Spyderco Forums

Ok so we have got guys here that can free hand sharpen on a brick I have seen the videos and color me very impressed.

I ain't onademguys.

I use a Hapstone fixed angled sharpener and a TSPROF BLITZ before that and yeah I have used quit a few others like the Wicked Edge Gen 3.

Recently I pulled my stones from the KME and used them to reprofile my S30V Manix2XL DLC in to look more like my recent Cruecarta version I just got.

I did this with the Hapstone Screw tower version and TSPROF AXICUBE.

These stones are incredible especially considering the price, I was able to reprofile and make it just like my new one sticky sharp and super slicey.

Being out of practice I forgot about diamond slurry and got a few scratches on the flats. No problem cleaned them up and painted them with finger nail polish to finish then acetone to wipe off when done.

Next I decided to go with factory angles on a PM2 Wharncliffe S30V DLC from Cutlery Shoppee. For this knife only the best

Recently I received an order from the Ukraine PDTOOLS factory to be exact with there silver line of CBN Stones.

These are top of the line hands down the best ever.

It took 3 weeks to get due to customs in Poland being so slow but they arrived. Alex was super responcive and cooperative, very nice to work with, I would not hesitate to order from them again.

I started with the 160 Grit then 320 ending with 650.

These gave me as close to a fresh out of the box from Spyderco edge as anything I have ever used.

I performed an experiment, after the 160 raising a bur on both sides I used point to heel, spine to edge strokes only. This resulted in a blade that excels on the draw cut more than the push, sounds crazy but it works.

Mostly I use the Spyderco Gauntlet with CBN rods and ceramic for day to day touch up. Spyderco really got these grits and devices just right.

Recently my Spyderco doublestuffs glue failed on the CBN / Ceramic stone. So I soaked the ceramic stone in water and peeled off the rest of the glue.

Weak rubbery stuff that glue.

Planning on doing some tests with it on the hapstone guided system should come out great.

Well just wanted to share what I am finding works best, I have tried different venev stones etc... not very impressed these stand out big time. Even the edge pro bonded are not as good.

I'm pretty darned happy with my Venev .
A few months ago I spent some time with the very coarse Venev . . .

Venev 6" x 1" Orion Series Bonded Diamond Sharpening Stone with Aluminum Mounting for Edge Pro (100%)
the 60 grit I first got was not flat by quite a bit . I was wondering why my angle setting was varying / had to reset to hit the edge.
Then I wanted another one to keep at work but could not get the 60 so I ordered an 80 grit .
The 80 was good and flat ! ! !

I'll keep the 60 at work for free hand "emergency" sharpening . . . the boss once and a while walks up and says "will you sharpen this _______ ".
and use the 80 at home on the Edge Pro.

I have other top dollar very coarse stones but the Venev is my fave for a number of reasons .
I highly recommend it for hogging off metal for reprofiling .

Sure I can free hand ; probably even get 'er shaving from putting the brick slurry on a hunk of paper as Murry Carter did.
I STILL MUCH PREFER precision , flat, facets formed on a sharpening jig at the precise angle within a degree or two for specific sets of tasks .
No question !!
I have experimented for decades and I know what I want .
Shaving hair is one thing . Even whittling curls off a hair .
BUT
Cutting / slicing matter that has structure (((("""and fights back if you will"""))) such as cardboard and hard rubber and precisely paring hard wood joints and even mild steel and aluminum (deburing ragged edges) is quite another thing .
Not going to sharpen for those on a brick free hand .

Just saying the free hand on a brick thing is nothing to be ashamed of if you don't do it.
Might be ok for cutting up vegetables . . .
. . . naaaawwwh . . . even then I want a non roundy edge.

diamond slurry and got a few scratches on the flats. No problem cleaned them up and painted them with finger nail polish to finish then acetone to wipe off when done.

I have been meaning to suggest this for protecting the blades . Most of my knives are "just" users so I go ahead and let the blemishing of the sides of the blades happen during sharpening . Sure I wipe off the place where the blade rests on my Edge Pro but I don't often protect the blades as you describe . When I do protect my special knives I use the tape technique that Apostle P demonstrates in the vid below.

Starts at 10:00 minutes in .
I wouldn't want to breath the acetone especially in the winter when I have the windows closed up .
I sharpen in the kitchen , where there is plenty of running water , "The Chef" would kick my butt if I made her kitchen smell like acetone .

anyway you might want to see if this is any good for you . . .

All I use anymore are diamond plates and a Sharpmaker. Diamond plates on my Edge Pro for reprofiling, and Sharpmaker for a few touch ups before going back to a fresh new apex. I also use the diamond plates on my Sharpmaker on some steels that seem to prefer diamond over ceramic.

Thanks for the video, good for people to see and know. I actually learned that years ago from the same guy. I did use tape like this when starting the Manix2XL but the water lifted it and became a pain.

That was the first reprofile with the edge pro bonded. It was not up to snuff so I broke out the KME and did not use any protection = i.mediate mistake.

After that finger nail polised the two I worked on. Just better really being in Florida a pair of nitrile gloves a trip outside and some acetone make quick work of cleanup.

Indoors well just getting even for putting up with decades of nail polishing

I haven't been posting pictures due to how this site works do you still need to use imgur or something would like to share some stuff.