Sharpening ZDP-189

[Gary W Graley]

Well, I decided to give one of the Caly 3.5's a go, looking for a keen slicer to partner up with the Southard, just another reason to get another knife, yeah I know, I need help but that's how it is with knife knuts!

Well it arrived, sleek package all told here, I was worried that it would be too slim but like Goldilocks, it's just right in size. The edge was sharp but wasn't screaming sharp as some of us really like them to be, another failing of mine! lol BUT as I have had ZDP-189 knives before I wasn't concerned, my FRN stretch is my sharpest knife in the corral right now and thought I'd be able to do the same with a thinner stock blade, make it a real slicer!

BUT and there always seems to be a but from time to time, this knife didn't sharpen up as the Stretch did, the bevels were highly polished as the Stretch was, but the actual edge was quite stuttering, read micro chips, I don't have a powerful loop to view but the cutting told the tale. So, I sharpened it some more, parts of the edge attained sharpness the rest, not so much. So it was late, put the stuff away, have the Edge Pro system, and would attack it the next day.

Comes the next day, I sharpened it again, going through making an entire new bevel all the way to mirror polish again and THIS time things were more proper. WHeW that was better, but it did sour my initial feelings towards the knife, where I was super excited on getting it to where I didn't want to carry it. I'm as fickle as a girl sometimes

But it is now very very sharp, so the intent of this drawn out tale of woe and turn around, is for you guys and gals not to give up if by chance you run into a blade with similar chatter of the edge, you just need to persevere until you get to the 'inner' steel.

G2

details of the stones used, for those that have interest of such things;

120 grit from the Edge Pro kit
220 Shapton glass
320 Shapton glass
500 Shapton glass
2k Shapton glass
8k Shapton glass

Leather strop

And lets just say, I've sharpened many many miles of edges over my lifetime...

[Melektau]

You sound like myself edges drive me nuts sometimes im to picky to use them

[kbuzbee]

Two thoughts...

1. ZDP seems to need a lighter touch than say VG10

2. Sometimes my initial edges seem "burned". Second or third sharpenings seem to do better.

Ken

[KardinalSyn]

I bought a Perrin Bowie to pair with my Tuff. I told myself that I needed a FB to go with my folder. :)

[Evil D]

IMO the best way to handle ZDP is to take the bevel way down to like 15-20 inclusive or lower and then micro bevel it and just maintain that small bevel. All the nightmares about this steel can be avoided when you're not trying to sharpen a big wide bevel.

[phillipsted]

Agreed, David. I like to take mine down to 25 or so then microbevel them at 40. This makes them easy to touch up on the SharpMaker. ZDP is an amazing steel for a slicer. My ZDP Caly Jrs. are as good as they come.

TedP

[Norris]

Great info thanks ! :D

[The Mastiff]

I'm with Ken. I use a fine or extra fine diamond stone and a very light touch. If I do my job correctly it's very easy. If not? It can be a trial. :)

Joe

[J D Wijbenga]

Yep, sounds like you edge was a bit damaged from power sharpening at the factory. The good thing, from now on it will get better with the every sharpening. No need to reduce the angle. ZDP can easily handle 15dps if you are not using your knife in an extreme maner.

Use it, sharpen it, and you will like it more and more. And it will soon match your Stretch! :-)

[noseoil]

I've started on the edge on my Delica (dinged 2 days after getting it, my bad) and have found that I don't have the correct transition of stones from a "fine" diamond Gatco to their hard ceramic stone. It looks like I will get this right, but there's a large gap I'm filling right now with stropping to get a better polish on this thing.

When I was told the ZDP-189 would take a bit more time than usual, and be a bit challenging to sharpen for a noob, it may have been the understatement of the year. Fortunately, I'm every bit as stubborn as the steel and perhaps a bit more. This is one hard steel! I'm working at 19d, which seems to be about what the factory had out of the box. The original edge was sharp but "chippy" if I had to evaluate it.

[phillipsted]

I've found that sharpening ZDP-189 is challenging - but not necessarily "difficult". I use basically the same technique as I use on other steels, with minor variations to suit the steel (I use a light touch on ZDP, too, Joe). But given the hardness of the ZDP, it just takes longer than other steels. I find that I need to be patient and not rush it. I usually take a break, especially when rebeveling, and clean my stones.

So, I don't consider ZDP a difficult steel to sharpen. But it sometimes does test my patience! :cool:

TedP

[elena86]

I have a Delica in ZDP189 and is my favourite small EDC.I just bought a Knife Works Knife and Tool sharpener with small belts.Maybe some of you used it.But because of the belts the bevel will be convex.Do you guys think it is a good ideea to put a convex edge on my ZDP Delica ? Did anyone use KWKT sharpener ?

