's friend to clean my stones. :)
EDC Rotation: PITS, Damasteel Urban, Shaman, Ikuchi, Amalgam, CruCarta Shaman, Sage 5 LW, Serrated Caribbean Sheepsfoot CQI, XHP Shaman, M4/Micarta Shaman, 15v Shaman
Fixed Blades: Proficient, Magnacut Mule
Special and Sentimental: Southard, Squarehead LW, Ouroboros, Calendar Para 3 LW, 40th Anniversary Native, Ti Native, Calendar Watu, Tanto PM2
Would like to own again: CQI Caribbean Sheepsfoot PE, Watu
Wishlist: Magnacut, Shaman Sprints!
Foolish Mortal
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#30

Post by Foolish Mortal »

Eli Chaps wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:46 am
I've had a KME for several years, like back when they came stock with ceramics and there was a waiting list for the diamonds (which I now have).

Lance, I would recommend a few things:

1. On YouTube, find the videos by Dean O. they are excellent and very informative. His video on customizing his KME is great and I actually did some very similar things as he shows (different handles, etc.).

2. Buy the pen knife jaws. They come in handy for certain knives, not just wee little ones.

3. Try to always oil the "dimples" on the jaws where they click into the holder. Just a very light swipe, you have to partially rotate the jaws to do it and I use a Q-Tip. That's aluminum and it will eventually gall and/or start to slip. Granted, it will likely take a really long time but the jaws are meant to fail before the clamp and a teeny bit of oil might prevent it forever.

I have the translucent and ceramic stones, the diamonds to include a 100grit, and two strops (4um and 1.5um). There's not a lot I can't get done with these. Up to 8" and I'm pretty good to go. You may hear about thin knives like Spyderco FFG's not being good for the KME as they are too thin to hold properly. That's bunk! Give a good hard pinch on the jaw corner of the thinnest spot and tighten really well and it will likely be enough. If not, little tape on the spine will do the trick.

The KME is a great system made by, what has been my experience to be very nice folks.

Not sure there is really anything I can help with but if you or anyone else has questions, I'll do my best. But really, if you watch Dean O's videos, there isn't much left to talk about. BTW, I do not use an angle cube.
Great advice!

I love my KME. The family that creates/ships/markets it are good people.

As for lubrication, I put Glock factory lubricant, a copper based anti-galling lube, on the "dimples" where the jaws contact them. It's designed to prevent galling where dissimilar metals interact under pressure. I've seen practically no substantial wear after the break-in period. I also added a thrust bearing where the long metal spacer meets the knob that tightens the clamp. It lessens friction at that point and allows me to tighten the clamp far tighter (only when needed!) and with less resistance and thus, less wear on the device itself. Thrust bearings are cheap and easily replaced if needed. Not that any of that is needed, but being an engineer, I tend to geek out sometimes.

Using an angle cube on the KME is a little sketchy. Due to the fact that the connection from the base to the sharpening assembly isn't designed with fine tolerances in mind, one must make sure that they have the assembly, angle cube, blade, and stone holder in the same orientation every time if a measurement is taken, otherwise, one could be off by degrees. I have reference marks on the base and holder to help, but I only really measure when re-profiling. Other than that, the Sharpie or Dry-Erase marker does the trick.

I'll have to get the pen knife clamps as per your recommendation. I haven't really thought about them being useful before, but my mind is racing now.
abbazaba wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:45 am
The KME looks great. I hope to try one someday.

I bought a few over the years (Lansky, then Edge Pro, then Wicked Edge), but wasn't really blown away until I got the 2017 Gen III vise for my Wicked Edge. It is dead simple to get a perfect solid clamp on virtually any blade. I pretty much only use it for reprofiling, then standard touch ups on the Sharpmaker. If I knew how much I would invest in the WE beyond the initial purchase I may have gone another route, but the confidence I have now with the system is priceless I suppose when I slap a $500 knife on there for a full out reprofile.
No kidding! I've got a ton of money tied up in my Wicked Edge, with PPIII, extra stones, etc., only to reach for the KME most of the time. "Most of the time" meaning practically all of the time. I only reach for the WE to keep familiar with it, as using the WE efficiently seems to be a perishable skill.

No, I'm not saying the KME is better or worse than the WE. I just gravitate towards it because it lacks the "modern" look. Springs and knobs and rods... there's something quaint about it and I like the family that produces it.

