Community Sharpening Journal

[soc_monki]

I like using paper towels. If you can cleanly slice a paper towel, thin paper like receipts or magazine paper really don't pose much of a challenge. It also almost instantly let's you know if there is a burr present since if you don't have a sharp apex it will stop cutting and either tear or not do anything at all. A knife with a burr can still cut paper. At least that's my experience.

I also use smoky mountain knife works catalogs. I get them in the mail every so often, and just rip a page out and check my blade. Really handy!

[TkoK83Spy]

So I decided I wanted to thin out this machete a bit and repair some pretty bad edge damage. Still needs a little work, but it was also more of a trial for me with free hand sharpening. I've done it before but scratched up the blade a bit, so I figured with this being beat up already it wouldn't really matter and is good for practice.

I was using my DMT Diasharp stone that has an extra coarse and coarse side to the stone. So far so good, even on the recurve portion of the blade. I can feel a nice edge beginning on a good portion of the blade. I find using the Michael Christy method of sharpening free handed, at least on this softer steel, seems to be working well for me so far.

[vivi]

I find my belt sander much more efficient for machetes. Mine have never been sharper :)

One thing I've realized about low grit edges is stropping plays a more important role.

Helps to give 200-400 grit edges that hair popping sharp refinement, and works well for touch-ups between sharpenings so not as much steel is being removed.

So over the weekend I ordered two new strops, some more 7 micron compound, and some 40 micron and 1 micron compound. This will give me some new options to try out.

[vivi]

This is concerning materials to test your blade sharpness or the lack thereof. For a long time I've used fairly thin paper like grocery store receipts or other similar types of paper for testing freshly sharpened edges. And I still think they are not bad for gauging your newly sharpened blades when nothing else is handy.

But I recently went back to using ZiG ZaG rolling papers ( cigarette rolling papers). I've found that cigarette rolling papers to be about the most flimsy paper I can find. Now I'm sure that there is even some difference between the wide selection of rolling papers on the market. If there is a rolling paper even more thin than ZiG ZaG I would love to know about it. I had an old machinist I used to work with all the way back to years 99-2000 show me about using cigarette rolling papers to test blade edges ( he rolled his own cigarettes).

I was told by a guy on another forum a couple of years ago that there is also a variant of typing paper called "Onion Skin" typing paper that is really very thin and flimsy and has similar results. So what do you guys think? Or is there some other material more superior for testing sharp edges?

I really had to work on my VG-10 TEMPERANCE 1 model quite a bit with my Spyderco Ultra-Fine stone to get it to go easily through ZiG ZaG Rolling paper. I try to keep a pack of rolling papers handy anymore.

I have an entire roll of receipt paper with my sharpening supplies. It works well

Recently I've been testing edges on plastic. I've found I can get a knife shaving sharp to where it cleanly slices paper, but it will skate over plastic packaging.

For example, take an empty clif bar wrapper, hold a corner in one hand, and try to slice it in half with your freshly sharpened knife. I've seen a lot of knives that felt perfectly sharp not be able to bite into it.

Shopping bags work too. Stab into one and try to cleanly slice through it. Shouldn't be an issue for a well sharpened edge but again, I've seen shaving sharp ones get hung up.

Plastic wrap is another. At work we use the 18" x 2000' rolls and often times someone loses the cutting edge and even the box.





So its nice knowing my pocket knife will cleanly slice it.

My SE Pacific Salt sometimes wanted to snag on this material, which is what led me to carry PE at work instead. For most my uses either work fine but PE wins here.

[JD Spydo]

This is concerning materials to test your blade sharpness or the lack thereof. For a long time I've used fairly thin paper like grocery store receipts or other similar types of paper for testing freshly sharpened edges. And I still think they are not bad for gauging your newly sharpened blades when nothing else is handy.

But I recently went back to using ZiG ZaG rolling papers ( cigarette rolling papers). I've found that cigarette rolling papers to be about the most flimsy paper I can find. Now I'm sure that there is even some difference between the wide selection of rolling papers on the market. If there is a rolling paper even more thin than ZiG ZaG I would love to know about it. I had an old machinist I used to work with all the way back to years 99-2000 show me about using cigarette rolling papers to test blade edges ( he rolled his own cigarettes).

