Beginner Level Sharpening Questions

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kickerb

Joined
Apr 28, 2014
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So I decided to try out sharpening my blades.

At this point I have spent quite a bit of time on an Emerson CQC-7a. I have it will a darn nice mirror polish, but it just isn't sharp. It has me a bit confused. Obviously it is something ive done wrong. I bought the knife used and it has been sharpened on both side to make a V style secondary bevel (cutting edge).

I'm using a Lansky system. It seems that once side of the blade is at 30 degree, and the other side at 25 degrees. Could that be the issue?

Also, I can say that the blade felt sharper with the lower grit stones then it does now with the mirror edge. I went from the 70, 120, 280, 600, 1000, 2000 (grit tape), 3000 (grit tape), and 6000 (grit tape). I also used the lansky leather strop at the end.

I took my time and such, but I cannot figure out what is wrong. I sharpened my Benchmade mini grip on the system system and it is damn sharp.

Any suggestions? Thank you.
 
You made sure that you had a burr up to 600? And you went light with the rest of the stones?
 
Yep, I had a burr at 600. I wouldnt say I was going light on the remaining stones, I would say light/moderate pressure.
 
55 degrees inclusive is very broad. An edge that thick could cleanly shave hair but still not cut well. Not sure what the next step would be given that its a chisel grind and any adjustment down will require a lot of stock removal, but I'd be trying to get the inclusive angle back down to 30 inclusive at the outside. You could cut the existing angle in half and the edge would still hold up to most tasks and cut far better for it.
 
That is interesting, just tried to shave some hair off, and it worked just fine. But when it comes to say paper its pathetic. So what you say inclusive you mean total for both sides? The lansky only goes down to 17 degree (or so it says). That would be a lot of metal to take off. Might take some time to do that!
 
The CQC-7a has a V grind, but the cutting edge was still chisel style. The blade now is interesting. The side you look is much wider than the other side.
 
Check to make sure the wires on the hones are flat and level to the surface of the hone.
As you change hones apply Sharpie, etc. marker to make sure you are repeating the angle.
I use the 30 degree slot on my Lansky for all my knives and they shave hair and cut very well.

As has been said, make sure you are getting a burr on each side before flipping the knife. If not sure buy an inexpensive loupe on amazon.
Why did you go with different angles on the blade edge?
If your using the Lansky leather strop I suggest you stop. I too bought one and after trying it several times realized it just does not work as a real strop. Buy or make yourself a real strop with black and green compound and strop away.

I really like my Lansky system but it took a bit of time and practice to get it to sing the way I want it to.
 
kickerb said:
That is interesting, just tried to shave some hair off, and it worked just fine. But when it comes to say paper its pathetic. So what you say inclusive you mean total for both sides? The lansky only goes down to 17 degree (or so it says). That would be a lot of metal to take off. Might take some time to do that!
Click to expand...

Inclusive would be the total for both sides. Usually with a chisel edge, you take the steel off the flat side and just keep the beveled side the same, applying a very small microbevel if necessary on the flat side. Any increase in the cutting angles is difficult to correct on those. Yes, will be a lot of stock removed either way. The lansky might not be the best tool for the job, a coarse DMT, the coarse side of a silicon carbide combination stone, 120 grit wet/dry sandpaper...If doing most of the work on the back side it won't require a lot of freehand skill, just a lot of patience.
 
Kai Winters said:
Why did you go with different angles on the blade edge?
If your using the Lansky leather strop I suggest you stop. I too bought one and after trying it several times realized it just does not work as a real strop. Buy or make yourself a real strop with black and green compound and strop away.
Click to expand...
It was that way when I got it. And that stinks to hear about the lansky strop. I bought 2, got any extra one i was gonna add compound one.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Inclusive would be the total for both sides. Usually with a chisel edge, you take the steel off the flat side and just keep the beveled side the same, applying a very small microbevel if necessary on the flat side. Any increase in the cutting angles is difficult to correct on those. Yes, will be a lot of stock removed either way. The lansky might not be the best tool for the job, a coarse DMT, the coarse side of a silicon carbide combination stone, 120 grit wet/dry sandpaper...If doing most of the work on the back side it won't require a lot of freehand skill, just a lot of patience.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information!
 
Originally Posted by HeavyHanded
Inclusive would be the total for both sides. Usually with a chisel edge, you take the steel off the flat side and just keep the beveled side the same, applying a very small microbevel if necessary on the flat side. Any increase in the cutting angles is difficult to correct on those. Yes, will be a lot of stock removed either way. The lansky might not be the best tool for the job, a coarse DMT, the coarse side of a silicon carbide combination stone, 120 grit wet/dry sandpaper...If doing most of the work on the back side it won't require a lot of freehand skill, just a lot of patience.
Click to expand...

kickerb said:
Thank you for the information!
Click to expand...


Thought I'd add an edit to my above statement. For general maintenance on a chisel grind you'd only do serious work on the bevel side, and leave the flat side alone except for burr removal. The above statement is regarding fixing chisel grinds that have been angled on the back side. By the time you flatten in back down, you might not need to do any work on the bevel side. As a general rule with chisel ground tools, you should do only what is necessary on the flat side to clean up the edge - corrections are a bear.
 
Thank you for the clarification. I have been doing alternate research and it seems that I am doing a couple thing incorrectly. I will be re-sharping the knife with the correct methods soon. I will report back with the results.
 
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