Sharpening serrations

[SnackPack]

I just got my first serrated spydie, a trade for a half serrated PM3. The serrations are butter knife dull though and have been rounded off a bit. Any hints on sharpening methods or equipment? I’m guessing a tapered diamond rod?

Thanks for any pointers!

[vivi]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=84544

[SnackPack]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=84544

Thank you!

[yablanowitz]

I just got my first serrated spydie, a trade for a half serrated PM3. The serrations are butter knife dull though and have been rounded off a bit. Any hints on sharpening methods or equipment? I’m guessing a tapered diamond rod?

Thanks for any pointers!

First, welcome to the forum!

The tapered diamond rod can be used, but it requires considerable skill. The Sharpmaker does a much better job, is more consistent and with optional diamond or CBN rods is much faster.

[Wartstein]

I just got my first serrated spydie, a trade for a half serrated PM3. The serrations are butter knife dull though and have been rounded off a bit. Any hints on sharpening methods or equipment? I’m guessing a tapered diamond rod?

...

Actually it is a good thing that the teeth are already a bit rounded off - so they don't snag but still give you that SE performance.

DULL though is not a good thing, obviously.

I'd get a Sharpmaker, watch the instructional dvd and /or read Vivis SE sharpening thread... I am sure you'll find SE easy to aharpen then!

[Evil D]

If you just follow what the Sharpmaker DVD tells you, you'll be good to go. It really is something we all overcomplicate, just take your time and don't use too much pressure, follow a 4:1 or so ratio of strokes favoring the front/ground side of the blade and if it's really dull make sure you use a loupe or color the edge with marker so you can follow your progress and make sense of what you're doing. Don't get discouraged if it takes longer to get sharp than you expect it to.

[olywa]

I freehand most all of my plain edge knives and use the SM primarily for my serrated edges. I went down the rabbit hole of using tapered diamond rods on the individual serrations and always ended up butchering my SE blades. There may be some that works for, just not me. I've used the heck out of the diamond rods on the SM though, and they seem to be holding up well. I'm gonna hafta get a set of CBN rods and give 'em a whirl.

[dsvirsky]

Noting upfront that the Sharpmaker is the best tool for sharpening serrations, it is possible to use a tapered diamond rod without screwing up the serrations. The trick is to take the distal ½" or so of the rod, place it flat against the bevel (much like one would with a Scandi grind), and gently scrub the scallops parallel to the edge. It's trying to match the scallops while working perpendicular to the edge that things go to s***. Then, after you've raised a small burr down the entire edge, you take the diamond rod and gently run it down the reverse side to finish the job by removing the burr.

If you think about it, what you're doing is using the thin part of the rod like the corner of the Sharpmaker triangle, except it's the sharpening media that's moving, rather than the knife blade.

[olywa]

I hear you, and I get it. I just can't seem to do it well. I usually end up cutting a center channel or groove in the serration. It's all on me, but there it is. The corners on the SM rods allow me to use a consistent and uniform motion across the entire edge which agrees with the years of muscle memory that I've built up.

[Evil D]

I started out with tapered diamond rods, and while I can get sharp edges with them I absolutely can't recommend them. The only pass I might give them is if you have another brand with serrations that are too small to fit a Sharpmaker rod, or the fact that they're more portable but then you can carry a single Sharpmaker rod just as easily.