I was told by a guy on another forum a couple of years ago that there is also a variant of typing paper called "Onion Skin" typing paper that is really very thin and flimsy and has similar results. So what do you guys think? Or is there some other material more superior for testing sharp edges?

I really had to work on my VG-10 TEMPERANCE 1 model quite a bit with my Spyderco Ultra-Fine stone to get it to go easily through ZiG ZaG Rolling paper. I try to keep a pack of rolling papers handy anymore.

I have an entire roll of receipt paper with my sharpening supplies. It works well

Recently I've been testing edges on plastic. I've found I can get a knife shaving sharp to where it cleanly slices paper, but it will skate over plastic packaging.

For example, take an empty clif bar wrapper, hold a corner in one hand, and try to slice it in half with your freshly sharpened knife. I've seen a lot of knives that felt perfectly sharp not be able to bite into it.

Shopping bags work too. Stab into one and try to cleanly slice through it. Shouldn't be an issue for a well sharpened edge but again, I've seen shaving sharp ones get hung up.

Plastic wrap is another. At work we use the 18" x 2000' rolls and often times someone loses the cutting edge and even the box.





So its nice knowing my pocket knife will cleanly slice it.

My SE Pacific Salt sometimes wanted to snag on this material, which is what led me to carry PE at work instead. For most my uses either work fine but PE wins here.

That's a good point you make there. I've used Saran Wrap and it's equivalent before to test sharpness but just kind of forgot about it for some reason. But I truly still believe that these extremely flimsy cigarette rolling papers do make for a good edge test. But I am going to take your advice and check out some plastic materials.

The Razor Edge Systems company has a type of plastic rod they use to gauge sharpness and I've found it quite interesting. And your blade has to have a really decent edge on it for it not to slide down that testing rod of theirs. The Razor Edge Company out of Ely Minnesota is more or less based on the meat cutting industry. It seems like that is their target market.

But I've kept all my stuff from Razor Edge that I bought some time back and they do have some interesting gear needless to say.

[bbturbodad]

So I decided I wanted to thin out this machete a bit and repair some pretty bad edge damage. Still needs a little work, but it was also more of a trial for me with free hand sharpening. I've done it before but scratched up the blade a bit, so I figured with this being beat up already it wouldn't really matter and is good for practice.

I was using my DMT Diasharp stone that has an extra coarse and coarse side to the stone. So far so good, even on the recurve portion of the blade. I can feel a nice edge beginning on a good portion of the blade. I find using the Michael Christy method of sharpening free handed, at least on this softer steel, seems to be working well for me so far.

That edge is looking good! Nice and even.

[bbturbodad]

I was told by a guy on another forum a couple of years ago that there is also a variant of typing paper called "Onion Skin" typing paper that is really very thin and flimsy and has similar results. So what do you guys think? Or is there some other material more superior for testing sharp edges?

I really had to work on my VG-10 TEMPERANCE 1 model quite a bit with my Spyderco Ultra-Fine stone to get it to go easily through ZiG ZaG Rolling paper. I try to keep a pack of rolling papers handy anymore.

I gave up smoking years ago and have never tested my edges with rolling paper, but maybe what he was referring to as "onion skin" are rice papers. They are very thin and translucent. They have a different texture than traditional papers, more of a slick feel kind of like receipt paper but much thinner. Elements and Swan are the two brands I remember but I know other brands make them too.

[TkoK83Spy]

So I decided I wanted to thin out this machete a bit and repair some pretty bad edge damage. Still needs a little work, but it was also more of a trial for me with free hand sharpening. I've done it before but scratched up the blade a bit, so I figured with this being beat up already it wouldn't really matter and is good for practice.

I was using my DMT Diasharp stone that has an extra coarse and coarse side to the stone. So far so good, even on the recurve portion of the blade. I can feel a nice edge beginning on a good portion of the blade. I find using the Michael Christy method of sharpening free handed, at least on this softer steel, seems to be working well for me so far.

That edge is looking good! Nice and even.

Yep! That's what I've impressed myself with so far, is how even it's looking. Gives me some confidence to free hand my 52100 Manix to something around 15-17 degrees. I keep reading how that steels performs better at lower angles, plus that knife isn't the most even on both sides as it is.

[vivi]

Got to try out some new compounds today.



Red = 40 micron
Green = 7 micron
Yellow = 1 micron

Really big fan of the 40 micron red. I think I will be using that to maintain my EDC between sharpenings on my 300 grit plate.

https://www.gritomatic.com/products/cow ... 3d7e&_ss=r - This is the strop I use. If you search for Venev you'll see the compounds.

