Community Sharpening Journal

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
soc_monki
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#501

Post by soc_monki »

vivi wrote:
Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:00 am
Deburring on stones is exactly what you should be doing.

Bare strops won't make much difference.

Strops loaded with traditional buffing compound will make a little difference.

Strops loaded with diamond compounds will make a bigger difference.

If I were you I'd head over to www.gritomatic.com and look up their diamond stropping paste. I use the chapstick tube style paste in 7 micron and get very good results. It's only $6 or so.
Ok, so not seeing much difference is normal. I always, to the best of my ability, deburr on the stones and continually check with my fingernail. When I don't detect a burr on either side I consider my job done. I might pick up some of that paste though and see if a few passes give me that little bit more.

Edit : Just ordered the 7 micron paste, we will see what happens when it gets here!
:respect Spyderco : Resilience, Tenacious, Persistence, Manix 2 G10, Para 3 G10, Para 3 LW, Paramilitary 2,
BBS Paramilitary 2, Amalgam, Native Chief, Blade HQ Manix 2 XL, S30V Shaman, Gayle Bradley 2, DLC M4 Shaman, Magnitude, Z Wear Shaman, DLC S30V Shaman, Stretch 2, Kapara, CF/S90V Native Chief, Endela, K390 Endura, DLT 20cv Zome Endela x 2, Police 4 LW K390, SNK Native Chief, SNK Manix 2 XL, K390 Stretch 2, Stretch 2 XL, K390 Endela
The Meat man
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#502

Post by The Meat man »

In accordance with your wishes*, so far this month I have been carrying only my Pacific Salt SE.

I've been maintaining the factory edge regularly, no microbevel. The edge bevel is 16.4 degrees. I sharpen it using the Sharpmaker 15 dps setting, with 4 quarters stacked underneath the end to raise the angle.

My method thus far has been to sharpen the edge using only the CBN rods and de-burr the non-presentation side with feather-light strokes on either the medium or the ultra-fine rods. Sometimes I'll strop the edge a few times using a CBN impregnated dowel rod, but most times I finish just off the stones. I've been able to maintain the edge this way easily, with no issues. It's not perfect maybe, but I can always get the knife shaving sharp and able to push cut phonebook paper. It's a fairly coarse edge but it works fine, plus the faster I can round the teeth down a bit, the better.

Today I decided to add a bit of refinement and went from the CBN to the brown medium rods, de-burring off the UF. Wow! This thing is sharper than ever, plus I found it easier to de-burr off the less aggressive ceramic rods versus the CBN. I think I'm going to stick with this edge style for awhile now and see how it compares.

Image


* viewtopic.php?f=2&t=87206
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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kennethsime
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#503

Post by kennethsime »

I came across these little Nano Shield Wedge Angle Guides on Amazon while browsing the r/sharpening subreddit.

Has anyone used something like this with good results?

I've been looking for a more flexible solution than the Sharpmaker, without spending way too much money. Am I crazy to think that I might be able to get some pretty decent results if I combine these with the Spyderco bench stones?
I'm happiest with Micarta and Tool Steel.

Top four in rotation: K390 + GCM PM2, ZCarta Shaman, Crucarta PM2, K390 + GCM Straight Spine Stretch.
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Cambertree
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#504

Post by Cambertree »

kennethsime wrote:
Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:24 pm
I came across these little Nano Shield Wedge Angle Guides on Amazon while browsing the r/sharpening subreddit.

Has anyone used something like this with good results?

I've been looking for a more flexible solution than the Sharpmaker, without spending way too much money. Am I crazy to think that I might be able to get some pretty decent results if I combine these with the Spyderco bench stones?
I haven’t used those guides before, Kenneth, but I believe Doeswhateveraspidercan tried them. I haven’t seen him here for a minute, but his remarks on using them may even be earlier in this thread, if you read through it from the start.

You should be able to get good results using the Spyderco stones with a Sharpmaker. However, I would tend to recommend a coarse benchstone to remove material and thin out your edge areas. You can then go straight to the Sharpmaker to apply a microbevel, or use the Spyderco stones to polish it up a bit more before going to the Sharpmaker.

