I Have a solid Q and a few questions

[orangejulius]

Hello,

First I want to say what a great forum! Spent a fair amount of time browsing through the topics and all I can say is you have a great thing going; people are respectful, knowledgeable, and eager to help… vast contrast to other forums (irregardless of subject matter) I have viewed.

When I was 14, a friend of the family gave me a 2nd gen, black handled, solid blade ( “scotchbright” and serrated) Spyderco “Q” new in box. At that point I did not know much about knives other than the fact this one was sharp, looked cool and fit in my pocket. Needless to say I used this knife for everything. I tossed the box, lost the pocket clip and carried it for about 2 years solid. I then switched to using “beater” knives as my job was hard on them and I did not want to mess up my cool little pocket knife. 9 years later here I am. I was looking in a box of knives I had stored when moving, and happily came across the Q!

Knife is still in great shape aside from the missing clip and a few scratches on the blade. Unfortunately at some point in my younger years I sharpened the knife improperly; I think I used a round diamond rod (not very carefully I may add) on the blade, this resulted in the profiles of the blade becoming out of whack and a few scratches from the serrations going up the blade.

I decided to do a mini “restoration” on this knife and once again carry it where I go. Using the information I found in the community, I removed then polished the blade. I am happy with the outcome; %90 of the scratches are gone, but the blade no longer has the “scotchbright” finish, but rather a shiny glow. (I started at 400, worked to 600, then to 800, and finally 1000)

Now I need to direct my attention to the edge. I was considering purchasing the Lansky Spyder sharpener (shown in this thread: http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42497) mainly due to the cost, and owing a nice Lansky system for my smooth edges (happy with the quality). Do you think this will get the job done for me? I understand with this device it will be a time consuming project, but I am unsure if purchasing a more expensive Spyder specific sharpener would be of a benefit to me. I will be purchasing a new Spyderco knife in the near future (I am hooked after reading up on them!), but it will be a smooth blade as it better fits my needs. Any suggestions / recommendations / ideas on the issue of getting this blade into shape?

I would also like to locate a wire pocket clip if at all possible, having a difficult time finding one.


Thanks!

Chris

[tonydahose]

the easy way would be to send it in to Spyderco (they will charge you $5 for shipping it back, sharpening is free, if they have to regrind it i believe it is $20, send a check for $5 to begin with, they will contact you if you need to send in some more cash) if you are looking foward to the project then get s sharpmaker and maybe some diamond rods and get to work. other sharpening gurus will pop on here with more info about doing it yourself.

edit: oh and welcome to the boards :)

[boxer93]

Chris,
I would agree about having spyderco sharpen it for you. As for the clip you will need to find someone willing to part with one. I'm sure spyderco has no more as well as me.
Glad to see you using it again. I have a wilderness medical outfitters q I use occasionally
Chris

[Creepo]

+1 to sending it to Spyderco, when the serrations are really messed up they are VERY hard to restore, even with fancy job specfic tools. You might get serrations to work again, but it probably won't look as good.
After Spyderco's done with it, the serrations will look and cut as new. :)

[redhawk44357]

Hello,

First I want to say what a great forum! Spent a fair amount of time browsing through the topics and all I can say is you have a great thing going; people are respectful, knowledgeable, and eager to help… vast contrast to other forums (irregardless of subject matter) I have viewed.

When I was 14, a friend of the family gave me a 2nd gen, black handled, solid blade ( “scotchbright” and serrated) Spyderco “Q” new in box. At that point I did not know much about knives other than the fact this one was sharp, looked cool and fit in my pocket. Needless to say I used this knife for everything. I tossed the box, lost the pocket clip and carried it for about 2 years solid. I then switched to using “beater” knives as my job was hard on them and I did not want to mess up my cool little pocket knife. 9 years later here I am. I was looking in a box of knives I had stored when moving, and happily came across the Q!

Knife is still in great shape aside from the missing clip and a few scratches on the blade. Unfortunately at some point in my younger years I sharpened the knife improperly; I think I used a round diamond rod (not very carefully I may add) on the blade, this resulted in the profiles of the blade becoming out of whack and a few scratches from the serrations going up the blade.

I decided to do a mini “restoration” on this knife and once again carry it where I go. Using the information I found in the community, I removed then polished the blade. I am happy with the outcome; %90 of the scratches are gone, but the blade no longer has the “scotchbright” finish, but rather a shiny glow. (I started at 400, worked to 600, then to 800, and finally 1000)

Now I need to direct my attention to the edge. I was considering purchasing the Lansky Spyder sharpener (shown in this thread: http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42497) mainly due to the cost, and owing a nice Lansky system for my smooth edges (happy with the quality). Do you think this will get the job done for me? I understand with this device it will be a time consuming project, but I am unsure if purchasing a more expensive Spyder specific sharpener would be of a benefit to me. I will be purchasing a new Spyderco knife in the near future (I am hooked after reading up on them!), but it will be a smooth blade as it better fits my needs. Any suggestions / recommendations / ideas on the issue of getting this blade into shape?

I would also like to locate a wire pocket clip if at all possible, having a difficult time finding one.


Thanks!

