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At wits end trying to sharpen my sebenzas belly/tip

Darth Detori

Darth Detori

Joined
Sep 21, 2000
Messages
943
I've been trying to get my belly and tip sharp for what seems like months now and I just can't get it. I've used the sharpmaker at 40* at 30*, I've tried the benchstone setup, I've tried changing my angle near the tip, I've tried stropping, light strokes, heavy strokes, medium stone, fine stone, etc etc. Im REALLY out on money and can't afford to send it back in... What am I missing? The rest of the blade I can get ultra sharp easily, but the belly seems like it's at a Rockwell hardness of about 200
 
I've also used the marker trick and I find it hits the shoulders. So am I effectively stuck sharpening at an inconsistent angle?
 
i can help you out but it is easier for me to talk rather than type. if you would like some help send me an email with your number and i'll give you a call and help you out. if you want someone to sharpen it for you i can do that too.
 
I have put a convex on a lot of my knives. It allows sharpening of that tricky area with particular ease - it's a trick worth getting into your repertoire
 
I used the Edge Pro to just reprofile my Sebenza entirely.
For me a v grind at 15* per side is perfect for my uses and makes for an easy touch up.
 
Your going to need to re profile so you can get an even bevel. Right now your proably just hitting the shoulder and not really sharpening to the edge of the
blade. I would just send it in rather than trying to practice on your sebbie. Then in the future try maintaining the edge rather than waiting until it gets dull.
 
I'm in the same boat as you honestly

When my 21 came from the dealer, it wasn't the sharpest knife out of the box; wouldn't even slice paper. I was underwhelmed in my 21, but grew to love it.

All of my other knives have gotten sharp using the 30° setup, but the sebenza just will not get there. I just deal with it since the sebenza is my favorite edc knife, but by no means the show off knife to others.
 
Like some of the other guys mentioned you'll have to sharpen all the way to the edge. You maybe just hitting your shoulders of your bevel and not working to the edge. Work one side until you can feel a burr the complete length from the belly to the tip on the opposite side. Then flip the knife and work that edge until you can feel the burr on the other side. Then use very light strokes on each side to knock the burr off. Repeat this process on higher and higher grits to refine your edge.

Depending on how well you can sharpen, the belly and the tip can be the hardest part to get nice and sharp. Practice and patience and you'll get there. Here is my Umnumzaan's edge.

023-16.jpg

043-9.jpg
 
My concern with any continual sharpening is that I'm going to over sharpen the rest of the blade. Do I attempt to just sharpen the belly or do I just continually do consistent strokes on either side until it finally works?
 
Sending it in just isn't an option right now. I know not being able to spend $20 is lunacy on the CRK board, but this isn't just my "first" or part of the collection, it's likely going to be my only sebenza and I'd like to figure it out with the means I have, which is currently just a sharpmaker. I guess I'll just keep alternating the angle slightly towards the tip until I can really feel it out.
 
Sounds like you know what the problem is, but this "may" help? :)

[YouTube]6Wco3XmAB5M[/YouTube]
 
I actually just watched that, then spent two hours attempting to get the shoulders off. I'm befuddled but maybe this is all I can do with medium stones
 
If your attempting to reprofile a Sebenza blade with only the brown rods on a sharpmaker it will take a looooong time. Get any kind of diamond stone you can and lay it next to the brown rod when it's in the sharpmaker. Most hardware stores will sell some kind of diamond stone - lansky, smith, dmt, etc for under $20. Use this to get the bevels set and then work on it with the brown and white rods. The brown rods are just not aggressive enough for what you need to do.
 
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