[TkoK83Spy]

I really wish I could understand this stropping compound stuff, I'm honestly totally clueless. Heck, I don't think I even maintain or properly use my KnivesPlus strop as it is. Sometimes I feel I actually lose my edge, even with a couple light passes. Very frustrating.

[vivi]

I really wish I could understand this stropping compound stuff, I'm honestly totally clueless. Heck, I don't think I even maintain or properly use my KnivesPlus strop as it is. Sometimes I feel I actually lose my edge, even with a couple light passes. Very frustrating.

I felt that way before. There's a few things that helped me.

- Using a lighter touch
- Switching from regular buffing compound to diamond based compound
- Getting new strops

I don't know anything about maintaining strops. All I've ever done to my strops was rub more compound in them before each use.

[bbturbodad]

I really wish I could understand this stropping compound stuff, I'm honestly totally clueless. Heck, I don't think I even maintain or properly use my KnivesPlus strop as it is. Sometimes I feel I actually lose my edge, even with a couple light passes. Very frustrating.

I felt that way before. There's a few things that helped me.

- Using a lighter touch
- Switching from regular buffing compound to diamond based compound
- Getting new strops

I don't know anything about maintaining strops. All I've ever done to my strops was rub more compound in them before each use.

I like wood strops with CBN compounds. Load them up and reapply compound as needed until they get dark from steel. When they need to be refreshed I sand them down and start over. I also use fine stones (7 -2 micron range) with light stropping passes to maintain edges between sharpenings.

Wow 40 micron compound...that's like a Venev 240 grit stone!

[vivi]

I really wish I could understand this stropping compound stuff, I'm honestly totally clueless. Heck, I don't think I even maintain or properly use my KnivesPlus strop as it is. Sometimes I feel I actually lose my edge, even with a couple light passes. Very frustrating.

I felt that way before. There's a few things that helped me.

- Using a lighter touch
- Switching from regular buffing compound to diamond based compound
- Getting new strops

I don't know anything about maintaining strops. All I've ever done to my strops was rub more compound in them before each use.

I like wood strops with CBN compounds. Load them up and reapply compound as needed until they get dark from steel. When they need to be refreshed I sand them down and start over. I also use fine stones (7 -2 micron range) with light stropping passes to maintain edges between sharpenings.

Wow 40 micron compound...that's like a Venev 240 grit stone!

I've got a pack of square wood sticks I experimented with as strops, but never seemed to get the same results as leather.

That 40 micron compound is awesome. Works much faster than any other strop I've tried and leaves an edge that really grabs at my fingerprints.

[vivi]

So a while ago I tried these diamond plates from Harbor Freight out. Wasn't impressed. Didn't get good edges off of them holding them in my left hand and the knife in my right.



Today I decided to add some rubber feet to the bottom and try the 180 grit again. Reset the bevel on my chef knife I use at work. Here's a photo of the edge straight off the stone:



Very coarse edge. This stone reprofiles faster than any stone I've tried, second only to my powered equipment.

Despite the large crusty burr visible in that picture the knife could scrape shave right off this stone

I followed up with 5 passes per side on the sharpmaker at 15 degrees with brown rods, then finished with 3 passes per side on a 7 micrin diamond compound loaded strop.

I can run my nail down the edge and it feels very coarse, like its fresh off the 180 grit stone, but it sends arm hairs flying with a light touch. Excited to take it in to work tomorrow. It should push cut with ease, and once I've dulled it some it should still slice ripe tomatoes easily with the toothiness left on the apex.

[vivi]

Next up, my LC200N Pacific Salt.

Dulled it a bit at work and gave it a quick touch up. Four passes per side on a never been used fine sharpmaker rod setup free hand, then three passes per side on a 1 micron diamond paste strop. Very, very sharp. I plan to run polished edges on this knife until I get around to reprofiling it just to experience different finishes on LC200N.



Followed by my SE H1 Pacific 2.



Ground it on the brown sharpmaker rods at 20 degrees on the presentation side until I raised a burr. Worked it back and forth from that point until I had a crisp apex. Stropped on the corner of a leather strop with 7 micron paste. The PE tip pops hairs and the rest feels much sharper.

