Sharpening S90V on Sharpmaker?

[Fanch_Man]

I'm really interested in the upcoming CF/Ti Millie from KW, but I'm a little apprehensive about my ability to sharpen S90V given my limited experience, and that mostly with softer steels. Basically, is it something I can do with a Sharpmaker and minimal experience? So far I've only got the basic setup, but I would like to add the diamond and super fine stones soon. Is there anything else I would need to get a hair whittling edge?

As always, many thanks!

[Tdog]

I would definitely add the diamond or CBN rods for sharpening not only the S90v, but all the different steels. My super fine stones are rarely used. I actually prefer the edge of the brown stones on many knives....and they are still very sharp. Good luck. :spyder:

[abbazaba]

Best advice might be to not let it get dull. Touch it up often on fine rods and you should be able to keep it shaving sharp without much issue. If it gets bad, the Diamond rods will be needed to reprofile the bevel. The Diamond rods are a great investment IMO.

[Water Bug]

+1 on investing in a set of Spyderco Tri-Angle Diamond Stones (204D). I've found these stones to be a must-have item for the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker... they've helped me tackle some really dull edges.

And, +1 on occasionally touching up a knife's edge (no matter what the steel) and not letting it go dull... saves a lot of sharpening time.

[farnorthdan]

For the tougher steels I tend to agree with others that it's best to keep the edge touched up often. I prefer a fixed angle system (I use the Edge Pro) if I decide to change the profile or the edge requires major repair but once that's done I return to the SM for normal maintenance. You can use the SM with diamond rods or the CBN (I have a set of diamond) to achieve the same as a fixed system but man it takes a lot longer, for me anyways. I know there are some guys around here though that can work some real magic with the SM. :)

[toomzz]

I'm really interested in the upcoming CF/Ti Millie from KW, but I'm a little apprehensive about my ability to sharpen S90V given my limited experience, and that mostly with softer steels. Basically, is it something I can do with a Sharpmaker and minimal experience? So far I've only got the basic setup, but I would like to add the diamond and super fine stones soon. Is there anything else I would need to get a hair whittling edge?

As always, many thanks!

hey Fanchman, yes you can. Don't worry about your lack of experience, it will grow. White (fine) and brown (medium) rods will take you a long way. That ultrafine rod is a good addition. Be careful with diamond, I only use them to reprofile or when blades are extreme dull. You can ruin a still decent edge with that, it eats steel for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use the sm-set for many decades and learned to sharpen freehand with the rods, no need for the stand. Finally get yourself a good leather strop or make one. Loaded with a nice compound it will do the finishing to a hair whittling edge Have confidence, you will get there....

[Fanch_Man]

Y'all are fantastic - thank you all for the great posts! Very informative and encouraging at the same time. I think I may just give it a go!

[bearfacedkiller]

The UF are overkill. The diamond rods are mandatory. The brown rods can produce a hair whittling edge. The white and brown rods will maintain an edge very well but if you ever need to reprofile you will be happy to have the diamond rods. The sharpmaker can easily sharpen S90V if the sharpener has the ability. I do it all the time. If you need help just ask. :)

[Brock O Lee]

Standard SM plus diamond rods are pretty capable. There are easier ways to reprofile/recut the bevel on S90V, but if you have the diamond rods you'll be fine. I agree that the UF rods are a nice-to-have.

[Surfingringo]

Everyone else already has it covered but I'll throw in my agreement. The sharpmaker will handle s90v just fine. You absolutely want to get the diamond rods for maintaining your bevel. As far as reprofiling, I don't find s90v really much harder to work with than s30v and the like. It is a bit harder to get it to atom splitting levels of sharpness but that is more about the steel, not which sharpening media you are using. You are 100% ready to go with the SM and s90v.

[Evil D]

The only real issues are time and edge damage. Time, because steels like this sharpen just like any other steel, they just take more time and more of the same thing to get the same results. And edge damage, because honing out chips from a steel like this is going to take even more time even with diamond rods.

[Able Dog]

I'd highly recommend picking up the diamond or CBN rods. They make all sharpening easier.

Without them trying to set an initial apex with the brown stones takes a long time. When using the right tools I'm less inclined to take shortcuts or make mistakes. From there, simply refining the edge with the brown/white rods is easy.

[Brock O Lee]

I agree David, fixing up edge damage like grinding out visible chips changes the picture completely. In theory the SM diamond rods can reprofile and file down any steel... In practice I usually run out of patience after 5 mins, and grab either the Edge Pro 120 grit, DMT x-coarse/coarse diafold, or DMT bench stone.

I would say the SM plus diamond rods are the bare minimum to get a resonably dull edge back up to speed in a reasonable amount of time. But I like to have at least one coarser option to chew away steel quicker when necessary, like a DMT. It just makes life with the high wear resistant steels so much easier.

