New Stones, Much Joy

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
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RustyIron
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New Stones, Much Joy

#1

Post by RustyIron »

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.
IMG_5416.jpeg

This is my Maxamet blade. I never thought I'd get this knife this nice.
IMG_5478.jpeg

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.
Photo on 2-13-20 at 5.42 PM.jpg
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Bloke
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Re: New Stones, Much Joy

#2

Post by Bloke »

Nicely done, Rusty! :cool:

I challenge myself to sharpen everything with SiC stones but if I’m not getting the desired results and getting a little frustrated I use either a 1200grit Venev bonded diamond or CBN hone ... happy days. Plus I’m anal about flat stones. The Venevs come fairly flat but I fatten them before use, easily with loose grit SiC and water on a sheet of glass.

Other than Sharpmaker rods I’ll never buy or use spayed on diamond or CBN hones again. :)
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
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curlyhairedboy
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Re: New Stones, Much Joy

#3

Post by curlyhairedboy »

I've heard only good things about the diamond matrix stones. I wonder if somewhere down the line there could be a Sharpmaker set.
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!
pantagana23
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Re: New Stones, Much Joy

#4

Post by pantagana23 »

RustyIron wrote:
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.
IMG_5416.jpeg


This is my Maxamet blade. I never thought I'd get this knife this nice.
IMG_5478.jpeg


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.
Photo on 2-13-20 at 5.42 PM.jpg
Please take pics of the stones and everyting + give us some info on pricing and how to get it (links please :D )

I have a fair amount of knives now, and use only Fallkniven DC521.

Although I can get my knives sharper than dull, never to the edge I got from factory. Ok this is also due to the fact I can't seem to keep an angle, making secondary bevels convex always.

Been thinking of Sharpmaker as a "sharpening for dummies" for a while, at least to keep the angle, but this seems powerful
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RustyIron
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Re: New Stones, Much Joy

#5

Post by RustyIron »

It'a all from Edgepro, but before you throw down on new stones, you might want to focus on improving accuracy of your angles. It's not all about the rocks. It's about the guy (or girl) rubbing metal on them.
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