Real World User Experience Sharpening CPM 15V

[Guts]

M4
Spy27
Magnacut
15V

I can get all mirror edge with 1/4 micron diamond paste.
But not on 15V. It is a tough boy !

What's your grit progression like? I didn't have issues getting a mirror on the 15V sprints on their first sharpenings (using Venev resin bonded diamond stones), though I've since sharpened them to a coarser edge. I generally get the mirror before moving to strops. The strops just clean up all the work the stones did.

[Nemo3000]

My progression is very jazzy

White ceramic
Diamond paste
Jade
Back to start.

No issue with other steel.

[Deadboxhero]

My progression is very jazzy

White ceramic
Diamond paste
Jade
Back to start.

No issue with other steel.

I recommend skipping the White Ceramic and Jade.

23% of the matrix in the 15V is harder than those abrasives.

A bonded diamond/cBN stone should help with the desired finish.

[ejames13]

My progression is very jazzy

White ceramic
Diamond paste
Jade
Back to start.

No issue with other steel.

I recommend skipping the White Ceramic and Jade.

23% of the matrix in the 15V is harder than those abrasives.

A bonded diamond/cBN stone should help with the desired finish.

For my K390 knives, I've been doing 400 grit SiC to set the edge and then a few strokes with Shapton Glass 2k at slightly higher angle for burr removal, followed by 1 micron diamond compound on leather. This produces a nice crisp edge that lasts.

Have not sharpened my 15v yet but planning to use the same progression. Is this going to be an issue?

[Deadboxhero]

My progression is very jazzy

White ceramic
Diamond paste
Jade
Back to start.

No issue with other steel.

I recommend skipping the White Ceramic and Jade.

23% of the matrix in the 15V is harder than those abrasives.

A bonded diamond/cBN stone should help with the desired finish.

For my K390 knives, I've been doing 400 grit SiC to set the edge and then a few strokes with Shapton Glass 2k at slightly higher angle for burr removal, followed by 1 micron diamond compound on leather. This produces a nice crisp edge that lasts.

Have not sharpened my 15v yet but planning to use the same progression. Is this going to be an issue?

Even the k390 could benefit from what I described above.

If that is what you prefer, you should give it a try with the 15V.


I would be remiss if I did not share my very focused experience of what worked best with all of you.

[ejames13]

My progression is very jazzy

White ceramic
Diamond paste
Jade
Back to start.

No issue with other steel.

I recommend skipping the White Ceramic and Jade.

23% of the matrix in the 15V is harder than those abrasives.

A bonded diamond/cBN stone should help with the desired finish.

For my K390 knives, I've been doing 400 grit SiC to set the edge and then a few strokes with Shapton Glass 2k at slightly higher angle for burr removal, followed by 1 micron diamond compound on leather. This produces a nice crisp edge that lasts.

Have not sharpened my 15v yet but planning to use the same progression. Is this going to be an issue?

Even the k390 could benefit from what I described above.

If that is what you prefer, you should give it a try with the 15V.


I would be remiss if I did not share my very focused experience of what worked best with all of you.

Believe I saw you mention elsewhere you use something like 400/600 grit metallic bonded CBN, correct? What do you use for final burr removal and edge cleanup?

[Deadboxhero]

I recommend skipping the White Ceramic and Jade.

23% of the matrix in the 15V is harder than those abrasives.

A bonded diamond/cBN stone should help with the desired finish.

For my K390 knives, I've been doing 400 grit SiC to set the edge and then a few strokes with Shapton Glass 2k at slightly higher angle for burr removal, followed by 1 micron diamond compound on leather. This produces a nice crisp edge that lasts.

Have not sharpened my 15v yet but planning to use the same progression. Is this going to be an issue?

Even the k390 could benefit from what I described above.

If that is what you prefer, you should give it a try with the 15V.


I would be remiss if I did not share my very focused experience of what worked best with all of you.

Believe I saw you mention elsewhere you use something like 400/600 grit metallic bonded CBN, correct? What do you use for final burr removal and edge cleanup?