The WE is certainly more refined cosmetically and, to a degree, conceptually, but with a little bit of patience, one can easily get the same results on the KME, for far less invested, money that can be used to buy some pretty cool knives if one's budget is tight.
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gull wing
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#31

Post by gull wing »

I got a KME a long time ago all I got was the course, fine, and X fine diamond plates. It wasn't easy to re profile.
I see the KME site has a lot of options.
What do you have in the way of stones/diamonds?
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#32

Post by Foolish Mortal »

gull wing wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 3:15 pm
I got a KME a long time ago all I got was the course, fine, and X fine diamond plates. It wasn't easy to re profile.
I see the KME site has a lot of options.
What do you have in the way of stones/diamonds?
I re-profile with the 50 grit beast (XX-course diamond), but I don't get to the apex with it. It produces scratches that are too rough and finding the apex with it is overkill, and thus, wasting steel. I just watch until I get very close, and then switch to the 140 grit (X-course diamond), hit the apex, and then immediately move on to the 100 grit diamond. So, I spend quite a bit of time with the 50 grit depending on the rebevel, a good amount of time with the 140, making sure that I find the apex, and then only use the 100 and so on to remove the scratch pattern from the preceding "stones". I basically spend about as much time with the 50 and 140 as I do all of the other grits/strops/lapping films combined.

I'll often (not always) put a microbevel on my working blades with the Sharpmaker, because while the cumulative angle after reprofiling can be, say 30°, a 40°microbevel is so easy to touch up with the Sharpmaker. The microbevel is a little more rough than the mirrored bevel, and I like the mirrored primary bevel, while having a slightly toothy (relative) microbevel as the cutting edge. That's just a general rule. It all depends on the steel.

As for what I have from KME, I have The KME branded diamonds, arky translucent and hard arky black natural stones, the diamond films and the strops. I think that I have the rougher aluminum oxide and natural stones, they probably came with the original purchase, but I ignore them for the most part.

On high-end steel, I might use the KME branded diamond stones, followed by diamond lapping films, and a few very, very, light strokes, barely the weight of the knife, on balsa. On VG10 for example, I might use the KME branded diamonds, followed by strops from 4µ to 0.1µ. On cheap-arse Chinese steels, I might go diamonds down to 1500 grit, followed by the arky translucent, and then hard arky black, and leave it at that. Again, that's reprofiling. It's easier spending a couple of minutes touching up with the Sharpmaker or finer stones/strops/films, than letting the blade get dull.

Like I said, it all depends on the steel, and I'm OCD, so most people probably have a different regimen. There are so many "right" ways. No doubt, some here can get a tree-topping edge with nothing more than 600 (or even rougher?) grit. That's the beauty of it all! In fact, one should be able to get a tree-topping edge from 600 grit, and everything beyond is simply refining for show. I'm not there yet, but I'm close. I'm probably a B+ student with the science of sharpening, and a C student with the art of sharpening.
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Tucson Tom
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#33

Post by Tucson Tom »

I've come dangerously close to going for the KME a couple of times. The only reason I haven't is that I tell myself that I could spend a day or two in my shop and home brew something and then figure out what stones to buy. The truth is that perhaps I could, but it is just another project to line up behind any number of others, and if I just want to sharpen knives better right now, I should buy the KME. The Edge Pro also seems like a good candidate, but a lot of people seem to say the KME edges it out. The Wicked edge is wickedly expensive, so I crossed it off the list.

Anyway, I am glad you posted this here, I would have missed it in the off-topic forum where I never read posts. Who knows what I am missing.
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ZrowsN1s
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#34

Post by ZrowsN1s »

jacala wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 12:54 am
ZrowsN1s
Could you provide a photo of the Eyelet Mod please.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.
I'll try and post a pic and a few tips sometime tomorrow. been away from my computer and can't upload pics from my phone.
-Matt a.k.a. Lo_Que, loadedquestions135 I ❤ The P'KAL :bug-red

"The world of edges has a small doorway in, but opens into a cavern that is both wide and deep." -sal
"Ghost hunters scope the edge." -sal
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#35

Post by Foolish Mortal »

Tucson Tom wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 9:43 pm
I've come dangerously close to going for the KME a couple of times. The only reason I haven't is that I tell myself that I could spend a day or two in my shop and home brew something and then figure out what stones to buy. The truth is that perhaps I could, but it is just another project to line up behind any number of others, and if I just want to sharpen knives better right now, I should buy the KME. The Edge Pro also seems like a good candidate, but a lot of people seem to say the KME edges it out. The Wicked edge is wickedly expensive, so I crossed it off the list.

