Sharpening The Nilakka

[Cheddarnut]

Id love to get this knife, but im afraid of the zero grind. Can i sharpen a micro bevel instead of doing the whole blade or is that defeating the point of having this knife?

[razorsharp]

It wouldn't hurt to, but maybe invest in some stones or very fine sandpaper if the micro gets big - ideally you want to remove as little material with the micro as you can, so you dont make the bevel too big after touchups , would save you more time before you have to reprofile the primary. Personally I would do the microbevel very steep freehand , a couple degrees higher than the primary, so I dont lose that zero grind performance

[Cheddarnut]

It wouldn't hurt to, but maybe invest in some stones or very fine sandpaper if the micro gets big - ideally you want to remove as little material with the micro as you can, so you dont make the bevel too big after touchups , would save you more time before you have to reprofile the primary. Personally I would do the microbevel very steep freehand , a couple degrees higher than the primary, so I dont lose that zero grind performance

Hah, im going to have to bite the bullet and get stones at some point, this could be the catalyst. Thanks razorsharp :)

[Cliff Stamp]

Id love to get this knife, but im afraid of the zero grind. Can i sharpen a micro bevel instead of doing the whole blade or is that defeating the point of having this knife?

The edge is 5 dps if you don't microbevel.

[Cheddarnut]

The edge is 5 dps if you don't microbevel.

And not very stable from what we've been witnessing.

[Bill1170]

You can use the Sharpmaker at the 30 degree setting to micro bevel your Nilakka. Based on reports you would be unwise not to do so. This can also be free handed.

[razorsharp]

Id go steeper than that - it should hold 20- 26 incl OK

[Cliff Stamp]

And not very stable from what we've been witnessing.

Well a number of people have been complaining about edges being built too thick to handle abuse so it would be nice here to first see respect give to Sal and company for putting out a grind which could not be any thinner. That being said, 5 dps is a lot for any steel to handle, a straight razor is typically 3-4.

[Ankerson]

Well a number of people have been complaining about edges being built too thick to handle abuse so it would be nice here to first see respect give to Sal and company for putting out a grind which could not be any thinner. That being said, 5 dps is a lot for any steel to handle, a straight razor is typically 3-4.

I agree, that is a lot to ask. :)

[kel_aa]

I am generally adverse to grinding down the edge on knives more than a couple 10's of dollars. To me appeal of a Miltary is really diminished when its edge is ground down to increase its performance (in certain aspects) but then looks like it had about 20 years of wear on it. The Phil Wilson South Fork was interesting but for the unambitious edge thickness and choice of steel in the direction of extreme wear resistance. I am tending to believe that the steel choice was used to justify the price (and exclusivity) of the South Fork and not for any reasonable performance reasons.

Now with the Nilakka, Spyderco has separated me from my money for the first time in years. The superb grind, pleasant profile of the blade (away from the dominant Spyderco hump), and choice of steel in the more sensible direction (I would still have paid the same price even for a much lower price-point steel (AUS-8, etc), but I don't imagine myself to be the majority on this issue). Consider how much time it would take a Military (or even a Caly Jr, for that matter) to be ground down to this level by hand and what the knife would look like after. With the Nilakka, you can practically customize the edge on for quite a variety of uses in a few minutes and the primary grind would still be pristine. $160 and so much of my time to get a good cutting Military (or a Benchmade 710 or so many other knives for that matter) that looks like it was 2nd generation inheritance or $190 for a visually beautiful and beautifully usable Nilakka is an easy choice for me.

I do have to complain however about the sharp edges on all the steel components. The spine of the blade, the thumb hole, the liners, the spacers, were all too uncomfortably sharp for me and to be reworked. And I prefer the standard blade marking etching techinque rather than the one on the Nilakka which stands out above the metal surface.

[Cheddarnut]

I am generally adverse to grinding down the edge on knives more than a couple 10's of dollars. To me appeal of a Miltary is really diminished when its edge is ground down to increase its performance (in certain aspects) but then looks like it had about 20 years of wear on it. The Phil Wilson South Fork was interesting but for the unambitious edge thickness and choice of steel in the direction of extreme wear resistance. I am tending to believe that the steel choice was used to justify the price (and exclusivity) of the South Fork and not for any reasonable performance reasons.

Now with the Nilakka, Spyderco has separated me from my money for the first time in years. The superb grind, pleasant profile of the blade (away from the dominant Spyderco hump), and choice of steel in the more sensible direction (I would still have paid the same price even for a much lower price-point steel (AUS-8, etc), but I don't imagine myself to be the majority on this issue). Consider how much time it would take a Military (or even a Caly Jr, for that matter) to be ground down to this level by hand and what the knife would look like after. With the Nilakka, you can practically customize the edge on for quite a variety of uses in a few minutes and the primary grind would still be pristine. $160 and so much of my time to get a good cutting Military (or a Benchmade 710 or so many other knives for that matter) that looks like it was 2nd generation inheritance or $190 for a visually beautiful and beautifully usable Nilakka is an easy choice for me.