You deburr the best you can with light alternating passes on the stone. From here, the edge should be sharp enough to cut paper cleanly before moving on. Afterwards, go to a leather strop loaded with 1um Gunny Juice and use alternating edge trailing passes.

This is a good benchmark; keeps the "bite" at the edge without smoothing out the slicing effect. It also helps keep the "grab" at the edge for draw cuts but still keen enough for push cuts.

[ejames13]

For my K390 knives, I've been doing 400 grit SiC to set the edge and then a few strokes with Shapton Glass 2k at slightly higher angle for burr removal, followed by 1 micron diamond compound on leather. This produces a nice crisp edge that lasts.

Have not sharpened my 15v yet but planning to use the same progression. Is this going to be an issue?

Even the k390 could benefit from what I described above.

If that is what you prefer, you should give it a try with the 15V.


I would be remiss if I did not share my very focused experience of what worked best with all of you.

Believe I saw you mention elsewhere you use something like 400/600 grit metallic bonded CBN, correct? What do you use for final burr removal and edge cleanup?

You deburr the best you can with light alternating passes on the stone. From here, the edge should be sharp enough to cut paper cleanly before moving on. Afterwards, go to a leather strop loaded with 1um Gunny Juice and use alternating edge trailing passes.

This is a good benchmark; keeps the "bite" at the edge without smoothing out the slicing effect. It also helps keep the "grab" at the edge for draw cuts but still keen enough for push cuts.

I've had difficulty removing the burr on electroplated diamond stones. Burr removal is much easier with the 400 grit SiC or AlOx, but as you've mentioned not best suited for high-vanadium steels like this. Does the metallic bonded CBN solve this problem?

[Deadboxhero]

Even the k390 could benefit from what I described above.

If that is what you prefer, you should give it a try with the 15V.


I would be remiss if I did not share my very focused experience of what worked best with all of you.

Believe I saw you mention elsewhere you use something like 400/600 grit metallic bonded CBN, correct? What do you use for final burr removal and edge cleanup?

You deburr the best you can with light alternating passes on the stone. From here, the edge should be sharp enough to cut paper cleanly before moving on. Afterwards, go to a leather strop loaded with 1um Gunny Juice and use alternating edge trailing passes.

This is a good benchmark; keeps the "bite" at the edge without smoothing out the slicing effect. It also helps keep the "grab" at the edge for draw cuts but still keen enough for push cuts.

I've had difficulty removing the burr on electroplated diamond stones. Burr removal is much easier with the 400 grit SiC or AlOx, but as you've mentioned not best suited for high-vanadium steels like this. Does the metallic bonded CBN solve this problem?

Yeah, there's different kinds of stones. They're not all created equal.

You can take a diamond stone with the same abrasive and the same grit and it will leave a different surface roughness depending on the construction of the stone.


Yes, there are three major types of bonded stone.


Metallic, resin and vitrified.

There's even some that are hybrids.

However, these are not the same as electroplated diamond abrasives.


The work more like regular water stones with better surface finishes.

[Nemo3000]

Thank you so much, Shawn, for sharing your experience and advices, it is really really appreciated !!
I have quoted you with a link to that conversation in my little review.
CPM 15V is really a new animal to tame and the right sharpening tools are needed.

I also had quoted Sal:
"Think of the edge as gas in a vehicle. It runs out of gas and you put in more gas. We provide the format, materials, design for use, variety to avoid boredom and create interest, but the edge is your creation. The result of your understanding, education, experience and practice."

[Deadboxhero]

Thank you so much, Shawn, for sharing your experience and advices, it is really really appreciated !!
I have quoted you with a link to that conversation in my little review.
CPM 15V is really a new animal to tame and the right sharpening tools are needed.

I also had quoted Sal:
"Think of the edge as gas in a vehicle. It runs out of gas and you put in more gas. We provide the format, materials, design for use, variety to avoid boredom and create interest, but the edge is your creation. The result of your understanding, education, experience and practice."

Well, thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

Thank you for the support.

