Advice on solving problems getting VG-10 sharp

[TennToadsticker]

I've got a Sharpmaker (basic brown and white rods only) and am able to get my M390 and M4 blades shaving sharp, yet I can't seem to get either of my VG-10 blades (Kerhsaw Lahar and Spyderco Stretch) sharp enough even to cut paper cleanly. I figured the harder steels would pose greater challenges, but it's the VG-10 I'm struggling. All my knives are 30 degrees back bevel and 40 degree inclusive edge.

Does VG-10 require any sort of "special treatment" to get sharp?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[matt123abc]

Vg-10 is generally pretty easy to get sharp, BUT since you're used to sharpening high end powder steels you may be missing a thing or 2 while sharpening vg-10. M390 and m4 tend not to burr to badly. My vg-10 endura always gets a burr while I'm sharpening. Make sure you check for a burr on the vg-10. If its there remove it. I can't think what else it would be if you can sharpen m390 and m4.

 

[TennToadsticker]

Thanks. I do strop to make sure I remove any burr, but usually it's just a few times back and forth across my jeans. Should that be sufficient, or does VG-10 require a proper leather strop with compound?

 

[matt123abc]

I'm not sure, I'm probably not the best one to give advice either. I don't know enough about sharpening to explain stuff, I just know how to sharpen my knives to slice phone book paper with my sharp maker. Watch some YouTube videos of jdavis882, he seems very knowledgable in sharpening.

 

[REK Knives]

I'm not sure, I'm probably not the best one to give advice either. I don't know enough about sharpening to explain stuff, I just know how to sharpen my knives to slice phone book paper with my sharp maker. Watch some YouTube videos of jdavis882, he seems very knowledgable in sharpening.

you should remove the burr with the last stone that created it...not leather, jeans, or anything else.

 

[1badcj_7]

even though you're using a sharpmaker, you might want to try marking both your knifes edges with sharpie to make sure you're removing metal from the correct bevel. You should also explain the process you used to sharpen the vg10. It will be easier to give advice if we know how you're sharpening it.
1badcj_7

 

[Basher313]

The Sharpie trick works amazingly well, FYI. One of many useful tips I've learned since joining BF.

As an aside, I'll gladly take that Stretch off your hands if it keeps giving you trouble.

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

The only possibility is you have not reached the apex fully yet. The sharpie trick will be useul.

The info about condition of the edge prior to sharpening is also important. Was it factory then dulled? Was it being used hard & dulled? Any chips or rolling? What was the original/previous angle set to?

Using the sharpie, you'd see where you're hitting.

 

[singularity35]

The only possibility is you have not reached the apex fully yet. The sharpie trick will be useul.

The info about condition of the edge prior to sharpening is also important. Was it factory then dulled? Was it being used hard & dulled? Any chips or rolling? What was the original/previous angle set to?

Using the sharpie, you'd see where you're hitting.

This one. If it's not getting sharp, you're not hitting the edge.

 

[Benuser]

you should remove the burr with the last stone that created it...not leather, jeans, or anything else.

Josh is right. The burr has to be abraded. Use a very light touch. There's some plasticity in this steel: if you apply too much pressure a new burr will appear at the other side, but only after a while...

 

[TennToadsticker]

The only possibility is you have not reached the apex fully yet. The sharpie trick will be useul.

The info about condition of the edge prior to sharpening is also important. Was it factory then dulled? Was it being used hard & dulled? Any chips or rolling? What was the original/previous angle set to?

Using the sharpie, you'd see where you're hitting.

I always use a sharpie, and have definitely benefitted from jdavis882's videos. As for the condition of the edge, it was less than shaving sharp when I bought it new. It has never seen hard use or had any rolled edges. The most it has seen is some kitchen prep work. Based on what I've observed, I think I may need to reprofile my two VG-10 blades since in the 40degree Sharpmaker setting I can't seem to scrape off the sharpie ink at the apex and raise a burr. In order to remove the sharpie at the apex, I have to tip the blade to increase the angle beyond 40degrees, and then it becomes more difficult to maintain a consistent angle. Perhaps I'm also interfering with the burr formation by using a bit too much pressure in the latter stages of sharpening (I wonder if M390 and M4 are somehow less sensitive to how much pressure you apply).

Thanks to everyone for sharing their wisdom on this matter.

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

Good that you've found the original angle to be more than 40. Reprofiling might take sometime, so be patient.

Alternative is gwtting some coarse sandpaper 300-400 grit or even lower to wrap around the sharpmaker rod. This way you don't have to use too muh pressure and it still removes the metal fast.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks. I do strop to make sure I remove any burr, but usually it's just a few times back and forth across my jeans. Should that be sufficient, or does VG-10 require a proper leather strop with compound?

VG-10 gets some absolutely tenacious burrs (wire edges), at least in Spyderco's knives. Probably the worst burrs/wires of any steel I've seen. They form, fold over and hang on for dear life. Stropping by itself often won't faze them. Burrs are all the worse, if too much pressure is used on the hones; on ceramics in particular. The flipside to that is, a ceramic used with very, very light pressure can help to gently file the burr away. That is what I resort to about 99% of the time, when sharpening VG-10. A possible alternative for stropping might be to use a more aggressive compound, like diamond, on a very firm backing, like wood. I haven't had much luck in using leather with any compound, for removing burrs/wires on VG-10.

 

[17pes]

VG-10 gets some absolutely tenacious burrs (wire edges), at least in Spyderco's knives. Probably the worst burrs/wires of any steel I've seen. They form, fold over and hang on for dear life. Stropping by itself often won't faze them. Burrs are all the worse, if too much pressure is used on the hones; on ceramics in particular. The flipside to that is, a ceramic used with very, very light pressure can help to gently file the burr away. This is what I resort to, about 99% of the time, when sharpening VG-10. A possible alternative for stropping might be to use a more aggressive compound, like diamond, on a very firm backing, like wood. I haven't had much luck in using leather with any compound, for removing burrs/wires on VG-10.[/QUOTE


I'm glad someone explained that. I've had some serious problems getting my Delica and Endura to where I wanted them. No trouble whatsoever with S30v, D2, 8cr, aus8... Never looked for hair splitting, but I have had trouble even getting vg10 to scrape-shaving sharp. I'll be looking rectify that now.

I was thinking to start a thread like this, since my Delica lost its factory edge a couple weeks ago and has been giving me a headache since. Glad it wasn't just me.

 

[mtangent]

Based on what I've observed, I think I may need to reprofile my two VG-10 blades since in the 40degree Sharpmaker setting I can't seem to scrape off the sharpie ink at the apex and raise a burr. In order to remove the sharpie at the apex, I have to tip the blade to increase the angle beyond 40degrees,

Thanks to everyone for sharing their wisdom on this matter.

You definately need to reprofile. Go for 30 degrees inclusive. I sharpen my Spydie VG10 to 30 degrees on the sharpmaker, & leave it that way. But I am happy to touch it up regularly. I would only put a small 40 degree micro bevel on if I were doing tougher work, but I choose fixed blades when I do tougher stuff.