Knife Sharpening

[GarageBoy]

Re: Sharpening angle for BM710HS

you can make it pretty damn thin, I know guys running at 10 degrees and under per side

cardboard is pretty much a reason you want M2 since its so abrasion resistant. And try not to hit staples, it doesn't matter what steel/angle it is, IT WILL chip/dent

 

[SJACKAL]

Re: Sharpening angle for BM710HS

Sorry guys that I posted the thread and disappeared, I was away for a few days, thanx to all who replied.

John, I used a lansky, so no problem. The good thing about it is that I can leave the knife clamped there and put away for a few days before I continue.

Joe, you one of the famous guys on sharpening! I read your excellent article! Its hard to find it coz I dont have bladeforum membership and there are much broken links on google. Thanx for your reassurance about the angle. I plan to multi-bevel it approximately at about 16, 17 & finally 18 deg.

Anyway I had done both sides and I will do the rest of the angles later. The problem with the ceramic stone is that it gets clogged so it gets slower and slower, now my coarse stone is like the medium stone. Will get a coarse diamond stone for reprofiling in future.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Re: Sharpening angle for BM710HS

Joe, you one of the famous guys on sharpening! I read your excellent article! Its hard to find it coz I dont have bladeforum membership and there are much broken links on google. Thanx for your reassurance about the angle. I plan to multi-bevel it approximately at about 16, 17 & finally 18 deg.

http://www.edcknives.com/vcom/knife_knowledge.php

Although you're better off just getting a membership at bladeforums. It's free.

Joe

 

[SJACKAL]

Re: Sharpening angle for BM710HS

Done! I finished off with stropping on leatherback charged with diamond power. Didn't do it till mirror polish but its smooth enough

 

[chmsam]

Re: Sharpening angle for BM710HS

Just to add my two cents worth, by marking the edge with a felt tip marker and then lightly running the edge over a hone, you can determine the proper angle. Too high off the stone and all you sharpen is the very tip. Too low and you rub off the ink away from the edge. Get it right and the edge gets cleaned of ink. This has been mentioned in other threads on thhis topic.

And as also can be found elsewhere, what you cut most often should determine the angle of the edge of the blade.

There's an article in the most recent issue of Blade magazine that has a few knife guru's reasoning behind how much and how often you should sharpen. It's worth reading.

 

[cbxer55]

Re: Sharpening angle for BM710HS

Both of the knives I edc are CPM steel. The Spyderco military has been around for a few years and seen much abuse. Mostly I just use the ceramic rods on a daily basis to keep it sharp. I only break out the Lansky kit if it gets chipped, which has happened once or twice. It is at 18 degrees. My other edc is the Benchmade Neil Blackwood with 4.5 inch S30V blade. I bought it about 6 months ago and have not had to sharpen it yet! When sharpening I work both sides evenly, unless it is a chisel grind. Chisel grinds you sharpen the beveled side only, then lightly rub the flat side on the hone to break the wire edge. Same goes for serrated edges. The only serrated edge I have on me is the second blade on the leatherman Charge, and it rarely gets used.

 

[2000xlt]

knife sharpening

how is this?, i am looking at something to keep my knives i only have 4, razor sharp. i once saw a video where the guy sharpend his ax and shaved off a full beard with it, NOW THATS ....... SHARP!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Edge-Pro-Ap...ryZ43220QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Bogie]

Re: knife sharpening

The Edge Pro is consider the bbest system buy most of the knife community down side is the price around $300 retail.

The CRKT Slide Sharp is another that gets High Reviews
CRKT

I my self use a Lansky Pro System with Dimond Hones
Lansky

Gatco makes a Lansky style system that can be had for less thats a good system for about $50
Gatco

 

[magic79]

Re: knife sharpening

how is this?, i am looking at something to keep my knives i only have 4, razor sharp. i once saw a video where the guy sharpend his ax and shaved off a full beard with it, NOW THATS ....... SHARP!!!

You're right! And, the guy that shaves with an axe has a company that makes very, very good sharpening equipment, videos, and books. I bought several things from him a few months ago...good stuff and quick to ship.

http://www.razoredgesystems.com/

I've used the CRKT sharpener too, and at least in my hands, it's junk.

 

[dniice87]

Re: knife sharpening

I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker and i like it alot. One great thing about it is u can sharpen just about anything on it not just knives. You really cant beat if for the price ($46)

 

[ghostrider]

Re: knife sharpening

I use both the Lansky and the Sharpmaker. The Edge Pro is considered the best, but since I've never used one I can't compare them to what I have. I like the Lansky for heavy work with a diamond Extra Coarse hone, and the Sharpmaker can't be beat for edge maintenence.

Just my $.02.

 

[nzgunnie]

Re: knife sharpening

I use the lanskey system, I find it works really well for smaller blades.

 

[whiskypapa3]

Re: knife sharpening

I still use my Grandfather's Novaculite stones from the 1890's. My father added manmade stones (AlOx. Carburundum etc.) during the 30's and I added diamonds to both collections. They taught me how to set a proper edge, well enough to sharpen my Uncle's scalpels, to carve a ham paper thin (thier trademarks) and to repair straight razor blades. Shaving with an axe was a piece of cake, did it many times as a Scout Master. Getting a good edge just takes practice and a bit of concentration, you can learn how to judge blade angles fairly quickly and the feel of the steel on the stone when you are doing it right.

I just finished a couple of knives. The final edge work was done on 400, 1000 and then 2000 grit "Wet-r-Dry" glued on glass and honed off on 8000 mesh diamond on sole leather, my go-to setup for the last 35 years. Bee-you-tee-fulll!!