I do have to complain however about the sharp edges on all the steel components. The spine of the blade, the thumb hole, the liners, the spacers, were all too uncomfortably sharp for me and to be reworked. And I prefer the standard blade marking etching techinque rather than the one on the Nilakka which stands out above the metal surface.

**** of a first post, welcome!

[Cheddarnut]

I am generally adverse to grinding down the edge on knives more than a couple 10's of dollars. To me appeal of a Miltary is really diminished when its edge is ground down to increase its performance (in certain aspects) but then looks like it had about 20 years of wear on it. The Phil Wilson South Fork was interesting but for the unambitious edge thickness and choice of steel in the direction of extreme wear resistance. I am tending to believe that the steel choice was used to justify the price (and exclusivity) of the South Fork and not for any reasonable performance reasons.

Now with the Nilakka, Spyderco has separated me from my money for the first time in years. The superb grind, pleasant profile of the blade (away from the dominant Spyderco hump), and choice of steel in the more sensible direction (I would still have paid the same price even for a much lower price-point steel (AUS-8, etc), but I don't imagine myself to be the majority on this issue). Consider how much time it would take a Military (or even a Caly Jr, for that matter) to be ground down to this level by hand and what the knife would look like after. With the Nilakka, you can practically customize the edge on for quite a variety of uses in a few minutes and the primary grind would still be pristine. $160 and so much of my time to get a good cutting Military (or a Benchmade 710 or so many other knives for that matter) that looks like it was 2nd generation inheritance or $190 for a visually beautiful and beautifully usable Nilakka is an easy choice for me.

I do have to complain however about the sharp edges on all the steel components. The spine of the blade, the thumb hole, the liners, the spacers, were all too uncomfortably sharp for me and to be reworked. And I prefer the standard blade marking etching techinque rather than the one on the Nilakka which stands out above the metal surface.

**** of a first post, welcome!

[Cliff Stamp]

I am tending to believe that the steel choice was used to justify the price (and exclusivity) of the South Fork and not for any reasonable performance reasons.

I would bet that was strongly Phil's choice as he does tend to favor very high carbide steels.

If only everyone else responded similar to the Nilikka and appreciated it for what it was and not what it was not I think the reception to it would have been much more positive.

[Blerv]

The fact that they can make a factory 4.5mm zero-ground FFG knife that approaches a flat razor is an amazing feat. Perhaps it should be described with a bit more red disclaimer wording but that's the worst thing I could say.

Collecting knives isn't exactly about practicality. We don't usually pick one $170 knife and say, "Well, this is my knife for life." In my humble collection there is a variety of edge angles and grind widths which I've justified specific uses for with borderline OCD. There are far more thick grinds than 5dps slicers; I would probably giggle just looking at it and designate it for such duties.

[chuck_roxas45]

Maybe the guys who profess to use their thinly rebeveled s30v knives hard can make the factory grind on the nilakka work for them. :D

[Popsickle]

maybe the guys who profess to use their thinly rebeveled s30v knives hard can make the factory grind on the nilakka work for them. :d

love this!! Hahaha

[kel_aa]

I would bet that was strongly Phil's choice as he does tend to favor very high carbide steels.

Looking at the pictures of Phil's handmade knives and Spyderco's production one, I would say there is a large difference in edge thickness where the sharpening occurs. While the S90V or S110V might be well managable at the custom geometry, is that really the case for Spyderco's implementation?

[Cliff Stamp]

Phil generally runs his knives at about 0.010" and less so you are looking at about a 2:1 time increase on the production vs custom. The grindability would be a bit lower on the custom but not significantly so that would be decently accurate.

A lot of it depends on the stones though. My 10V Coyote Meadow got up to 0.020" and while DMT plates still handled it easily other stones of softer materials did not, hence the regrind down to under 0.010" again after a regrind of the edge bevel as well to under 10 dps.

I think more important on the custom would be to ensure that the edge angle was significantly less than 20 dps to allow a direct micro-bevel setting on the Sharpmaker as you would assume a lot of the people buying the Spyderco version would be using that.

But again that holds on all of the S90V and similar class steels from Spyderco which is growing significant with the rise in popularity of very high carbide steels.

[Cliff Stamp]

Now with the Nilakka, Spyderco has separated me from my money for the first time in years.

Have you been using it, any thoughts?

[Cheddarnut]

Almost took the plunge on this, anyone test out the microbeveled fix?