Alright zdp 189, this is your last chance!

[hank_rearden]

not really that dire a warning. my zdp endura is still the sharpest knife in the drawer. but sharpening it is a real test of one's patience and steady hands. again, i had to re-do the treated strop. up to this time, i was stoning and stropping it at 10 degrees per side. that's because i thought i re-profiled it right. but when i did the bite test (raising the angle against the leather until the edge bites into it) i discovered the bite happens at 16 to 18 degrees. so i didn't profile it right. so now, i have to be patient and keep stoning at 10 deg but put a micro-bev on stropping at 18 deg or so.

why am i coming down hard? because i gave away my darling vg-10 delica to a guy who's been clearing my front and back yard. i'm in no position to do it myself, since i'm recovering from pneumonia. it's a wrench to give it away but it's worthy of the guy and the help he's been giving me. before giving it to him, i took the treated leather strop and did a few passes at 16 degrees (factory edge) before this, the delica lay largely unused for several months. the vg-10 can slice hair in both directions after less than 5 minutes of stropping! that steel keeps impressing me, truth be told. the guy was shocked when i showed him the hair bit.

but with zdp? gosh, it takes much longer and it's harder to see whether or not you're doing it right. i have only myself to blame for my problems but if i continue to get frustrated, i'm getting an endura vg-10 for my steady edc.

btw, i plan to get a techno to replace my delica. i just hope the cts-xhp won't give me the same frustrations.

 

[FCM415]

Im no steel expert or sharpening guru, but I've had good luck with ZDP. So much so that it is my preferred steel if I have one. Reprofiling does take a long time but so do other high end steels. I do go real light on the finishing passes and take the extra step of passing it on a deburring block after every stone on the EP. Not sure if that does anything hehe. Now, I just maintain it on the SM up to UF and strop thereafter. Having a laserbeam of an edge 24/7 is the end result.

Not sure if I am lucky, or Ive mastered it but I suppose if I can handle the dreaded sharpening, I can deal with most anything. Stick with it, it should all click for you soon enough.