The double sided Norton Crystolon silicon carbide stone is inexpensive and will reliably cut any type of steel.
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JakeXman
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#505

Post by JakeXman »

I made a nasty burr while reprofiling my tenacious. What’s the best way to knock it off?
Tenacious G10 PE, Tasman Salt 2 PE, Tasman Salt 2 SE, Yojimbo 2, KJ Endura 4 D.P.S. 15 VG-10, LadyBug K390, TKJ Jester 20CV, UKPK Salt, Crucarta PM2, 204 Sharpmaker
SubMicron
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#506

Post by SubMicron »

JakeXman wrote:
Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:30 pm
I made a nasty burr while reprofiling my tenacious. What’s the best way to knock it off?
Without knowing what sharpening tools that are available to you, the best thing I can say is to use alternating passes with light pressure.
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bbturbodad
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#507

Post by bbturbodad »

SubMicron wrote:
Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:07 pm
JakeXman wrote:
Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:30 pm
I made a nasty burr while reprofiling my tenacious. What’s the best way to knock it off?
Without knowing what sharpening tools that are available to you, the best thing I can say is to use alternating passes with light pressure.
If it's flipping from side to side but and still won't come off, you can try pulling the edge through a soft piece of wood or an old tightly rolled terrycloth towel.

Unrelated but to keep the thread going...

Today I finally got around to sharpening my 4v Native. I usually keep the factory angles for the first few sharpenings and then gradually work to a more acute angle but the factory grind was so uneven I decided to try using the Sharpmaker to take it to 15° dps. I started with the CBN rods and planned to take to it to a polished edge but it felt so good after the CBN I just gave it a few passes on a 1 micron basswood strop and called it good.

Image
-Turbo
vivi
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#508

Post by vivi »

Image

Image



Harbor Freight 200 grit diamond plate, DMT X coarse to clean up the bevel, 10 strokes per side at a more obtuse angle on a Spyderco medium stone, one stroke per side 7 micron diamond paste loaded leather strop at the same angle as the medium stone.
:unicorn
skeeg11
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#509

Post by skeeg11 »

10 DPS with 15 DPS microbevel? Just guessing. Can LC200n comfortably support such acuity? Still anxiously awaiting your experience and review of the Siren.
The Meat man
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#510

Post by The Meat man »

skeeg11 wrote:
Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:12 pm
10 DPS with 15 DPS microbevel? Just guessing. Can LC200n comfortably support such acuity? Still anxiously awaiting your experience and review of the Siren.
I've run similar geometry on my LC200N Autonomy 2 and it has held up fine.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
vivi
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#511

Post by vivi »

skeeg11 wrote:
Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:12 pm
10 DPS with 15 DPS microbevel? Just guessing. Can LC200n comfortably support such acuity? Still anxiously awaiting your experience and review of the Siren.
I won't bore anyone with the details but I had some things to take care of during this week and last. I've started writing my Siren review and will do my best to post it this weekend.

The edge is free hand so I can't be sure what the bevel angle is. But it's definitely thinner than 15dps. I'm confident it'll hold up for my uses since I've run VG10 at similar angles, and LC200N is basically rust proof VG10 in my experience.
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Cambertree
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#512

Post by Cambertree »

I’ve been running my Caribbean at about that angle and it’s had a little bit of edge damage. I haven’t been babying it at all though. Using the 15dps Sharpmaker microbevel on an acutely ground edge is self correcting - as you continue to touch up the edge, it gradually thickens and becomes more durable.

Image

Overall it’s been fine though. I wanted to take advantage of the relatively low carbonitride volume to grind an edge more like a kitchen knife. It’s very slicy and easy to resharpen.
vivi
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#513

Post by vivi »

With the weather cooling off I wanted my Police 4 K390 ready to go. The edge it had was pretty bad, it had been used until it was really dull.

I reset the edge on a 300 grit diamond plate. Once I had a burr coming up on either side, I switched to a lighter pressure and deburred as best I could on that stone. It could scrape shave. Then I gave each side a few passes on a strop loaded with 7 micron diamond paste.

Image

It's a very aggressive edge. I tested it out on some rope and plastic wrap and it really bites into materials.

