Because someone had to do it...... (the perfect ZT300)

[riffraff]

Just the standard Spyderco 204D rods. Dunno the actual grit. I wasn't so much reprofiling as rebeveling (though I know that may simply be a matter of semantics). If the factory angles didn't closely match the 30° or 40° angles of the Sharpmaker, it was just taking way too long to get it done with the included ceramic rods. These seem to work well. I've only tried it on 13C26, but that was on a Speed Bump ALBLK (hmmm...wonder where I got that one? ), and its factory angle did appear to vary somewhat along the edge, so it probably took longer to bring up a burr than more convention blade designs.

 

[So-Lo]

Not to train-wreck your thread So-Lo, but hey riffraff! You used those diamond rods yet to reprofile? If so, how did they do (on what steel)? What grits did you get?

Its not my thread, its bladeforums thread.... I ant' the poo on your shoe proceed my friend!

 

[svrider3]

Not trying to jack this thread either... but, Ken, if I remember correctly, it seems
like I read somewhere you were in the process of working on a sharpening system......?
If so, any news you can share with us?

SV

 

[KenOnion]

So, I have this new Sharpmaker system (with the optional diamond rods) I'm learning to use. What is the advantage (or disadvantage) of a sharpening notch with such a system?

Thanks.

The advantage is that it is somewhat easier to sharpen the entire cutting edge . Without a notch it is easy to crash your stone or sharpening rod into the plunge and chip the corners of your stone if your not careful. Not much of a concern to me because I don't crash my stones.

 

[iBlade]

Seems to me that the choil on the 0121 is the way to go...

 

[Vivi]

But you don't have to place your finger in a choil to place your thumb or finger along the spine to act as a depth stop. And if it is an empty box you are cutting up to put in the trash , you wouldn't have to have a depth stop if you didn't have a choil that the box could potentially fall into and impede the cut.

Ken are you thinking of sharpening choils when you talk of them impeding the cut?

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7914/comparisonoc8.jpg

Just so we're all on the same page, the top knife is a sharpening choil, the bottom is a finger choil. I dislike the former because when you cut things sometimes the material will slip on to the unsharpened portion near the handle. I like the finger choil for enhanced control in cuts.

The way I see it, the closer your hands are to what you're cutting, the better control and leverage you have. Basic physics. This is why I've gotten rid of some nice larger knives like the Spyderco Military. If I'm opening a box, peeling an apple, whittling wood shavings for a fire, cutting a loose thread etc, extra control makes the job much easier. I've found it's really rare when an out of choil grip like this is of benefit to me, which is why I got rid of my larger knives in favor of smaller knives.

http://img74.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hammergriptz5.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/204/choilgripkh0.jpg

In the second image the hand is about an inch closer to the cutting. This is especially useful when working with the tip.

If I did heavy chopping, dynamic slashing or similar with my folders, I might desire the "regular" grip more. But I just use it for small cutting tasks like peeling fruits and veggies, slicing meat, opening mail, trimming my nails, carving wood, opening packages, slicing plastic shrink wrap, touching up a missed spot after a shave etc. For my uses the enhanced control works very well. The same thing drives my selection of knives for the woods. I found I either needed to cut small things like whittling wood or food prep, or I needed to bash stuff apart like batoning a log for fire wood. Swiss Army Knife + a Kuhkuri works well for me.