Chris

OK, I am not sure what the "Q" looks like but i have 2 spydercos that have wire clips. Since i dont carry them often, I will send you one. Can anyone post a pic of a Q so i can see if they are the same? If they are send me your addy and i will send it too you.

[demtek9]

OK, I am not sure what the "Q" looks like but i have 2 spydercos that have wire clips. Since i dont carry them often, I will send you one. Can anyone post a pic of a Q so i can see if they are the same? If they are send me your addy and i will send it too you.

The Q clips are not like the modern wire clips you have, but it is a nice gesture.

[redhawk44357]

The Q clips are not like the modern wire clips you have, but it is a nice gesture.

See other post, I do have Q's. Should be the same .

[.357 mag]

I have an edgepro apex sharpener and it makes light work for any knife jobs. I've reprofiled 7 knives now with it. They range anywhere from $115-$229 depending on what you get.

[bada61265]

I have an edgepro apex sharpener and it makes light work for any knife jobs. I've reprofiled 7 knives now with it. They range anywhere from $115-$229 depending on what you get.

the edge pro does serrated ?

[boxer93]

Not sure what a "Q" is ? Check the link in my signature. The wire clip of the Q bends "sideways" from it's length. Newer wire clips are bent differently.
Chris

[.357 mag]

the edge pro does serrated ?

Yup. There is a ton of YouTube videos on this sharpener. There is a learning curve. I bought a 5 dollar knife and pretty much ruined it learning how to use it. After that my knives have never been sharper. I spent the money and went with apex 4. It comes with 120,220,320,600,1000 grit stones,2000 and 3000 grit polishing tapes, and the 1200 grit rod.

[jackknifeh]

the edge pro does serrated ?

As far as I know there is no serrated sharpener (round) for the Edge Pro (EP). The EP inventor recommends the way to sharpen Serrated edges is to use flat stones on the non-serrated side and then use a ceramic or diamond round sharpener in the serrations JUST TO REMOVE THE BURR. That way you are not taking a chance of destroying the nice serrations and sharp tips. I've done it and it works very well. Go to edgeproinc.com and watch his videos if you want.

EP is expensive though. Starts around $150. It is IMHO the best sharpener on the market. Best I've seen anyway. Lots of other good ones less expensive though. From what I've used and what I've read from people on this forum I'd go with a sharpmaker first if money is an issue. When I got my EP I got the $200+ (more stones) set. That was because of a financial stroke of luck. I also got a couple of knives I had been wanting. It was a very good day. Just saying I'm not rich. So if you are new to sharpening you can either learn to sharpen by hand which is great but takes practice to be able to do a really good job. The sharpeners available today help you keep a constant angle which is very important. Of course the better or more complicated they get the more expensive they are.

Lots of luck,
Jack

[jackknifeh]

Yup. There is a ton of YouTube videos on this sharpener. There is a learning curve. I bought a 5 dollar knife and pretty much ruined it learning how to use it. After that my knives have never been sharper. I spent the money and went with apex 4. It comes with 120,220,320,600,1000 grit stones,2000 and 3000 grit polishing tapes, and the 1200 grit rod.

.357
Is there a round serrated stone for the EP? Other companies are making stones for the Edge Pro. Diamond stones, etc. DMT may have some in the spring.

Jack

[orangejulius]

To all,

Thank you very much for the information, it is much appreciated! Boxer93, you are correct I contacted the factory and they no longer had clips available. Redhawk44357 thank you very, very much for the generous offer. I will Pm you the details; I hope you have PayPal as I would like to donate a few dollars for your trouble. Thank you very much. I am beginning to think that a trip to the factory may be in the best interest of the knife, but if possible I would enjoy bringing it back to spec. I have attached a few pictures for you to look at. Let me know what you think.

Thank you,

Chris

[.357 mag]

.357
Is there a round serrated stone for the EP? Other companies are making stones for the Edge Pro. Diamond stones, etc. DMT may have some in the spring.

Jack

Not that I'm aware of. I just sharpen the backside as you stated above and I run the blade of the knife down a wine cork to take the burr off.

I looked at lots of sharpeners, and this one is far the best. After chrismas I'm going to purchase another blank and some 6000 grit tape to go with my kit. :)

[jackknifeh]

Not that I'm aware of. I just sharpen the backside as you stated above and I run the blade of the knife down a wine cork to take the burr off.

I looked at lots of sharpeners, and this one is far the best. After chrismas I'm going to purchase another blank and some 6000 grit tape to go with my kit. :)

I use the tapes now and get great results. When I first got my EP the tapes didn't seem to do much. Now they are doing a great job of polishing a bevel as well as a few reverse strokes at about 3 deg. higher angle than the final edge angle has amazing results on the edge. This may replace my strop. I only have the 2000 and 3000 tapes and rarely use the 3000 grit. Anyway I'm now getting knives sharper than I thought was possible and I've sharpened my pocketknives all my life by hand. I used Arkansas stones and average blade steel knives. Always shaved my arm as the point to stop sharpening. Now I can whittle a single strand of hair. Five years ago I would have said that was impossible for a pocket knife. The difference is better tools because I haven't improved since I was about 8 years old. :) Like you I'm waiting until after the new year before I buy anything just for fun. See ya in the new year.

Jack