Delica - ZDP Sharpening

[unowatt]

Hello All,

Need your expert ideas, tips on sharpening a delica with ZDP steel.
I'm going to use the Edgepro sharpener, not sure on the angle I should set on the EPS for this purpose.

Appreciate your comments and suggestions.

[chuck_roxas45]

30° inclusive or 15° per side should be great.

[Holland]

i sharpened my zdp dragonfly to 16 degrees each side with a 20 degree micro bevel and its held up great

[SolidState]

I'm in the middle: I do 15 degrees per side up to 1000 grit with five strokes at 20 degrees on the fine stones of my sharpmaker to microbevel. It holds up very well.

[unowatt]

Thanks Chuck, Holland, SoldState for your inputs.

So, I set the EPS Apex to 15 degrees at red marker. Sharpie marked the delica's factory edge and took a pass, what i noticed is, it ground the very edge (just the tip) of the factory grind. Do i have to adjust the degree to ensure all of the sharpie is removed?

[unowatt]

Ok, I was able to trial and error it out and reached a precise 18 degrees per side for exact alignment of the factory grind cutting edge on the Delica ZDP.

Used 400 Grit stone - 20 passes per side
Used 600 Grit stone - 10 passes per side
used 1000 Grit stone - 5 passes on one side and 2 passes on the other side

Pretty satisfactory results, slices telephone book page effortlessly and has gotten a little mirror edge now. Me Like it!

Overall time spent - close to 2 hours. Well worth it :)

[dbcad]

ZDP responds best to gentle pressure, even on the coarser grits :) If you take the time, you'll get the results :D

[Cliff Stamp]

Spyderco does a decent job on their ZDP-189, if you really want to see how the steel can perform then set the EP to the lowest level and grind the edge at that setting. This is a Delica with a 5 dps edge with a true micro-bevel :



That is just under 200 m of 1/8" ridged cardboard and the edge is just starting to fail slicing newsprint, still easily slices photocopy paper.



And in case you think the edge is fragile : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZmvafwDGmU

[unowatt]

Spyderco does a decent job on their ZDP-189, if you really want to see how the steel can perform then set the EP to the lowest level and grind the edge at that setting.

Cliff Stamp, lowest setting on EP is 10 degrees, at that angle we will be pretty much grinding the back part of the bevel, is that the intention and slowly progress to a higher angle to get the best sharp edge?

[Cliff Stamp]

I would suggest you at least try the 10 dps setting, though it isn't necessary to regrind it all in one session, just as you get the time. Even in the worst case scenario where you are using the knife so hard the edge bevel is unstable you can just apply a secondary bevel on top of that, but if you watch the video and see what it can do at a far below 10 dps setting then that is unlikely unless you are cutting thicker metals.

[mule skinner]

paper wheels. It is the best eisiest sharpener i've used and it also preserves/restores the edge better than anything i've used.