This will contrast nicely with my polished VG10 Police 3 optimized for push cutting. My VG10 Police 4 Lightweight is ground on a DMT coarse then given a microbevel on medium spyderco stones, so it falls it the middle.
Cambertree wrote:
Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:59 am
I’ve been running my Caribbean at about that angle and it’s had a little bit of edge damage. I haven’t been babying it at all though. Using the 15dps Sharpmaker microbevel on an acutely ground edge is self correcting - as you continue to touch up the edge, it gradually thickens and becomes more durable.

Overall it’s been fine though. I wanted to take advantage of the relatively low carbonitride volume to grind an edge more like a kitchen knife. It’s very slicy and easy to resharpen.
That's been my experience too at very thin angles. I'd see a bit of damage along the apex sometimes but a few passes at 15 degrees and it'd sharpen right out.
:unicorn
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Abyss_Fish
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#514

Post by Abyss_Fish »

Recently reprofiled ALL of my spydercos (ow my hands). Here's what I've found interesting from the experience.

This was my first foray into PROPER sharpening. Fully decked out kme. The goal was to even out the base of the edges on all my knives. sharpening out a slight recurve on my watu, removing unsharpened bits on my waterway, native, and laydybug. and just generally fixing up my spydiechef. All were full reprofiles. So, K390, 20CV, LC200N. I was pleasantly surprised. They're all about on par with each other in terms of sharpenability. I had maybe a little more trouble getting a burr with 20cv, at least on the higher grit plates. And I found some interesting bits about the grinds on all my knives. All were at a no frills 20dps, it's what my kitchen knives are roughly at, those work great so 20 it is. As such I can clearly see which of my knives is the thinnest behind the edge.

The native is far and away the thickest, although it gets brownie points for having a 100% even grind.

The spydiechef is just BARELY thicker behind the edge than the rest. And came with a really tall uneven bevel. I still haven't totally fixed that. It's also (at my estemation) run a bit harder than the native, since it was a little bit less receptive to the lower grits.

The waterway is a slicey boy. This thing is a testament to how wonderful lc200n is. I have beat the snot out of this, more than any other of my knives, with minimal upkeep. Not a chip in sight. And even with how thin the edge is it can plow through whatever I throw it at. Wasn't to bad to sharpen out the nub on this one, although it's likely a little thicker at the belly then it is at the tip or base.

And tied for thinnest it's the Watu and the Ladybug. Yes the Watu is as thin behind the edge as the ladybug. Yes you should buy one. The ladybug wasn't too bad, k390 isn't as scary as I thought it was. Although it kicked up more metal than any of the others... And one concerning bit on the watu is that there appears to be a thinner spot about a milimeter from the base of the edge. I'm really hoping this is either not going through the full height of the blade or is caused by user error because that would be a not so fun structural problem.

All in all. Lc200n is still wonderful, K390 isn't too scary and is great at cutting through cinder blocks, 20cv is a wonderful all arounder, and they're all just about as easy to sharpen. The occasional 10 minute touch up session will keep these guys trucking for ages.
Lightly insane.

Current spydie collection: Watu, Rhino, UKPK Salt G10 bladeswap, Yojimbo 2 Smooth G10 Cru-Wear, Manix lw “mystic” 20cv, SmallFly 2, Waterway, Ladybug k390, Caribbean
Current favorite steels: sg2/R2, lc200n/Z-FiNit, 3v
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kennethsime
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#515

Post by kennethsime »

Saw this lovely idea in one of the Spyderco Facebook groups today.

Image

Seems much more eye-friendly than a loupe, though it costs just over $100.

Anyone used something like this before?
I'm happiest with Micarta and Tool Steel.

Top four in rotation: K390 + GCM PM2, ZCarta Shaman, Crucarta PM2, K390 + GCM Straight Spine Stretch.
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RustyIron
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#516

Post by RustyIron »

kennethsime wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 10:27 pm
Anyone used something like this before?

Yes. I use a USB microscope that plugs into my computer, and the image shows up on my display. The one I use costs $39.95, but it's not as nice as the one in your picture.

