Benchmade 154CM sharpening trouble...

Christian

Christian

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
790
I have a BM 530 in 154CM that is giving me fits. I have used a Smiths double sided coarse and fine diamond stone and my Sharpmaker to try to sharpen this thing and have not met with much success. It zips open letters just fine, but doesn't cut printer paper and only barely shaves hair. Am I not hitting the sharpener long enough? I am worried about this steel, as I have just ordered a Griptilian in 154CM, as well. Help!!!

P.S. I was trying to keep it at the factory angle- maybe I should thin it out a little?
 
I would say it's not the 154cm steel that's at issue here. Benchmade's steel is good stuff.

They do the grinding work by hand and the angle of the edge bevel varies, but it's somewhere between 20 and 24 degrees inclusive.

Are you taking the time to mark the edge with a Sharpie to get the stone to match the angle of the bevel? Can't tell, but it sounds like you're not giving it enough time...and also the diamond stones on the Smith's might be taking too much metal off and the SharpMaker might not be the right angle for you, so yes, you might try thinning it out.

Last thought...are you getting a burr on the edge early on in the process and have you stropped the burr off after you're done sharpening?

IF there's any burr left and you use the knife just a little and break the burr off you will be left with a dull edge.

Hope that helps...
 
The advice above is pretty much right on. One recommendation is I would skip smiths diamonds and move onto DMT. Definitely sharpen until you get a burr on both sides and then move on up in grit and then remember too knock off that nasty burr by giving it one last swipe over the stone at a slightly elevated angle for both sides.

I have benchmade 154cm and it gets extremely sharp, even left at benchmades 22 degree factory angle per side. It can definitely shave hair and push cut any kind of paper out there with no problem
 
Christian said:
I have a BM 530 in 154CM that is giving me fits. I have used a Smiths double sided coarse and fine diamond stone and my Sharpmaker to try to sharpen this thing and have not met with much success. It zips open letters just fine, but doesn't cut printer paper and only barely shaves hair. Am I not hitting the sharpener long enough? I am worried about this steel, as I have just ordered a Griptilian in 154CM, as well. Help!!!

P.S. I was trying to keep it at the factory angle- maybe I should thin it out a little?
Click to expand...

My guess is you are sharpening the shoulder and not hitting the apex of the edge with your sharpeners when you run it on the sharpening stone or hones.
Eventually it will round off the shoulder of the bevel but thats now where you want to be hitting.

STR
 
Thanks for the replies- i will spend some more time with the diamond stone and a sharpie to see whats going on, and go from there. I think I will thin the edge some (maybe 30° inclusive) and finish on the Sharpmaker. WHEW. S30V is easy to sharpen compared to 154CM.:eek:
 
Christian said:
Thanks for the replies- i will spend some more time with the diamond stone and a sharpie to see whats going on, and go from there. I think I will thin the edge some (maybe 30° inclusive) and finish on the Sharpmaker. WHEW. S30V is easy to sharpen compared to 154CM.:eek:
Click to expand...

Hmmm.... I was always curious what angle 154CM was capable of taking without it starting to fail. Anyone want to charm in on this? Or, what is the best all around angle for 154CM?
 
Incahiker said:
Hmmm.... I was always curious what angle 154CM was capable of taking without it starting to fail. Anyone want to charm in on this? Or, what is the best all around angle for 154CM?
Click to expand...

I've gotten it down to 25 or so (inclusive) and it'll hold that edge quite well.

To the OP - your Smith's coarse is about 350 grit. I've gotten many knives to push cut through paper with just that stone, and certainly with the Smith's fine you should be shaving the hair off your arm no problem. Good advice to use the Sharpie and you must maintain a consistent bevel. I find with the 154cm that a little extra pressure and a slow hand doesn't hurt either. Be patient and check how you're progressing by holding it up to some direct lighting. Trust your eyes, no matter how long you think you've been at it if the edge grind doesn't throw back even light from the cutting edge to the shoulder, keep going. It may not have the rep that some of the newer steels have, but it's real tough stuff. Using a diamond stone on this material will produce only the smallest of burrs, easily missed.
HH
 
i'm gonna go with the others and guess that it's not the steel because i have BM's in both ATS-34 and 154CM. while the ATS-34 never seems to take a real edge, the 154CM is great. i thought my angle was kinda skinny, until i heard what others are doing. i go 25* each side on a Lansky and when i'm done, the knife is sharp enough to get "whoa"s out of the people who check it out. unfortunately, the edge does not last very long :(
 
