New Stones, Much Joy
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:57 pm
Although this isn't a Spyderco product, I found it to be complementary to my Spyderco enjoyment. I don't mean this to be a discussion of which style of sharpening is best, just what worked for me, with my existing gear, for this particular challenge.
The unique aspect of Spyderco is that they offer blades in a variety of non-standard materials that are hard to find elsewhere. The non-standard material that inspires me to make this post is Maxamet. I've been carrying this knife almost exclusively for probably six months. It has a lot of interesting characteristics that I find intriguing. It took a lot of experimentation to get it as good as I could, but the finished edge never gave me much joy. I could get a very sharp edge that lasts a long time,but it was just never quite as sharp as I could get other materials. Honestly, it might not make a lot of sense to be so concerned about a knife that goes with me every-where and gets used for every-thing. But nobody ever accused me of doing things that make a lot of sense. So I decided that Maxamet just might not be for me, and that I'd never buy another.
Then I had a chat a gentleman who makes diamond matrix stones. He is admittedly prejudiced in favor of his product, but still suggested that I might like his stones on Maxamet and other challenging steels. He doesn't sell direct, but sent me to Edgepro. I ordered up the Edgepro diamond matrix stones from 650 though 4k, and eagerly awaited their delivery. The Edgepro stones fit not only their own sharpening fixtures, but several others.
It's been a week or so and several knives since I got the new diamond matrix stones. Seriously? I'm blown away. With no great effort, I can put an edge on the Maxamet that I find nothing less than breathtaking. Its some of my sharpest work on a blade that two weeks ago I didn't like. My point is, if you're working with some exotic materials from Spyderco and are looking for something that might up your game, you might want to look into these Edgepro diamond matrix stones.
This shot is S30V. Sorry for the unsightly hair. I was playing around chopping them off.
This is my Maxamet blade. I never thought I'd get this knife this nice.
This is a close up of the Maxamet finished to 4k. I'm giving it a steeper angle over last time. It's fine. No need to waste metal.
The unique aspect of Spyderco is that they offer blades in a variety of non-standard materials that are hard to find elsewhere. The non-standard material that inspires me to make this post is Maxamet. I've been carrying this knife almost exclusively for probably six months. It has a lot of interesting characteristics that I find intriguing. It took a lot of experimentation to get it as good as I could, but the finished edge never gave me much joy. I could get a very sharp edge that lasts a long time,but it was just never quite as sharp as I could get other materials. Honestly, it might not make a lot of sense to be so concerned about a knife that goes with me every-where and gets used for every-thing. But nobody ever accused me of doing things that make a lot of sense. So I decided that Maxamet just might not be for me, and that I'd never buy another.
Then I had a chat a gentleman who makes diamond matrix stones. He is admittedly prejudiced in favor of his product, but still suggested that I might like his stones on Maxamet and other challenging steels. He doesn't sell direct, but sent me to Edgepro. I ordered up the Edgepro diamond matrix stones from 650 though 4k, and eagerly awaited their delivery. The Edgepro stones fit not only their own sharpening fixtures, but several others.
It's been a week or so and several knives since I got the new diamond matrix stones. Seriously? I'm blown away. With no great effort, I can put an edge on the Maxamet that I find nothing less than breathtaking. Its some of my sharpest work on a blade that two weeks ago I didn't like. My point is, if you're working with some exotic materials from Spyderco and are looking for something that might up your game, you might want to look into these Edgepro diamond matrix stones.
This shot is S30V. Sorry for the unsightly hair. I was playing around chopping them off.
This is my Maxamet blade. I never thought I'd get this knife this nice.
This is a close up of the Maxamet finished to 4k. I'm giving it a steeper angle over last time. It's fine. No need to waste metal.