Now my Manix:



Wasn't shaving but was still pretty sharp. All I did was strop it four times per side with my 40 micron strop.

I've been using this for touch-ups on my M4 Manix and I really like the results. The edge I get is much, much more aggressive than with any other strop I've used. Really big fan of how this coarse diamond paste works for touch-ups.


Police 4 LW VG10:

Reset the edge on my 360 grit diamond plate, then did 2x strokes per side at a slightly more obtuse angle. Finished with 3 passes per side on the 40 micron strop.



Broke in the 260 grit plate with my Aqua Salt. Finished the edge with the 40 micron strop.

[hambone56rx]

Next up, my LC200N Pacific Salt.

Dulled it a bit at work and gave it a quick touch up. Four passes per side on a never been used fine sharpmaker rod setup free hand, then three passes per side on a 1 micron diamond paste strop. Very, very sharp. I plan to run polished edges on this knife until I get around to reprofiling it just to experience different finishes on LC200N.



Followed by my SE H1 Pacific 2.



Ground it on the brown sharpmaker rods at 20 degrees on the presentation side until I raised a burr. Worked it back and forth from that point until I had a crisp apex. Stropped on the corner of a leather strop with 7 micron paste. The PE tip pops hairs and the rest feels much sharper.

Now my Manix:



Wasn't shaving but was still pretty sharp. All I did was strop it four times per side with my 40 micron strop.

I've been using this for touch-ups on my M4 Manix and I really like the results. The edge I get is much, much more aggressive than with any other strop I've used. Really big fan of how this coarse diamond paste works for touch-ups.


Police 4 LW VG10:

Reset the edge on my 360 grit diamond plate, then did 2x strokes per side at a slightly more obtuse angle. Finished with 3 passes per side on the 40 micron strop.



Broke in the 260 grit plate with my Aqua Salt. Finished the edge with the 40 micron strop.

You’re a wizard! I’m envious!

Hamilton

[vivi]

You’re a wizard! I’m envious!

Hamilton

Thanks! I'm still learning new things about sharpening all the time though.

One of the nice things about my job is I really get to appreciate a fine sharpening job. My chef knife was nearly push cutting ripe tomatoes with the weight of the blade alone. Yesterday it was so dull I had to initiate cuts in them with the tip, today they barely offered any resistance to the blade.

First thing I did after work was finish that S110V Para 3. I kept putting it off because I wanted to make a cutting demo video with it, but I couldn't find the time.

Here's the step by step process I used.

Step 1 - Set the bevel at around 12-14 degrees per side with my 180 grit stone. I left the edge a bit thicker than I would personally run a Para 3 since I'm not sure how the owner plans to use it, and I'm not sure how thin S110V can be pushed.



Step 2 - Once the bevel looked pretty even and I was raising a burr on either side, I switched to single strokes per side, stopping to check for a burr between every pass. I tried to minimize the burr as much as possible on the 180 grit stone. The Para 3 readily shaved, not quite hair popping sharp but easily scraping off stubble.

Step 3 - Using freshly cleaned medium sharpmaker rods I applied a 15 degree per side microbevel. I used 4 strokes per side, trying to refine the edge without polishing off the teeth from the coarse diamond stone. I thought 4 strokes per side would work well with how wear resistant S110V is, but the result was an edge that was more polished than I was going for. It's nice and sharp, but running my nail down the length of the edge it isn't as coarse as I intended. I decide to carry on.



Step 4 - I stropped 4 times per side on a 40 micron strop.



Step 5 - I stropped 4 times per side on a 1 micron strop.





After that I cleaned up the scales, scrubbed a bit of the rust off the pivot pin, and oiled the pivot. I'll contact the owner and see if they're ok with this edge or if they want me to refinish the apex to something coarser.

[Chieforman]

Someone needs to start a Spyderco sharpening class in N. Ca. because beyond using the Sharpmaker I can guarantee everyone I will destroy every knife I love learning to use a stone

[jpm2]

Someone needs to start a Spyderco sharpening class in N. Ca. because beyond using the Sharpmaker I can guarantee everyone I will destroy every knife I love learning to use a stone

I suggest a cheap paring knife, and have at it.

[vivi]

Touched up my SE H1 Pacific Salt 2. Started with diamond sharpmaker rods at 20° then moved on to medium at the same angle. No stropping. The PE tip pops off arm hairs without contacting the skin.