Community Sharpening Journal

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
User avatar
Geometry
Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2022 3:43 pm

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1341

Post by Geometry »

I got a couple new things to try! 1 micron and 0.1 micron gunny juice.
PXL_20220528_232920371-ImResizer.jpg
I've been working ony freehand sharpening lately, I used to use a lansky, but over the past several years I've moved to much more difficult steels. I have a couple diamond plates, a Spyderco double stuff, and I've been trying to get comfortable sharpening things like k390.
PXL_20220528_233219662-ImResizer.jpg
This one had some decent chips I needed to sharpen out, and I decided to go for it. The success got me going!

The other day, I dropped my k390 pm2, and it went right through the carpet and I heard the tip hit concrete. Chipped a bit right off the very tip, and I decided to see if I could just go for it.
PXL_20220528_233034905-ImResizer.jpg
PXL_20220528_233014432-ImResizer.jpg
Today with the new compound, I got it to whittle hair. That's huge for me, I've never really done it before! Maybe once with an opinel but I couldn't repeat it.
PXL_20220528_233137286-ImResizer.jpg
This one as well, one of my first successful freehand reprofile jobs, that whittled the heck out of some hair this afternoon with the new strops I made!
:bug-white-red I like using my brain around people smarter than myself.
User avatar
u.w.
Member
Posts: 570
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:25 am
Location: VABch

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1342

Post by u.w. »

Geometry wrote:
Sat May 28, 2022 6:35 pm
I got a couple new things to try! 1 micron and 0.1 micron gunny juice.

PXL_20220528_232920371-ImResizer.jpg


Today with the new compound, I got it to whittle hair. That's huge for me, I've never really done it before! Maybe once with an opinel but I couldn't repeat it.

PXL_20220528_233137286-ImResizer.jpg

This one as well, one of my first successful freehand reprofile jobs, that whittled the heck out of some hair this afternoon with the new strops I made!

HUGE congratulations on your achievements! Very, Very Impressive!
and
Thanks for sharing

u.w.
ncrockclimb
Member
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2014 9:38 am

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1343

Post by ncrockclimb »

This is my first edge created with my new Venev stones. I went all in, re-profiling to 12 DPS with the F80, then working all the way up to F1500 (~2 micron). I then did a few passes on 1, .5 and .1 micron diamond paste on leather. I still cannot get a blade to whittle hair, but it will pop hairs off my arm and push cut phone book paper against the grain.

I LOVE the Venev stones!! However, the time to get this type of edge is really excessive when compared to the low-grit edges I have been creating recently.

Image
User avatar
Geometry
Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2022 3:43 pm

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1344

Post by Geometry »

ncrockclimb wrote:
Sun May 29, 2022 3:21 pm

Image
Looks awesome!
:bug-white-red I like using my brain around people smarter than myself.
User avatar
Geometry
Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2022 3:43 pm

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1345

Post by Geometry »

Tonight I worked on a used zdp delica my brother in law picked up, it was rough! I should have taken a before shot.

Never experienced zdp, it came up great! I still consider myself a novice freehand sharpener, but I'm starting to understand the feel, and I can see a tiny burr in the right light. Coupled with the gunny juice 1 and 0.1 micron spray I got last week, this is the sharpest I've ever made a sharp thing sharp.
PXL_20220603_003741151-ImResizer.jpg
PXL_20220603_001053045-ImResizer.jpg
:bug-white-red I like using my brain around people smarter than myself.
User avatar
TkoK83Spy
Member
Posts: 12445
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:32 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1346

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Nicely done on a well loved knife!
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
ncrockclimb
Member
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2014 9:38 am

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1347

Post by ncrockclimb »

I was not happy with the last edge I put on this knife a few weeks ago (12 dps 600 KME diamond plate + 15 dps brown sharpmaker). The "toothiness" seemed to deteriorate quickly after touching it up on the brown rods. I am also incredibly enamored with my new Venev stones and was looking for an excuse to use them again. :)

Today, I developed and removed a burr with both the F80 and F150 stones. I then finished with a some VERY light edge-forward passes with the F150, then 2 or three VERY light passes on a .5 micron diamond paste strop. The edge will shave and has a lot of tooth. It bites into my thumbnail A LOT and feels sticky-sharp. I had planned to finish on F240 or F400, but the edge from the F150 was so clean I decided to stop there.