[Evil D]

I have a Delica in ZDP189 and is my favourite small EDC.I just bought a Knife Works Knife and Tool sharpener with small belts.Maybe some of you used it.But because of the belts the bevel will be convex.Do you guys think it is a good ideea to put a convex edge on my ZDP Delica ? Did anyone use KWKT sharpener ?

Personally, I wouldn't go near that unless you were trying to regrind the actual grind of a knife. For sharpening, you're going to take off WAY more metal than is necessary in a very short time, and you're going to burn the edge of the steel which is going to ruin edge retention.

As for running a convex with ZDP...I don't see why not, as long as you can follow up and sharpen it. I'm not a big convex fan myself, I don't see what they have to offer over a standard bevel with a micro bevel.

[elena86]

Personally, I wouldn't go near that unless you were trying to regrind the actual grind of a knife. For sharpening, you're going to take off WAY more metal than is necessary in a very short time, and you're going to burn the edge of the steel which is going to ruin edge retention.

As for running a convex with ZDP...I don't see why not, as long as you can follow up and sharpen it. I'm not a big convex fan myself, I don't see what they have to offer over a standard bevel with a micro bevel.

Wich sharpener do you recommend ? I have modest sharpening skills and some recommended to give Wicked Edge a try ...

[Evil D]

As for difficulty...It just depends on the grind of the knife and the angle of the bevel. The wider the bevel you're trying to sharpen, the more steel you're trying to bring to an apex, and when dealing with a steel as hard and wear resistant as ZDP, you'll be working it for a while. This typically leads people into adding more force to try to make the steel sharp instead of letting the stones do the work, and that's where you end up chipping your edge as you sharpen it, making burrs which also chip off, etc etc. If you make a low back bevel and then micro bevel it, you're stone is hitting a very small amount of steel in order to apex the edge, and then it becomes soooo much easier. Of course, this means you're going to have a thinner bevel than usual, so you can't go chopping into staples with it unless you like big chips in your edge, but for a slicer (which this steel is best for) the thin bevel just adds to the awesomeness.

I did this bevel with crappy Lansky diamond stones. It took HOURS. Touch ups literally take minutes though. The bevel is 12 degrees per side, and at the moment has no micro bevel so it's ridiculously sharp.

[FCM415]

IMO the best way to handle ZDP is to take the bevel way down to like 15-20 inclusive or lower and then micro bevel it and just maintain that small bevel. All the nightmares about this steel can be avoided when you're not trying to sharpen a big wide bevel.

That's what I did.

[JD Spydo]

I've had some great results using my set of Spyderco 302 ceramic Benchstones. The last time I sharpened one of my Spyderco ZDP-189 blades I also used the help of one of the "Razor Edge" Sharpening Guides which hold the blade angle to the exact degree in which you want it sharpened when using the Spyderco 302 Benchstones.

I also find that on the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker I'll grind in the relief or reprofile the blade to the 30 degree selection with the diamond stone. And that's all I do on the 30 degree selection. Then I go to the 40 degree slots and use the medium gray, fine and ultra fine and usually get excellent results.

However when it's all said and done I have better, longer lasting results with the Spyderco 302 Benchstones. It's just a little more time consuming but it sure seems to have a more durable edge. Albeit the 204 Sharpmaker is great for touching up an already reasonably sharp edge.

The bottom line hint to getting great results with sharpening ZDP-189 is to make sure you have sufficient relief ground in on the edge.

[Gary W Graley]

Good stuff guys, thanks ! Really enjoying the Caly 3.5 had the Caly 3 and didn't keep her very long, this one seems just right, while I prefer a slightly thicker handle, this one works well and carrys well because of its thin profile, although, it is a ride along as my main EDC is still the Southard, albeit a bit thicker bladed so it doesn't slip through dense material as fast, it's just a dandy great knife
G2

[Evil D]

Wich sharpener do you recommend ? I have modest sharpening skills and some recommended to give Wicked Edge a try ...

Sorry I missed your question. I've heard good things about the Wicked Edge but it has one thing that I avoid with sharpening systems, and that's a blade clamp. They make it difficult to clamp flat ground blades and then you have to compensate for how far the edge is out from the clamp, they're just tedious. I went with an Edge Pro and probably wont ever use another sharpener. Both systems have some learning curve but they're designed to take out as much human error as possible so it wont take long for even a novice to get good results.