[tripscheck'em]

I'm really interested in the upcoming CF/Ti Millie from KW, but I'm a little apprehensive about my ability to sharpen S90V given my limited experience, and that mostly with softer steels. Basically, is it something I can do with a Sharpmaker and minimal experience? So far I've only got the basic setup, but I would like to add the diamond and super fine stones soon. Is there anything else I would need to get a hair whittling edge?

As always, many thanks!

maybe a strop and some buffing compound

[toomzz]

The UF are overkill. The diamond rods are mandatory.

IMHO that depends on how you treat your edges. UF as well as diamond has pros and cons. It is a matter of opinion. I use diamond for reprofiling or resharpen strongly blunted knives but prefer doing so on a wicked edge in a fixed position on which I can work down all the diamond grit-numbers 100-200, 400-600, 800-1000 on to ceramics and stropping. I think, IMHO, that the UF rods are not an overkill. They do make a difference, you can feel and hear it when they stroke the edge compared to 'normal' fine. They do remove that last micro-blur and provide a whittling sharp edge.

[Surfingringo]

The UF are overkill. The diamond rods are mandatory.

IMHO that depends on how you treat your edges. UF as well as diamond has pros and cons. It is a matter of opinion. I use diamond for reprofiling or resharpen strongly blunted knives but prefer doing so on a wicked edge in a fixed position on which I can work down all the diamond grit-numbers 100-200, 400-600, 800-1000 on to ceramics and stropping. I think, IMHO, that the UF rods are not an overkill. They do make a difference, you can feel and hear it when they stroke the edge compared to 'normal' fine. They do remove that last micro-blur and provide a whittling sharp edge.

Whittle hair? So will the fine rods, and even the brown mediums. I own the UF rods and they have some novelty value, but mainly I use them as posts to which I attach a pair of fine/ef DMT diafolds. I'll agree with you that for some users and uses the UF rods are more useful than for others, but for the most part I'm on board with Darby that they are overkill. I'm glad they exist and I'm glad I own them but of the 4 sets of rods, I think they are probably the least essential for most folks.

p.s. I'll also agree with you that it's a matter of opinion so I thought I'd throw mine in there. :D

[bearfacedkiller]

The UF are overkill. The diamond rods are mandatory.

IMHO that depends on how you treat your edges. UF as well as diamond has pros and cons. It is a matter of opinion. I use diamond for reprofiling or resharpen strongly blunted knives but prefer doing so on a wicked edge in a fixed position on which I can work down all the diamond grit-numbers 100-200, 400-600, 800-1000 on to ceramics and stropping. I think, IMHO, that the UF rods are not an overkill. They do make a difference, you can feel and hear it when they stroke the edge compared to 'normal' fine. They do remove that last micro-blur and provide a whittling sharp edge.

i agree with you. If you have and use a guided system for reprofiling then the UF rods very well could have more value. :p

Franch said that he had the basic sharpmaker kit and that he wanted to pick up the diamond and UF rods and that he wanted to use it to mainain S90V. My point was simply that in that situation that the diamond rods are a must and that the UF rods can be added later. I can get some steels to whittle hairs with the medium rods and I can get the rest of them to do it with the fine rods. I own the UF rods and I sometimes break them out, usually with super blue when i want to get crazy sharp. i am glad i have them and i would buy them again and I would never try to talk someone out of adding them to their arsenal. The OP was specifically asking about maintaing S90V with just the sharpmaker and I do think that in that situation that the diamaond rods are many times more valuable than the UF rods and I do not think that you need the UF rods to get scary sharp and carve hairs.

I agree though, you can feel the difference between the UF and the Fine when you put the steel to the stone. The UF rods ae much finer and will poduce and almost polished edge. :) They will make my SB Delica the sharpest knife I own. It won't even whittle a hair because it just cuts right through on contact. :D

[Bloke]

I say buy the knife and diamond rods!

One of the first things I learned from the brothers that posted above when I first joined the forum was that you don't need a super fine polished edge to get your knife sharp!

It took a bit to sink in, but I'm glad it has!

I don't think you need UF rods. :)

[dplafoll]

Definitely get the diamond or CBN rods before the UF rods. As for sharpening S90V, I've just started giving my Nirvana its first work on the Sharpmaker. I used my diamond rods to even up the angles a bit (they weren't crazy different, but one was between 15-20 degrees and the other is right at 15). I am still on the mediums since I ran out of time last night, but I'm definitely seeing results. I think for S90V it's about patience and the willingness to put in the strokes. If you have a fancier sharpener you'll probably have an easier time, but I think the Sharpmaker is more than adequate.

[Evil D]

It's probably all in my head but I always use my UF rods. I also can't seem to get an edge anywhere near as sharp as some of you guys seem to get off the brown rods. But, if I do a few passes on the fine and ultra fine it gets me there.