Wow, your edge doesn't last long set at 25 degrees per side? That is odd as that is a pretty steep edge for a knife. I have a benchmade 154CM that was set at 23 degrees and the edge lasted a pretty long time, as much as S30V as far as I could tell with every day use.
 
i have several custom knives in 154cm and they take and hold a great edge. i think i sharpened mine close to 20 degrees. try the sharpie trick that thg suggested.
 
Quick little update- I have a DMT diafold (coarse-blue) ordered and a sharpie ready to go. Will post further later.
 
Christian said:
Quick little update- I have a DMT diafold (coarse-blue) ordered and a sharpie ready to go. Will post further later.
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Is it larger than the Smith's coarse stone you currently have?

My personal experience is that when it comes to interrupted surface diamond stones the Smith's are superior to the DMT. DMT makes more sense if you're getting one of the continuous surface bench stones or going to an extra fine (extra extra fine) stone, other wise I don't think you're going to see any performance improvement with DMT over Smith's. It's all going to come down to the basics.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Is it larger than the Smith's coarse stone you currently have?

My personal experience is that when it comes to interrupted surface diamond stones the Smith's are superior to the DMT. DMT makes more sense if you're getting one of the continuous surface bench stones or going to an extra fine (extra extra fine) stone, other wise I don't think you're going to see any performance improvement with DMT over Smith's. It's all going to come down to the basics.
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No, it's not the larger stone. It is a two sided, slides in and out of the handle as used by deer hunters stone set, coarse on one side, fine on the other. kinda like the Diafold, only the handles don't fold. as seen here http://smithsedge.com/products/product.asp?id=24&cid=4


Before my divorce, I had the whole Diafold collection. They are what I have most of my experience with. I only got the Smith's because it was $15.00 at WalMart.
 
The sharpie trick helps to see if you're matching the current angle.

However, the "tell" to see if you're actually sharpening the edge is to feel for the burr. If there's no burr, the knife won't get any sharper. It's definitely trickier when moving to finer stones, which is mostly why I've all but given up on freehand.
 
I love 154 CM. I rebeveled my grip to 15 degrees per side, 30 inclusive for main bevel. It is not pretty at the tip, my bevel goes a little wide, for I learned free hand with my grip. I use Diasharp coarse, do not proceed til you definitely have developed a burr with each side with coarse! If you try to transition to next stone too early, you will waste a lot of time and get nowhere doing it. Trust me, I know, been there done that. Over 50% of total sharpen time is on Coarse (rebeveling) and then all the other stones take 10% each of the time. then Spyderco medium (brown) and fine (white) reprofile stones, then Spyderco ultra fine, then my handmade strop with Hand American leather on diamond polish 1 micron. I am not overly obsessive. Use a sharpie and a magnifier, it takes all the guess out of what you are hitting and what you are not. Great responses from the posts above.
 
I sharpen my Cm154 mini grip on my water stones without a problem, not sure of the angle but its like a razor when I am done and will tree top hairs on my arm. I find the edge lasts a long time for most of my daily tasks, but if I get into a heavy cardboard cutting situation the edge will give in after a couple of hours and need some serious work
 
Christian said:
I have a BM 530 in 154CM that is giving me fits. I have used a Smiths double sided coarse and fine diamond stone and my Sharpmaker to try to sharpen this thing and have not met with much success. It zips open letters just fine, but doesn't cut printer paper and only barely shaves hair. Am I not hitting the sharpener long enough? I am worried about this steel, as I have just ordered a Griptilian in 154CM, as well. Help!!!

P.S. I was trying to keep it at the factory angle- maybe I should thin it out a little?
Click to expand...

Try the Lansky Sharpening System, I use it on all my blades and everyone elses too! Perfect edge, every time.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/S...P102C18.aspx?gclid=CPefsI6S4bQCFcqY4AodXykALA
 
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