Anyway, I am glad you posted this here, I would have missed it in the off-topic forum where I never read posts. Who knows what I am missing.
I'm not sure why others would say that KME edges the Edge Pro out, but I had my reasons for giving my Edge Pro away. It's an excellent system. It just wasn't portable enough for me. If I'm going to be glued to one spot, and I have a choice between the Edge Pro or WE, I might as well use the WE.

To clarify: Certainly, one can pick up the Edge Pro or WE and move about with it, putting them down where they may, but the KME can be used without a base at all, and is comfortable in the hand while doing so. I like being able to wander about with the KME in hand, heading out to the pool, and then wandering back to the garage, living room, etc., and only having to visit the work shop to change out stones. With the Edge Pro, and larger knives, since the knife is not clamped (unless one mods it to do so), you can move the knife from side to side resulting in a more consistent bevel along the course of the blade, but the difference with anything smaller than a 5" blade is negligible when it comes to performance, so I trade off that theoretical benefit for mobility. Besides, if I have a large blade that needs sharpening, I just use the WSKTS-KO with the grinding attachment.

Perhaps others can chime in with the other benefits or downsides of the Edge Pro. I found, before I bought the KME, that I more often than not chose the WE over Edge Pro, because I had both, and using two hands with the Edge Pro wasn't appealing to me. My nephew (I gave the Edge Pro to him) absolutely loves the Edge Pro though. So, you know...
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ZrowsN1s
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#36

Post by ZrowsN1s »

jacala wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 12:54 am
ZrowsN1s
Could you provide a photo of the Eyelet Mod please.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Here ya go. Pic of the eyelet flipped upside down. You can get lower angels this way but you need to be carefull not to sharpen the clamp! :eek: (you can see from mine I've done that a few times)
Image


With full flat grinds I always try to clamp part of the Ricasso so the blade is held evenly in the clamp.
Image
I also try to line up "landmarks" on the blade with the clamp and the lines on the clamp, the bug logo, the makers mark, any writing on the blade. And then take a picture, so next time I sharpen that blade I can line it up the same way as before.

The last trick tip I have is angling the blade in the clamp so that when I sharpen the angle decreases from heel to tip (for example 15 inclusive at the heel, 13 inclusive at the tip). It's just something I like to do, gives you a sharper tip for fine work, and a sturdier heel for forceful push/pull cutting.
Image
Image
-Matt a.k.a. Lo_Que, loadedquestions135 I ❤ The P'KAL :bug-red

"The world of edges has a small doorway in, but opens into a cavern that is both wide and deep." -sal
"Ghost hunters scope the edge." -sal
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Tucson Tom
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#37

Post by Tucson Tom »

Thanks for the photos. A picture is definitely worth 1000 words (and nice shots too).
jacala
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#38

Post by jacala »

Much obliged for the photos. :-)
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ZrowsN1s
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#39

Post by ZrowsN1s »

No problem :D
FYI if you're thinking about doing the eyelet flip, I wasn't kidding when I said it was a pain. At least on the KME system I had (it's a few years old). They used some kind of unholy red locktite on the bolt. Serious power tools had to be used, I was about ready to saw it off and find another bolt that size before it finally came loose. I should have boiled it first to weaken the locktite but I was concerned about damaging the plastic eyelet. Be warned.
-Matt a.k.a. Lo_Que, loadedquestions135 I ❤ The P'KAL :bug-red

"The world of edges has a small doorway in, but opens into a cavern that is both wide and deep." -sal
"Ghost hunters scope the edge." -sal
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Evil D
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Re: Finally got a sharpening system

#40

Post by Evil D »

I got a lot of good use out of my old Lansky and we had a good thread here about the hurdles of working with a clamp and how to overcome some of them. This looks like a nice upgrade from a Lansky but I had my fill of dealing with clamps. The biggest selling point of the Edge Pro was that it didn't use clamps. I think if I were to buy again I'd a Hapstone. I hate to say that because it's basically a rip-off of the Edge Pro design but I also believe that every idea can be improved upon and the Edge Pro needs some updating that hasn't happened, and the Hapstone addresses and improves upon those ideas.
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