[blueblur]

Does anyone know where to purchase 1um gunny juice? The only gj I’ve been able to find in stock is 12um.

I have some metallic cbn stones on the way to try out with 15v.

[Nemo3000]

Sharpening is one thing but it bites ! ;-)

[J D Wijbenga]

Oeps! You got is sharp Nemo!

[ejames13]

I rocked the factory edge on my 15v Military for about a week before it would no longer clean slice copy paper. To be honest, I was pretty let down given all the hype I've heard about this steel. Granted, I tend to cut up more cardboard than most because I don't have recycling, so everything has to go in the trash. Still, I expected the edge to last longer. My testing was very unscientific, but I didn't feel like this was that far off from something like S30v before degrading to a working edge.

It's always puzzling to me when I read people talking about cutting oodles of cardboard, rope, etc., then claiming they can still shave arm hair (and this is not exclusive to 15v - I've seen this claim about various super steels). This has never been the case me for me with any steel, either with the factory edge or with my own edge fully reprofiled down to 14-15dps. I was hoping 15v would be the unicorn, but alas, it seems not. Maybe I'm cutting wrong, or maybe the cardboard I get is especially dirty. But I digress.

On the upside, 15v was very easy to touch up on the Sharpmaker fines. 20ish strokes per side, then stropped on 1 micron, and it's back to shaving.

I'll re-profile it down to 14-15dps and put my own edge on it soon. Looking forward to seeing how it performs after that.

[WilliamMunny]

Does anyone know where to purchase 1um gunny juice? The only gj I’ve been able to find in stock is 12um.

I have some metallic cbn stones on the way to try out with 15v.

Same, been looking for it for a while. I did hear the owner/production was impacted by a hurricane, NC maybe, this summer and he was slowing bringing back production.

[WilliamMunny]

I rocked the factory edge on my 15v Military for about a week before it would no longer clean slice copy paper. To be honest, I was pretty let down given all the hype I've heard about this steel. Granted, I tend to cut up more cardboard than most because I don't have recycling, so everything has to go in the trash. Still, I expected the edge to last longer. My testing was very unscientific, but I didn't feel like this was that far off from something like S30v before degrading to a working edge.

It's always puzzling to me when I read people talking about cutting oodles of cardboard, rope, etc., then claiming they can still shave arm hair (and this is not exclusive to 15v - I've seen this claim about various super steels). This has never been the case me for me with any steel, either with the factory edge or with my own edge fully reprofiled down to 14-15dps. I was hoping 15v would be the unicorn, but alas, it seems not. Maybe I'm cutting wrong, or maybe the cardboard I get is especially dirty. But I digress.

On the upside, 15v was very easy to touch up on the Sharpmaker fines. 20ish strokes per side, then stropped on 1 micron, and it's back to shaving.

I'll re-profile it down to 14-15dps and put my own edge on it soon. Looking forward to seeing how it performs after that.

I would be curious on your feelings once you put a new edge on it. I have always heard the factory edge is not always the best way to judge as steel as the mechanical factory sharpening process can impact the performance. Not sure if its true but some people swear after a sharpening or two most steels perform better.

[Guts]

Does anyone know where to purchase 1um gunny juice? The only gj I’ve been able to find in stock is 12um.

I have some metallic cbn stones on the way to try out with 15v.

Give Stroppy Stuff a try. Works just as well as GJ in my experience and it's cheaper. If you're not opposed to pastes, I've been testing out Tech Diamond Tools diamond compound with excellent results. Also pretty cheap. It's oil based instead of wax based which is what I like about it compared to other pastes I've tried, so it doesn't leave a sticky residue on your blades. The oil base means it just dries up when you apply heat instead of getting stickier like with wax.

[eventhorizon]

Sharpening is one thing but it bites ! ;-)

Come on, you strategically squeezed a bit to get them drops as picturesque, didn't you?

[WilliamMunny]

Sharpening is one thing but it bites ! ;-)

Well, that's one picture that's probably not going to make the calendar.