I cannot say enough good things about the Venev stones. They are a joy to work with and leave a very subtle scratch pattern. I find it much easier to get a "clean" edge with low grit Venev stones than I did with KME or DMT. In short, Venev is 100% worth the money and awesome to work with.

Image

Image
metaphoricalsimile
Member
Posts: 554
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:56 pm

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1348

Post by metaphoricalsimile »

I was really fed up with how poorly my SE Dragonfly slices, and had zero patience for slowly wearing away the tips through routine sharpening, so I did a rapid de-pointification with a flat diamond stone, then blended the flattened peaks with the grey sharpmaker stone, all free-hand. I still don't like how it cuts compared to my PE K390 Dfly, but it's *way* better than it was.

Image
User avatar
TkoK83Spy
Member
Posts: 12445
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:32 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1349

Post by TkoK83Spy »

I just recently got through doing, the same intentions with my SE Dragonfly, but using CBN rods at 17.5 degrees. Rounded scallops are cutting much better!

Image
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
metaphoricalsimile
Member
Posts: 554
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:56 pm

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1350

Post by metaphoricalsimile »

TkoK83Spy wrote:
Thu Jun 09, 2022 6:56 pm
I just recently got through doing, the same intentions with my SE Dragonfly, but using CBN rods at 17.5 degrees. Rounded scallops are cutting much better!
Yours is better than mine! I need to get an actual sharpmaker and either CBN or Diamond rods so I don't have to fully freehand this kind of thing. I just opened a bunch of mail (in envelopes) with mine, and the PE tip did wonders, but the scallops still got hung up trying to slice through the tops of envelopes.

Was your dragonfly similar to mine in that it was about the pointiest serration I'd ever seen on a Spyderco?
User avatar
TkoK83Spy
Member
Posts: 12445
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:32 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1351

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Sure was!

Image
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
vivi
Member
Posts: 13846
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:15 am

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1352

Post by vivi »

Reset the edge on my Pacific Salt. Trying out 400 grit this time.

Image
:unicorn
User avatar
BearShark44
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:22 pm

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1353

Post by BearShark44 »

New to sharpening, thanks everyone for the great information on this forum. After too many hours researching, I decided I want to freehand sharpen bc (1) cool skill and (2) not beholden to parts discontinuing for guided systems.

I have Spyderco PM steel in K390, M390, Max, so planning to get Naniwa Diamond 600, 1000, and strop w/ 1 micron spray. Obvi that’s debatable, but got to start somewhere.

What I still can’t figure out is sharpening timing.
  • What is dull for a daily carry for a normal person?
    How often do you sharpen?
    Obvi sharp is preferential, but I figure it’s best to sharpen as infrequently as possible for the longevity of the knife and blade shape, right?
Hair whittling and push cutting paper towels is cool, but I’m fine if that novelty only lasts for the bit right after sharpening (if I can even get the edge there). I don’t need that all the time.
But my Delica and PM2 still fly through cardboard on an angle with some force after an entire year of moderate use. So, I thought I’d post this question on timing.
:bug-white-red :camping MT39P-15V, MT33P-Rex76; Sage1-Maxamet, Endela-K390, Delica4-M390, PM2-K390, PM2-S30v, Dragonfly2-SB, AmbitiousSE-8Cr13MoV; others TBD
User avatar
TkoK83Spy
Member
Posts: 12445
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:32 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1354

Post by TkoK83Spy »

If you're new to sharpening, do you happen to have any other knives, maybe cheaper ones that you could practice on? Maxamet and K390 could be difficult to work with for a beginner.

As for your questions...you came to the WRONG PLACE if looking for "normal person" mentality about knives around here! :zany

But honestly, for me once a knife can no longer scrape shave arm hair or easily slice through a piece of copy paper, then it's time for a touch up.

Sharpening and touching up are two different things in my eyes. I only sharpen when I'm ready to put on a completely different edge. Whether it's using a different grit or knocking off a few degrees to thin it out. Touching up, I touch up whatever knife I'm using maybe every other day? (I work in a warehouse and cut a lot of different things 6 days a week, I probably use mine a little more than the average person on a daily basis, so keep that in mind as well)

Quick touch ups, that last maybe 5 minutes won't wear on your blades nearly as quickly as if you let your knife get completely dull and then need to do a full sharpening. As I mentioned earlier with your Maxamet and K390 blades, as a beginner sharpener...I'd make sure to touch those up often, as giving either of those a full sharpening as a novice most likely would be very difficult and frustrating.