I find it so handy that it's always plugged in and sitting on my desk. Mostly, it's an educational novelty more than it is a useful sharpening tool. I think it upped my game a when I first got it. I could have a blade that I thought was really nice, and then when examining it under the scope, see an area where I might have been lazy. So in that regard, it can be useful to a sharpener.
Nowadays, I have the most fun with it by examining blades periodically after use. You can see wear and damage as it occurs.

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Microsco ... B00XNYXQHE
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kennethsime
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#517

Post by kennethsime »

RustyIron wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 11:52 pm
Yes. I use a USB microscope that plugs into my computer, and the image shows up on my display. The one I use costs $39.95, but it's not as nice as the one in your picture.

I find it so handy that it's always plugged in and sitting on my desk. Mostly, it's an educational novelty more than it is a useful sharpening tool. I think it upped my game a when I first got it. I could have a blade that I thought was really nice, and then when examining it under the scope, see an area where I might have been lazy. So in that regard, it can be useful to a sharpener.
Nowadays, I have the most fun with it by examining blades periodically after use. You can see wear and damage as it occurs.

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Microsco ... B00XNYXQHE
Hey, that looks great Rusty Iron, thanks for sharing! Definitely more my speed.

I find myself interested in this stuff mostly because I experience a little eye pain after using a loupe + LED. A microscope with a digital display looks much more comfortable.
I'm happiest with Micarta and Tool Steel.

Top four in rotation: K390 + GCM PM2, ZCarta Shaman, Crucarta PM2, K390 + GCM Straight Spine Stretch.
hambone56rx
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#518

Post by hambone56rx »

vivi wrote:
Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:23 pm
skeeg11 wrote:
Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:12 pm
10 DPS with 15 DPS microbevel? Just guessing. Can LC200n comfortably support such acuity? Still anxiously awaiting your experience and review of the Siren.
I won't bore anyone with the details but I had some things to take care of during this week and last. I've started writing my Siren review and will do my best to post it this weekend.

The edge is free hand so I can't be sure what the bevel angle is. But it's definitely thinner than 15dps. I'm confident it'll hold up for my uses since I've run VG10 at similar angles, and LC200N is basically rust proof VG10 in my experience.
Vivi,

Do you have a way you’d recommend to get to about 10 degrees per side? Or just find 15 degrees on the sharpmaker that the knives are already for, then just go less than that?

I picked up a sharpmaker a couple months back, and have successfully sharpened my PM2 in S30V and M2 in Cruwear, but I’m having trouble with my Sliverax in S30V. I have used it a lot more than my PM2, so it was much more dull. But it seems like I’ve spent hours on the medium stones and it still isn’t sharp. Nothing near what I’ve gotten the PM2 to be.

So I assumed I need to get a lower grit stone. Trying to decide between doing your 10 degrees per side and a 15 degree microbevel with either a DMT or the new Spyderco CBN bench stone or picking up a CBN Sharpmaker rod.

Your recommendations sir? Thanks in advance!

Hamilton
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Menipo
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#519

Post by Menipo »

I am considering to buy a KME system. I have a Lansky system but for reasons which I cannot understand,sometimes the blades get scratched (though the stones are supposed to touch only the edge because of the angle). They are very supeficial scratches and cannot seen always (only with the proper angle and the proper light). My suspicion is that they are caused by the leather stropping hone. I use to put chromium oxide strop paste and I do not know if by putting pressure on a flexible material (leather) I end up touching the blade with the hone (in places where I should not) and scratch it.

Any way, as the KME system does the final polish with diamond lapping films mounted on a tempered glass blank, I was considering buying one. I have used the Lansky with cheap blades only precisely to avoid damaging the expensive blades of my collection if something was wrong (as it was in fact).

I understand that a guided system might sound as a heresy to the vast mayority of the Forumites here who master in free hand sharpening but I would appreciate any input on the KME system that any of you could share with me.
Si vis pacem para bellum ;)
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RustyIron
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Re: Community Sharpening Journal

#520

Post by RustyIron »

Menipo wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:21 pm
I understand that a guided system might sound as a heresy to the vast mayority of the Forumites here who master in free hand sharpening
Beware of following the pack. Emulate the average user, and you'll end up... average. I choose to use a guided system most of the time because I like the look of the results.
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