Benchmade bushcrafter chipping and sharpening

N

Nicolas Joseph

Joined
Jun 2, 2018
Messages
16
Hi guys,
so i got the benchmade bushcrafter in s30v today and i took it for a little test run, all i did was whittle some wood, and now, after an inspection, i have some seriously deep and bad chips in the edge as well as a lot of edge roll over. I then tried to sharpen it with my lansky sharpening kit (aluma oxide stones) and it really does flip all to the steel. my thinking is that the stones aren't hard enough for the steel.

If you guys have any suggestions on what i could do, it would be greatly appreciated.

P.S I live in South Africa and had family bring it over from USA for me, so i cant send it back to be sharpened:( and im not all that willing to buy diamond stones because of the price.
 
I think this can be fairly common on a factory edge. I own a benchmade bushcrafter as well but I sharpened mine on a ken onion worksharp. The worksharp gave me a very sharp working edge that I have used for camp tasks without any chipping or rolling. Yes this is extremely hard s30v! Took a while even on the work sharp ko.
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Thanks, just a few questions. 1. So you don't think it could be a heat treat issue? 2. This ken onion work sharp, what stones does it use?
 
I wouldn't worry about the heat treat, benchmade has that dialed in on this knife. I will not speculate but there have been many threads like yours (not all about the bushcrafter) and some theories floating around as to why factory edges chip and roll. The end result is usually a careful sharpening and a happy knife user. The worksharp KO is a power sharpener that uses abrasive belts, it produces a small convex secondary bevel. I put this type of edge on all my non scandi woods blades and have been very happy with the result. Whichever method you choose should take care of the problem. The lansky standard stones take a long time and a lot of patience but can produce a very sharp edge.
 
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Thanks so much, but do you not think the stones for the lansky will wear out from the s30v since it's so tough?
Spikediesel said:
I wouldn't worry about the heat treat, benchmade has that dialed in on this knife. I will not speculate but there have been many threads like yours (not all about the bushcrafter) and some theories floating around as to why factory edges chip and roll. The end result is usually a carful sharpening and a happy knife user. The worksharp KO is a power sharpener that uses abrasive belts, it produces a small convex secondary bevel. I put this type of edge on all my non scandi woods blades and have been very happy with the result. Whichever method you choose should take care of the problem. The lansky standard stones take a long time and a lot of patience but can produce a very sharp edge.
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Ive used my lansky stones for a long time on many steels and haven't seen any excessive wear. Stones are consumables and will need replacement at some point, when it comes time replace them with the diamond stones. I reprofiled a knife at 59-60 hardness the other day and it took 3+ hours! Your patience will be rewarded though, and this site is a great resource for sharpening technique.
 
Tg
Spikediesel said:
Ive used my lansky stones for a long time on many steels and haven't seen any excessive wear. Stones are consumables and will need replacement at some point, when it comes time replace them with the diamond stones. I reprofiled a knife at 59-60 hardness the other day and it took 3+ hours! Your patience will be rewarded though, and this site is a great resource for sharpening technique.
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Thanks so much for all the help, will do everything you said
 
No problem, happy to share. Use this site to your advantage, there are lots of threads on this topic as well as info about sharpening angles and specific steels. By the way I love my benchmade bushcrafter and grab it most often when I head into the woods.
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I think the most common I've heard that seems similar to this is they may have over-heated with while putting a final edge on it. BM's QC can be a bit hit or miss though I think they're supposed to be slowly improving. The usual fix is to put a new edge on it to get to fresh steel.
 
Diamond hones are a very good investment, IMHO, though more expensive than some conventional hones. I have yet to wear out a DMT bench stone after 20+ years of regular use. DMT Diafolds are less expensive than their bench stones but would work well on your Bushcrafter. I find the high carbide content 'super steels' like S30V respond best to diamond hones. I have a Benchmade Mini-Rukus in S30V, and it takes and holds a wonderful edge, so I wouldn't be concerned about the heat treat of your blade.
 
Try sharpening with diamond and cbn and finishing off on some diamond paste or spray on the strop. There's been some discussion on this in other threads. Also edge angle plays a roll. S30v doesn't have a high amount of Vanadium but a decent amount where diamonds may help solve your issue.
Also removing the old bad steel by running the edge over a stone may help before starting.
 
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