Baryonyx Manticore

[bikerector]

bikerector, thanks for the info about the American Mutt! That was helpful.

I'm glad it works well for you. That is the level of sharpening performance I'd like to get with my outdoor knives, although they are almost certainly harder steel than machetes. The vegetation in your photos is way different than in western U.S. forests, which are mostly big fir and pine trees. I doubt if the large chopping knives I use, with 1/4" spines, would perform as well as machetes in your area.

Most of my outdoor knives are SR101 steel, which is great, but takes some time to reprofile and sharpen. That, combined with my desire to remove metal as quickly as possible (patience isn't one of my strong points when it comes to sharpening), made me go to lower grits than what is commonly thought of as coarse or extra-coarse, around 100-220. I was happy when I discovered the Manticore and the good reviews it gets.

I know it's usually not recommended, and against common practice, but I prefer using sharpening stones dry. Part of this is because I sometimes sharpen knives in the wilderness, where I try to keep my pack weight down, and part of it is that I like to sharpen quickly and want to avoid creating a mess with lubricants, which takes extra time to use and clean up. I've experimented with oil and water lubricants and didn't see much difference compared to stones used dry, but then I'm happy with basic, utility, toothy edges and don't need smooth, refined, polished ones. I use a small brush to brush away the swarf when I'm in the woods and a vacuum cleaner attachment at home. I'm not advocating or defending using dry stones, just saying it's what I do. I got the idea from The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening, which helped me immensely when I was trying to learn how to freehand sharpen well.

What's crazy, to me, is this is SE Michigan. I never experienced anything like this in Western or Norther Michigan, or really anywhere else in the US I traveled. I think a lot is from invasive creeper vinespecies but we do have a ton of wild grape vines and poison ivy along the trails. This example is a little extreme but not really uncommon either. Most don't have the density this spot had.

I tend to use most stones dry, but that's more because I'm lazy. The stones that hog off metal though, a lube or water is nice simply because of the amount of swarf. I've never thought to use a brush, or really even to bring one. May have to try that.

You're going to end up with a nearly serrated edge with the manticore and mutt stones. You can do a lot to knock the burr off pretty decently with using varying pressure, lightening as you go. I will say, the machete rips through vegetation after using the course stone, but I'm not really sure it keeps the edge as long since it's not as refined. It's still a bit quick and dirty but it's worked well.

I also prefer the puck because you can do the whole circular motion pretty easily to take out the dings, dents, and folds in the axes and machetes.

For knives, I really just prefer a diamond stick. I use a buck edgetek . The flipstik from buck is the one I use for compact purposes since it is completely self-contained. I think they all have 3 different grits right on the rod. I also have recurves, like kuhkri and bolo shaped knives, and it makes it easier for me to get that recurve section. I think I found this guy when I used to carry a BK4 a lot more for trail maintenance.
https://www.buckknives.com/product/edgetek-ultra-flipstik/97044-B/

 

[MtnHawk1]

Baron Mind, thanks for the update on the Manticore! Just wondered if you followed the instructions in Post 4 to rough up the stone? Thanks...

Bikerector, I don't think I've ever seen vegetation like in your photos, especially the vines, in a forest, although I don't travel much outside the American West. Unfortunately there are invasive species here, too, some of which have taken over large areas. Always sad to see that.

I haven't used water with as low a grit stone as the Manticore, but it would be worth trying. It's not hard to imagine a coarse stone like that generating a lot of swarf, as you said. It takes some time to reprofile and sharpen my knives (most are SR101 steel) with the coarse stones I've tried (around 100-140 grit), but I haven't sharpened many other steels to know how they compare with SR101 in this regard. I've also tried sandpaper and emery cloth down to 50 grit, which of course is faster, but then there is the trade-off of deep scratches and the serrated edges you mentioned. I think the Manticore will be a good compromise.

My plan is to use around 120 grit to smooth out the apex a bit, then finish with a higher grit, but I'll have to see how that works. Of course, I won't need to use the Manticore every time I sharpen or touch up the edge, but it's nice to know I should be able to remove metal relatively quickly freehand when I need to. The knives I use most are big choppers, for which a smooth edge is best for chopping, but I also use them for other purposes, for which a toothy edge is best, so am still experimenting to find a good compromise between the two.

Thanks for your info about the puck and diamond stick. I also use a circular motion much of the time to remove metal, so a round stone would work well for that. I haven't heard of the buck edgetek but will do a search on it.