Sharpening Questions

[Donut]

I have a couple of sharpening questions for you all.

I have the complete set of Spyderco Bench Stones, from what I read the Ultra Fine is 3 micron. Reading about the Shapton Glass stones, a 16,000 grit is 1.9 micron, which seems like a pretty small step, and costs ~$140. The 30,000 grit stone costs $360, so I'm going to avoid buying that unless the price drops or I figure out I NEED it.

What would be the next step for a finer stone?

What do you guys have for portable sharpening? I was thinking one of those folding double sided DMT stones and a double stuff, are there any better options? I'm thinking you almost need a portable strop.

[mkd]

i use a standard stone lansky sharpening kit(the one in the green box BUT I ADDED A MEDIUM AND COURSE DIAMOND HONE) .it comes in plastic box to keep everything together and i bought the universal mount for the knife and angle guide to set on when sharpening.i also have a straup i made out of oak lathe and leather on each side.looks kind of like a paint stir stick!put a course polish on one side and a fine on the other. http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Unive ... JyiBzLbtyK http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Lansk ... JyiBzLbtyK

[hawaiihunter]

maybe you should get strops

[razorsharp]

why not try 3m micromesh at 0.3 microns :)

[clodus]

I agree with the strop. Have you seen Jdavis882's post and his experience with stropman strops. this in my opinion is a much more affordable alternative. If these strops are easy to acquire from where I live I would have already purchased one.

[maa14]

I agree with the strop. Have you seen Jdavis882's post and his experience with stropman strops. this in my opinion is a much more affordable alternative. If these strops are easy to acquire from where I live I would have already purchased one.

Oh yea I would recommend stropman strops also

[chuck_roxas45]

I agree with the strop. Have you seen Jdavis882's post and his experience with stropman strops. this in my opinion is a much more affordable alternative. If these strops are easy to acquire from where I live I would have already purchased one.

Bro, strops are easy to acquire in the PH. Just go to a leather specialty shop. You can make one yourself from some leather and some wood. Or you can have it made. I know someone here who makes leather belts, holsters, and whatnot. I just described to him what I needed. Easy and cheaper than buying from online.

[clodus]

Hi Chuck, thanks for the tip.
I will try to find leather suppliers in Manila. I have a few questions though.

a. what type of leather do you use? From my understanding, the leather used for stropman are suede? Or the second skin? So what will be the specs for the leather?
b. where do you get the compound?

[chuck_roxas45]

Hi Chuck, thanks for the tip.
I will try to find leather suppliers in Manila. I have a few questions though.

a. what type of leather do you use? From my understanding, the leather used for stropman are suede? Or the second skin? So what will be the specs for the leather?
b. where do you get the compound?

I'd say the harder the leather the better. Use smooth side up(suede side under). IMHO, suede side up is more wasteful of compound and the fact that the "fingers" curl up around the edge, is an undesirable for me. Soft leather might also be good for convexed edges but for V edges, I like hard leather. The harder the better.

I use cheap diamond pastes from China and they work well for me. Maybe 3-4 dollars for a 5 gram syringe and one syringe lasts a long time.

[.357 mag]

For portable sharpening, I use the 701 profile set. I to finish with the spyderco UF stone but, if I need to put an edge on, this works for me.

[phillipsted]

why not try 3m micromesh at 0.3 microns :)

I'll second razorsharp's recommendation. The 3M micromesh film is relatively cheap, replaceable, and gives a fantastic edge. I cut out strips and stick them to my WEPS paddles. But you can also just stick strips to a piece of glass and have an instant bench stone. Great stuff.

TedP

http://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/Micro-Polishing.htm

[Donut]

Oh, I've got strops and have very good luck with them, but I was wanting to see if I could get strop performance from a very fine stone.

Yeah, I guess I could always just use the sharpmaker for portable sharpening.

[Xenixenik]

I am very appreciated

[chuck_roxas45]

edited too. Following Taz's action

Welcome to the forums! What knife do you carry?

[Blerv]

My portable sharpening stuff is pretty meager at this point. I have a 701 Profile set and a Duckbill for reprofiling and cleaning up serrations. My brother has the full Sharpmaker set with UF's and Diamonds.

I don't have one but the 306UF seems pretty solid for a portable fishing stone. You could use the leather sheath as a strop I guess as well.

[Dr. Snubnose]

You might want to investigate some Japanese Water WhetStones,......not cost prohibited to experiment with....Doc :)

[jackknifeh]

I have a couple of sharpening questions for you all.

I have the complete set of Spyderco Bench Stones, from what I read the Ultra Fine is 3 micron. Reading about the Shapton Glass stones, a 16,000 grit is 1.9 micron, which seems like a pretty small step, and costs ~$140. The 30,000 grit stone costs $360, so I'm going to avoid buying that unless the price drops or I figure out I NEED it.

What would be the next step for a finer stone?

I believe the UF Spyderco stone is as fine as you will EVER need. In truth, the fine stone will put a VERY nice edge on the knife. Especially if you are going to use a strop. You know what? I'd look at a COARSER stone before looking for a finer stone. The medium Spyderco stone is good but for reprofiling I'd want something like the DMT coars or extra coarse stone. Maybe get one with a surface on both sides. IMO unless you are sharpening surgical scalples or something you NEVER will need anything finer than the Spyderco stones. Even the UF stone is more than is NEEDED for a pocket knife. Having said that, I have one and love it. :)

What do you guys have for portable sharpening? I was thinking one of those folding double sided DMT stones and a double stuff, are there any better options?

No, there are no BETTER options. The only OTHER option I know of is the credit card size DMT sharpeners. I have one but never use it. I don't need touch-ups that often when away from home. But, you can carry it and never know it's there. The Doublestuff and DMT sharpeners though small, still require a pocket at least.

I'm thinking you almost need a portable strop.

If you carry a small strop (5"x1") you probably won't need a portable stone. Use coarser grit paste. Frequent touch-ups with a strop should reduce the need for stones. KEEPING a knife sharp seems to be easier than sharpening a dull knife. This will depend on your use though. I would use about 14 micron diamond paste. Off hand I don't know of any strops that small for sale. You can just buy a piece of leather, cut it and glue it to a paint stirrer and charge it with the paste. Actually, I have one I don't use and will send it to you if you give my your address. It's a little thicker with leather on two sides. Cow on one and horse hide on the other side. I can put whatever grit paste you want out of these choices: 28 micron (600 grit), 14 micron (1050 grit) or 3-5 micron (3000 grit). I have some 3 micron DMT paste I can put on one side. I'd recommend the finer paste go on the horse hide. Horse it quite a bit harder than cow hide. The cow (softer) I like for polishing the bevel because the edge sinks into it more. The horse (harder) can be used also for putting a nicer edge on the knife. This harder/softer thing is a bit overkill but what the heck? The one I have is about 6 1/2 inches long, 1" wide and 1" thick (approx.). The strop is not pretty but it works. Let me know if you are interested.

A very nice strop (IMO) is the Strop Bat. It has 4 sides for 4 different compounds. Look for info on it in a thread with "strop bat" in the title. Order the size and compounds you want. Or get it plain and use the compounds you may have already.

Hope this helps.

Jack