 

[chmsam]

Re: knife sharpening

As always, it just depends on what you want to cut. Showing off is one thing, but a razor sharp ax isn't what I'd actually want to use.

There are tons of sharpening hones, stones, and systems, and the debate can go on for a loooooonnngggg time.

Personally, I use a Lansky with diamond hones, a Crock Stick block, and a leather strop. I have one or two knives I run across the 4000 grit paper glued on a flat piece of plexiglass.

Testing the sharpness is the one almost universal thing I have seen people (myself included once in a while) do with almost a total lack of sense.

Dumb -- shave hair.
Dumber -- run across thumb.
Dumbest -- run against fingerprints (and you can just bet someone is gonna cut themselves trying this today, right?).

In a magazine article, A. G. Russell suggested using styrofoam peanuts and trying to slice them as thinly as possible. It takes a real sharp knife to get them thin enough to see through and it's a lot safer.

 

[xochi]

Re: knife sharpening

I'm not sure of the manufacturer but there is one of those lansky type sharpeners sold in wal-mart ...don't bother with it. Complete junk.

According to the Edgepro guy , diamond stones are mainly useful for sharpening extremely hard (ceramic) blades. His argument is that most blade steels , even premium stainless and tool steels, will tend to end up with the diamond material embedded in the steel and stripped from the stone.

Chris Reeve knives recommends the Spyderco Sharpmaker for their knives. I own a sharpmaker and find it to be an excellent and extremely versatile sharpener. I use the Sharpmaker to maintain the edges of a bunch of different types of knives. Just today, on the jobsite with no convenient place to set up something like an edgepro or a lansky, I put a shave sharp edge (would have gone to Office depot to pick up styrofoam peanuts but I noticed the hair growing on my arm :nana: ) on a cable splicing knife that sees very hard use and had become about as dull as a butter knife. This knife was rusted , had the tip broken off, had uneven spots in the edge from cutting into copper and aluminum cable but the Sharpmaker (and knowing how to use it) still got it shave sharp. I've used the sharpmaker with a wide variety of steels in a wide variety of locales. The stones last a very long time and I've found that the waterless hand cleaner that we keep on the job does a great job of cleaning the steel out of the stones. The sharpmaker could be improved, but, IMHO there isn't a better sharpening system available once portability , versatility , ease of use and cost are factored in.

The Edgepro is probabally overkill for maintaining 4 knives and users tend to complain that setup is sort of a pain and generally a pemanent mounting place is preferred. There was a thread on the edgepro but it may be lost now. It certainly does a great job on most knives and is also good for "reprofiling" an edge since it can be used to set somewhat precise angles.

I'd love to learn the flat stone "knack" but after pricing decent stones decided against that route, however one great thing about learning 'stones' is that with creativity any sufficiently hard , flat , abrasive material can be used in a pinch.

 

[cbxer55]

Re: knife sharpening

I use one of two methods to test sharpness. Try cutting toilet paper sometime with a dull knife!! It takes wicked sharp to cleanly cut TP, especially on single ply against the grain. Anything will cut with the grain if it is somewhat sharp, but against the grain is another story.

The other methid is thumbnail. Hold thumb vertical facing down. Place knife blade on fingernail at about 45 degree angle, again facing down. Slowly slide blade across nail. Any dull spot and the blade will slide right off the nail. It should feel "bitey" as it goes across without sliding. If it does slide, it goes down off the end of your thumb, where there is nothing to cut.


CBXer55
Oklahoma City

 

[chmsam]

Re: knife sharpening

Don't get me wrong -- I've done all the bio-mechanical how-sharp-is-it? tests, and have the scars to prove it. It's just that I might finally be getting smarter, albeit less macho, with my methods of seeing how sharp the blade can get. That and the fact that I no longer carry all that many Band-Aids.

Pretty much the concept is whatever you are comfortable using, and will actually use, ends up being the best system.

 

[Sturluson]

Re: knife sharpening

If you learn to sharpen "free hand" - using skill and experience rather than a purchased sharpening system - you can sharpen your knives, axes, scissors, froes, pruning hooks and toenail clippers anywhere, anytime and with a minimum of equipment. Believe me, if you lose the sharpening stone in your pack while camping, you can use a fine-grained rock as a fair substitute.

Becoming less instead of more dependent on "systems" is an ideal worth striving toward.

(but the Sharpmaker does work pretty well....)

 

[DimWatted]

Re: knife sharpening

The Edge Pro is consider the bbest system buy most of the knife community down side is the price around $300 retail.

I think you're thinking of the price point on the "Professional" model. The "Apex Original Kit" goes for $135.

I've had the Professional model for a few months and have been pleased with it. In retrospect I think the Apex model would have sufficed for my sharpening needs. Not that I'm complaining.

Anyway, to add my two cents in answer to 2000xlt's question, I think that were one to purchase the Edge Pro Apex, they would be happy with it and think it a good value. Given the price point it's listed at on eBay and the seller's limited rating, I might opt for buying directly from Edge Pro, but that's just me. The Edge Pro website also has additional items you can spend money on, although right now the site is looking funky and is a little hard to navigate. http://edgeproinc.com/

Ironically, putting a razor sharp mirror finish on one of my pocketknives is one of the things on my list to do tonight but instead I'm looking at flashlights. Off to sharpen…

 

[J_Oei]

Re: knife sharpening

There is a sharpening contest going on:

link

The current leader is Ben Dale and his EdgePro.

I have one and have been getting hair-popping edges for a while.
My wife initially complained about the cost of the sharpening system, but
since I keep all the kitchen knives really sharp, she doesn't complain any more.
In fact, she has been volunteering my services to our neighbors!