Sharpening VG10

[bowarrow2000]

Question on shaprening VG10. I let my Lum Chineese folder get much to dull, don't use it alot since it's more or less my dress knife. Anyway I let it go to long with out any attention. Had to do a little reprofiling and then on to the real work.
It seems that it took forever to get it up to my expectations. I free hand almost all of my knives with good results. Do any of the rest of you find the VG 10 any harder to shapren than some of the other blade steels. I have found 154 and S30v
pretty easy to work with. Maybe it has been so long since I had to do a real job of sharpening that I have forgotten something. Coments please.

[severedthumbs]

I find it easier than S30V.

[JD Spydo]

All Premium Blade STeel takes a little work to get it sharp. VG-10 has a very nice cutting edge when you get the desired results from a 204 Sharpmaker or any other decent sharpening device. The main thing is to get the proper relief ground into the cutting edge. Definitely get the video that you can get with the 204 Sharpmaker. It is worth it's weight in GOLD.

There is also a really decent book for anyone learning the principles of sharpening . It is entitled "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" by John Juranitch. You can get copies through Knife World magazine. Check out their website http://www.knifeworld.com Or you can go to http://www.razoredgesystems.com and get it there. JD :spyder: O

[Piet.S]

Nope, I found it the easyest steel to get real sharp. What stones do you use? Maybe a coarser one is in order for reprofiling.

[JDEE]

I have found VG10 a beautiful steel to sharpen compared to ATS34 EG but having said that it is harder to sharpen than many other steels EG 440 series, AUS8. Like all steels once you have let it go and have to reprofile it is never easy and often will depend on the profile of the blade in question. To be able to give a factual answer you would need to have 2 blades of the same profile and hardness but different steels to work out which steel is the "easiest" to sharpen.

[IPSC]

Sometimes when I'm sharpening VG-10 I get a sharp edge that will slice paper, but one that will not shave or get scary sharp. I can alternate all day with the white stones but still not get the blade any sharper. I have found if I switch to 40 degree angle and take two light swipes with the gray stones I get my hair popping edge back. I'll then switch back to 30 degree and use the white stones for few strokes and maybe even a few with ultra fine stones.

I'm not sure if this is creating a micro bevel or just removing a slight burr. I would be interested if anybody else does this.

Josh

[spyderknut]

I had a second hand blue Lum I picked up. It was fairly dull when I got it. I spent a good deal of time with the medium and fine stones but I still was unsatisfied. Rather than trying the diamond stones, I sent it off to Spyderco and got it back sharp as new! :)

[Shmackey]

The Lum seems like it would be a good candidate for a 25-degree primary grind and 30-degree microbevel, instead of the usual 30 and 40. It's meant to be a slicer, and the VG-10 can handle it.

Just thinking out loud here.

[The Deacon]

The three I've had some experience with are VG-10, S30V, and ATS-55, of the three find VG-10 the easiest to sharpen and S30V the most time consuming. Use medium and fine bench stones and, occasionally a coarse/fine diamond stone.

[d.g.g]

Here is some info about various types of knife steels including info about sharpening. Hope this helps you.

http://www.nakededgecutlery.com/knifesteels.htm