Also, if eventually looking to sharpen and reprofile/reset your edge, you will want to look into some more coarse grit options in the 200-300 range. Those will be much more abrasive and save A TON of time on a reprofile. Those options you currently have will be excellent for touch ups.

Best of luck, keep us posted!
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
Wandering_About
Member
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:06 am
Location: Earth probably?

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1355

Post by Wandering_About »

BearShark44 wrote:
Fri Jun 10, 2022 1:39 am
New to sharpening, thanks everyone for the great information on this forum. After too many hours researching, I decided I want to freehand sharpen bc (1) cool skill and (2) not beholden to parts discontinuing for guided systems.

I have Spyderco PM steel in K390, M390, Max, so planning to get Naniwa Diamond 600, 1000, and strop w/ 1 micron spray. Obvi that’s debatable, but got to start somewhere.

What I still can’t figure out is sharpening timing.
  • What is dull for a daily carry for a normal person?
    How often do you sharpen?
    Obvi sharp is preferential, but I figure it’s best to sharpen as infrequently as possible for the longevity of the knife and blade shape, right?
Hair whittling and push cutting paper towels is cool, but I’m fine if that novelty only lasts for the bit right after sharpening (if I can even get the edge there). I don’t need that all the time.
But my Delica and PM2 still fly through cardboard on an angle with some force after an entire year of moderate use. So, I thought I’d post this question on timing.
As a warning, though the Naniwa Diamond stones do work, they are extremely slow cutting stones. I'd actually probably recommend Atoma diamond plates to start, as you will see results much faster. The Naniwa diamond stones work better as a finishing stone in my experience. A 400(or 600, depends on how fast you want to remove steel) and 1200 Atoma plate will do you well and be a much less expensive start than two Naniwa diamond stones.
Because desolate places allow us to breathe. And most people don't even know they're out of breath.

MNOSD member #0035
Wandering_About
Member
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:06 am
Location: Earth probably?

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1356

Post by Wandering_About »

Okay, so some folks here convinced me that I'd better try some H1 before it becomes H2, so I caved and got a Pacific Salt 2. The edge had a messy burr from the factory, so I went ahead to reprofile it and put a fresh edge on. After fighting this edge for quite some time: First impression is that this stuff can make nightmare burrs. I fought and fought and will have to revisit at a later date. I got it somewhat sharp, but the edge is not great. At one point I even ground the edge/burr off on a stone and started over. Have some semblance of an edge on the knife, but it's a long way from my standard. I also kissed the top of the hollow grind with the Atoma 140 a few times. It's been a while since I reprofiled a knife with this kind of short hollow grind.

Image
Because desolate places allow us to breathe. And most people don't even know they're out of breath.

MNOSD member #0035
Wandering_About
Member
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:06 am
Location: Earth probably?

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1357

Post by Wandering_About »

Reprofiled my S110V UKPK, and the S110V Native finally needed a touch up on proper stones (after like 2 or 3 months of being my most carried knife).

Image

The Native was not dull by any means. Sharp, but overstropped for my preference. Had a couple tiny edge issues that a strop would not take out also. So it was no challenge to get back to good sharpness. S110V is good stuff, at least for my uses. It does not deburr as well as some other steels, but I still find it very reasonable to sharpen on diamond abrasives.
Because desolate places allow us to breathe. And most people don't even know they're out of breath.

MNOSD member #0035
vivi
Member
Posts: 13846
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:15 am

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1358

Post by vivi »

vivi wrote:
Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:19 am
Reset the edge on my Pacific Salt. Trying out 400 grit this time.

Image
Carried this guy every day since this post, using it daily. it still shaves. not bad for h1!
:unicorn
Soanso McMasters
Member
Posts: 557
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:07 am

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1359

Post by Soanso McMasters »

vivi wrote:
Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:52 pm
vivi wrote:
Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:19 am
Reset the edge on my Pacific Salt. Trying out 400 grit this time.

Image
Carried this guy every day since this post, using it daily. it still shaves. not bad for h1!
Do you think there is a steel that could unseat H1 for you? If so, what attributes would it have, and if not, why?
vivi
Member
Posts: 13846
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:15 am

Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#1360

Post by vivi »

if there were something rust proof and equally as tough, but harder, that would do it.

I love H1 but when I compare it to K390 there's a difference in edge stability I can notice.

If there were something tough like H1 but also very resistant to deformation at the apex like K390, that would get my attention.
:unicorn
Post Reply