What angle do you sharpen at?

[dcmartin2001]

MadRookie, I'm gonna stop applauding your setup just long enough to type this...... That is **** impressive sir!

[Evil D]

MadRookie that's one **** of a setup...i'm definitely jealous.

[SQSAR]

Welcome Aboard MadRookie! That is one **** of a setup!

[STAK]

:spyder: I usualy reprofile my SPIDIE-edges at 15-17 deg per side :cool: . . . . It depends of the SPIDIE's blade shape and steel . . . . My current EDC is a PARA2 CTS-20CP reprofiled down to 13deg per side and mirror polished up to 6.000grit on my EDGE-PRO (PRO) :) . . . . :spyder:

[Bearcat1]

MadRookie,

I always enjoy your posts at the Keeping Sharp forum.

Your sharpening equipment is very impressive and your videos are some of the most informative I have seen. I especially liked the dogs in the background of the angle cube video at the chefknivestogo site.

I was hoping you would try some of the Spyderco M390 steel as I think you will find it will have a higher HRc value than what you currently enjoy.

I look forward to your posts at this site. :cool:

Regards,
Jeff

[MadRookie]

Thank you all for the kind words - much appreciated.

:)

[rjowen0984]

Hey, so I've been a bit irritated with my military lately, just felt like i was forever "touching up" to get it SCARY sharp again.

So tried something new:

Reprofile relief to 10 deg per side, go through all stones, Chosera up to 10000 then leather strop with CBN paste at 0.75 micron then leather strop no paste.

Micro bevel at 15 deg per side, starting with 1K chosera, up to 10K

Leather strop at 25 deg per side, first with CBN paste then plain leather.

So far I'm happy, screaming sharp! Only time will tell whether the micro bevel will last longer? It will definitely be easier to touch up micro bevel though. Will feedback in a couple days.

The pic:

[unit]

My experiences with S30V have shown that low angles loose the initial sharpness VERY fast. I generally go with a slightly convexed bevel that is probably best described as "about a 30 degree inclusive" edge, or simply a 30 inclusive with a 40 micro.

For super refined edges (i.e. something that is "sticky sharp" or perhaps suitable for shaving your face in a pinch) I would suggest something other than S30V.

For crazy edges (sticky sharp, etc.) I really prefer steels like ZDP-189, or even VG-10. M4 might also be a good choice as it seems to respond well to a polished edge, but I have never tried very low angles with it.

[jackknifeh]

[quote="rjowen0984"]Hey, so I've been a bit irritated with my military lately, just felt like i was forever "touching up" to get it SCARY sharp again.

So tried something new:

Reprofile relief to 10 deg per side, go through all stones, Chosera up to 10000 then leather strop with CBN paste at 0.75 micron then leather strop no paste.

Micro bevel at 15 deg per side, starting with 1K chosera, up to 10K

Leather strop at 25 deg per side, first with CBN paste then plain leather.

So far I'm happy, screaming sharp! Only time will tell whether the micro bevel will last longer? It will definitely be easier to touch up micro bevel though. Will feedback in a couple days.



That is a beautiful edge. It looks like the tip is rounded some. Did you intend that? Is it an optical illusion in the pic? I'd think those angles would work. IMO any steel Spyderco uses for EDC knives will hold any low back bevel angle. Then with a steeper edge angle to keep the steel from rolling, chipping, etc. makes for a great cutting knife that should hold an edge very well.

Jack

[rjowen0984]

Thanks Ken!

Ya I thought as much, I've ordered quite a few knives in M390 so looking forward to that. The military is more of a test so see what happens? I really wish the leftie Millie came in other steel than s30v.

My hope is that at least with a microbevel I can touch up quicker than without the microbevel. If its a quick 5 or 10 minutes then I don't mind doing once or twice a week but without the microbevel it's not a 5 minute job!

Cheers!

Raymond

[rjowen0984]

And the mirror finish at 10 deg is sooooo pretty! Even if it isn't perfect at least it looks good!

[rjowen0984]

Anyone have any experience with hitachi super blue? What works, what doesn't?

That's my next task. I think the hitachi has potential well beyond what the factory edge proves!

[jackknifeh]

Recently for touch ups I've been using an UF Spyderco ceramic stone. If my edge angle is 15 per side then I can just raise the angle a little and touch-up the edge in just about 2 minutes if it hasn't gotten too dull. I'm going to get the fine stone 2"x8" also. That way I can set any angle I want with the Edge Pro then do touch ups with the Spyderco stones. I've found that is about as good a system as there is for me. There are several others just as good but this works for me. Plus, since I've already spent the money I might as well use it. :D

M4 really takes a great beautiful low angle bevel. My Manix2 has a 12 deg per side back bevel and when I'm outside I can see the reflection of the bare tree branches above my head in the bevel. That really looks cool. The Sage1 with S30V looks just as good. That's about as low as I've gone on angles though.

Jack
PS
I wonder if my neighbors think I'm nuts standing there looking at my knife? :D

[MadRookie]

Yo RJ:

Your micro bevel is much, much too large......!

[BAL]

I usually stand straight up with a slight forward angle of just a few degrees at my hips. Thanks for asking.

[rjowen0984]

Hi Jackknifeh!

Good eye! I've chipped the tip everso slightly! Not bad enough to bother me much though!

Don't wort bout your neighbors, my wife thinks I'm completely bonkers!

[rjowen0984]

Hi Rookie! I did it on purpose with the hopes that it cuts better? It's 15 deg, I thought about(actually had set) 18 deg but wanted something different so changed!;-)

Almost a double bevel instead of relief and micro?

[jackknifeh]

Hi Rookie! I did it on purpose with the hopes that it cuts better? It's 15 deg, I thought about(actually had set) 18 deg but wanted something different so changed!;-)

Almost a double bevel instead of relief and micro?

When I first started talking about and learning about sharpening I had no idea what the different terms meant. One thing that made things confusing was the fact that there are so many people here from different backgrounds not to mention different parts of the world. Some said primary and secondary bevels, others said something else. I think Spyderco's terms are back bevel (your 10 deg bevel) and edge bevel (your 15 deg bevel) so I adopted that terminology. Also, the edge bevel I call a micro bevel only if it is very very small, almost invisible without close examination. Now, with your 10 and 15 deg. angles the touch-ups with a very fine stone could be at around 17-18 degrees. That's how I would treat an edge sharpened like yours. I believe keeping it sharp like that with frequent touch ups will make the knife easier to use and save sharpening time and blade steel as well. It's amazing how differently people who take sharpening a knife more seriously than really necessary can be so different in their methods and thinking. You might even call it interesting and fun. One thing is for sure. I've learned more from the different mind sets on this forum than from any other single source. There's a trememdous amount of knowledge and experience on this forum. I appreciate everything I've learned from the folks here. I'll bet the band-aid manufacturer's appreciate the time I've spent learning how to sharpen also. :D

Jack

Jack

[unit]

Yo RJ:

Your micro bevel is much, much too large......!

I noticed it was a bit larger than a *micro* bevel also...but if it were much smaller, I think it would be quite problematic with S30V (at least for my use it would be).

At the end of the day, it is all about what works for the guy who owns it

[Evil D]

That's similar to how i sharpen my ZDP Delica, i usually refer to it as a secondary bevel, i don't know if that's the proper term for it or not.