- Joined
- Nov 16, 2002
- Messages
- 9,948
I bet that I'm not the only person who uses the 30 degree setting as their primary edge bevel when sharpening with a Spyderco. In fact, it's a great setting for the S30V Spyderco Native as it leaves a teeny micro-bevel at the edge. However, on my Benchmade 921 Switchback, I found that following the suggested directions has been very great.
I recently chipped the edge of my Switchback after repeatedly stabbing and cutting into the sheetmetal on my shed. So I reground what I could using SiC sharpening film on a sanding block and went right to the flats of the 204UF with a 30 degree angle. It didn't whittle as well as it used to (it was a whittle worse than before) and didn't pop hair despite having numerous touch-ups during woodcarving fun (basswood being softer than even 420J2, I should have been pretty much continually refining the edge. My only guess is that torquing the blade in the wood let previously weakened metal in the edge chip out now instead of later) and I saw that the edge was still chipped.
Okay, fine. Diamond time.
S30V reprofiles easily, but it still requires some patience. So out came the diamond hones to try keeping that wonderful 30 degree angle followed by the medium and fine hones to hide the scratches caused by the diamonds (it's my favorite knife, so I want it to look pretty for as long as it can). I finally get back down to the UF hones for the corners and flats and this knife is getting sharp. It's still not getting an A when graded on an edge-tester, so I had to open my eyes and see what was going on. Near the tip, the edge was still slightly chipped and a little flat and shiny. So I concentrated on that area with the UF hones until it was mostly smoothed out. That's when it occurred to me:
If this blade somehow gets misused again, do I want to go through all of this every time I restore or resharpen the edge? Hey, I wonder how big of a bevel I'll grind if I switch over to the 40 degree angle? It was a teeny-tiny bevel and my Switchback has never been sharper. More importantly, resharpening should be a lot less of a chore for a while.
Those of you who properly use a Sharpmaker probably already knew that.
Now Sal,
How about a Super-Steel model of the Sharpmaker that has a 20 or 22 degree back-bevel setting, 30 degree edge setting, and 204D and 204UF for its hones? That way, fans of very acute angles and fans of M2, S30V, and VG-10 can have one geared to getting the most from those blade steels? Please?
I recently chipped the edge of my Switchback after repeatedly stabbing and cutting into the sheetmetal on my shed. So I reground what I could using SiC sharpening film on a sanding block and went right to the flats of the 204UF with a 30 degree angle. It didn't whittle as well as it used to (it was a whittle worse than before) and didn't pop hair despite having numerous touch-ups during woodcarving fun (basswood being softer than even 420J2, I should have been pretty much continually refining the edge. My only guess is that torquing the blade in the wood let previously weakened metal in the edge chip out now instead of later) and I saw that the edge was still chipped.
Okay, fine. Diamond time.
S30V reprofiles easily, but it still requires some patience. So out came the diamond hones to try keeping that wonderful 30 degree angle followed by the medium and fine hones to hide the scratches caused by the diamonds (it's my favorite knife, so I want it to look pretty for as long as it can). I finally get back down to the UF hones for the corners and flats and this knife is getting sharp. It's still not getting an A when graded on an edge-tester, so I had to open my eyes and see what was going on. Near the tip, the edge was still slightly chipped and a little flat and shiny. So I concentrated on that area with the UF hones until it was mostly smoothed out. That's when it occurred to me:
If this blade somehow gets misused again, do I want to go through all of this every time I restore or resharpen the edge? Hey, I wonder how big of a bevel I'll grind if I switch over to the 40 degree angle? It was a teeny-tiny bevel and my Switchback has never been sharper. More importantly, resharpening should be a lot less of a chore for a while.
Those of you who properly use a Sharpmaker probably already knew that.
Now Sal,
How about a Super-Steel model of the Sharpmaker that has a 20 or 22 degree back-bevel setting, 30 degree edge setting, and 204D and 204UF for its hones? That way, fans of very acute angles and fans of M2, S30V, and VG-10 can have one geared to getting the most from those blade steels? Please?
