SOG Trident Mini + sharpening

[markr6]

I can't sharpen this thing to save my life! I've always been horrible about sharpening ANY knife. Can't do it. I believe it's AUS8 steel.

I gave up on stones and tried a Lansky 4 rod turnbox. I was using the ceramic sticks at the 20° setting with no success. I see people doing this on youtube and they're easily cutting telephone book paper!

Any ideas using the sharpener I have? I really don't want to get into more gadgets at the moment.

 

[cosme97]

Use sharpie on the edge, and make a couple passes on the stone. Then look at the sharpie to see where the stone is contacting the blade, make sure you are contacting the very edge. Good luck [emoji851][emoji106]🏻

 

[markr6]

Good idea! Thanks

 

[cosme97]

No problem [emoji108]🏻

 

[P_A_S_1]

I had trouble sharpening for a while, my results were so-so and it was frustrating. The problem I had was I just didn't have a basic comprehension of what I was doing and at the same time being exposed to an overwhelming amount of information on the the subject. Once I understood the basics it was easy and the results were good. Bench stones (IMO) offer the most versatility for the least cost (with some exceptions), so if you have a very coarse and very fine stone you already have all you need. If your looking for a nice symmetrical edge that's pretty then know accomplishing this free hand without any sort of guide is difficult even with practice but if your goal is a sharp knife with edge appearance being of little concern, it's easy.

With the coarse stone grind down on one side of the knife until you raise a burr along the entire edge, then flip it over and do the same to the other side. Don't be too concerned about the angle, keep it low with the spine of the knife just slightly off the stone, the goal is to thin out the metal behind the edge and remove enough metal from each side as to get to the point where the two sides meet (that's why you grind until you get a complete burr before going to the other side). How you do this step doesn't matter, back and forth/circular motions/scrubbing, removing metal is all your doing.

When done with the above work on the coarse stone move to the fine stone.

With the fine stone you are setting the cutting edge, place the knife on the stone (burr down) at an angle slightly higher then the low angle you used with the coarse stone, and draw the knife across in one direction (heel to tip/into the stone), alternate sides after each pass. The actual edge your producing will be small, your not looking to hone the entire edge you made with the coarse stone (unless you have a lot of time you want to kill), that's why you raise the angle. Go very slow as to maintain the same angle as best as possible, you can put some pressure on the knife while sweeping it against the stone but lighten up a bit with each stroke and just the weight of the knife for the last few strokes, after 15-20 passes on each side check your results.

If you have an old knife try it out, it's an easy way to get results. Just know that if the coarse stone isn't coarse enough metal removal takes longer and if the fine isn't very fine your edge will only be so good.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I was in the same boat until I got a Lansky. Now my knifes are so sharp that looking at the edge will cause your eyes to bleed.

http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448900805&sr=8-1&keywords=lansky+sharpeners

I use the Lansky and follow it up with a leather strop and stropping compound. The strop and stropping compound polish the edge to a mirror finish and makes the blade super sharp. If you keep an eye on the edge all it will need is a touch up on the strop.

bob

 

[P_A_S_1]

I use a piece of leather just to refresh the edges on my kitchen knives when they roll a bit, no compound, it was a little tricky at first but once you get the right pressure and angle it works. (And for $5 it was cheaper then the cheapest smooth steel I could find.) Slicing a lemon the other day I had some real thin slices with perfect slivers of the same seed in each slice.

 

[markr6]

Still no luck with my SOG. So many positive reviews on the Lansky 4-rod box so I must be doing something wrong.

 

[P_A_S_1]

Markr6, is it possible your honing a dull edge with abrasives that aren't course enough? The system I see has medium and fine rods, if that's all you have you may have to spend more time on the medium rods and continue until you achieve a complete burr, if you don't then moving to the fine is pointless.

 

[P_A_S_1]

Also, while the box might set the rods at specific angles it's still incumbent on the user to maintain the knife in position throughout the stroke. While a system like this makes it a little easier then free handing on a flat stone some of the same problems (IMO) are still there. Try drawing the knife slower when using the fine rods and paying more attention to maintaining the same angle.

 

[markr6]

Markr6, is it possible your honing a dull edge with abrasives that aren't course enough? The system I see has medium and fine rods, if that's all you have you may have to spend more time on the medium rods and continue until you achieve a complete burr, if you don't then moving to the fine is pointless.

I didn't think it required much since it still seemed fairly sharp. But I don't know enough about knives to really make that call. Maybe I'll try the medium rods again, then move onto the ceramic.

I've seen some people say start with 20° then move to 25°. That seemed like the opposite of what I thought made sense.

 

[P_A_S_1]

I didn't think it required much since it still seemed fairly sharp. But I don't know enough about knives to really make that call. Maybe I'll try the medium rods again, then move onto the ceramic.

I've seen some people say start with 20° then move to 25°. That seemed like the opposite of what I thought made sense.

That's fine. In that manner you get a slightly stonger edge (it's referred to as a micro-edge) and the final sharpening process is easier as your only sharpening a small part of the edge. That's what I do and explained in the post above. Maintaining the same angle throughout is sharper (but weaker and takes longer to set).


Also, what you intend to use the knife for determines the edge you put on the knife. The performance of a kitchen knife is achieved through lower angles on both the primary and secondary edges and while you can transfer these attributes to your folder it may not be suitable for robust use. The less steel behind the edge the better slicer you will have, the more steel the stronger/more robust edge you will have that will excel at other tasks like chopping/whittling.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

According to SOG their the edge on their knives is "18-22 degrees" so I would shoot for 20 degrees and as P_A_S_1 suggested you might not be spending enough time with the rougher grits to get the initial angle right.

If all else fails SOG will sharpen it for you for $12.00.

http://bestsogknives.com/sharpening-your-sog-knife/