Best sharpening option for D2 scandi grind?

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Dec 21, 2015
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I got myself an Enzo birk and although it's crazy sharp, I wanted to get acclimated to a sharpening system before I need it. I have a sharpmaker, but it's very awkward in any available configuration for a scandi (tested on a Mora). I started researching stones, but I keep finding conflicting info on what is best for D2. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 
I am interested in this thread. I have a custom made knife coming from a maker here on bf. Its a d2 scandi as well. I am interested on how its going to hold up. How hard it will be to sharpen etc. Have you the op had any chipping on the edge?
 
I just got it the day before Christmas so I haven't put it through its paces yet. Cut some plastic zip ties, minimal cardboard and string so far and the blade is fine.
 
For a scandi grind knife not much compares to Japanese waterstones. Most waterstones will do fine but with D2 as the primary steel I would be looking to something better than the average King stone.

At the top of the list is the Naniwa Professional, previously known as the Naniwa Chosera, they are some of the highest quality stones on the market with their defining feature being grit control. These stones are known to produce the cleanest and most consistent scratch pattern of any stone. The only down side is cost, a set of 400, 1000, and 3000 stones would run around $300. These stones are usually my first pick when sharpening Scandi grinds.

Next we have Shapton stones. These are my favorite because they get sh#$ done and produce very sharp edges quickly. These stones are fast cutting hard ceramic stones, they cut faster than most other waterstones are are ideal for very hard or wear resistant steels. The sharp ceramic abrasive is rated in Mesh and not Grit like most stones, this means that the scratch pattern is a bit coarser for the given grit and even at finer grits the polish has a scratchy appearance. You still get a finely polished edge but when compared to other stones you can see the slight difference. Lots of stone set options from this brand, on sale now is the 500, 2k, 16k Glass stone set from CKTG, really good deal because the 16k is $150 by itself and you get the whole kit with stone holder for $214.

For the Shapton pro line I would recommend the 1k, 2k, and 5k. These are often preferred to the Glass stones because they have better feedback and are a bit more aggressive on the low end. The Glass stones have a very slick feel and almost no feedback, often described as robotic or dead feeling. This is the main reason the Pro have a greater following than the Glass stones.

All the above stones are splash-n-go type stones of the highest quality and would be my first recommendation. If budget is a concern then some of the more common stones that require soaking in water might be best. The King Deluxe 1000 is a classic stone with great sharpening feel and despite being called slow it can sharpen rather fast, although it does wear down quickly requiring constant lapping. You could follow this with a Naniwa 2k Green brick and have a great two stone combo. The GB is just as soft as the King though so the stone is easily gouged if your technique is off. This can be viewed as a teaching aid or a roadblock in learning, depends a lot on the individual at that point. I like them despite their soft fast wearing nature because they work well and can produce quality edges.

So there's a little intro to a small but quality selection of stones and info to get you started. To better help us help you, let us know your budget and possibly any other cutlery you may have to sharpen.
 
Yes thanks Jason B. and Mr Danger. I was going to start a topic about D2 steel but have my answers thru this thread . 1k ,2k,5k pro to compliment my 300,600 ,1500 diamonds.

Thanks again
 
Thanks, Jason.

While I usually prescribe to "buy once, cry once" for most equipment, I trying to keep my cost under $100 for the time being. Just looking for something to practice technique and get me by before I make a bigger investment.

The King makes the most sense at this time. I was looking at the 1000/6000 combo, 250/1000, and 800/4000. Also looked at DMT DuoSharp based on some other threads, but the options are overwhelming.

My sharpmaker works great for the majority of my folders, so a stone(s) would be strictly for the Mora and maybe Enzo once I figure out what I'm doing. The majority of my knives are S30V, VG-10 or less.
 
I would not recommend combo stones or King stones below 800 grit, too muddy and fast wearing for the cost. Also, as you can see from the combo's you have listed you already have redundancy.

The King stones wont really work with high Vanadium steels like S30V but on carbon or common stainless they do fine.

Within your budget of $100 I would go with,

Leveling stone
http://www.amazon.com/Naniwa-IO-114...qid=1451233830&sr=8-2&keywords=leveling+stone

King 1000
http://www.amazon.com/King-Medium-G...id=1451233442&sr=8-7&keywords=King+waterstone

Naniwa 2k Green Brick
Chef Knives To Go has them for $58

You could replace the leveling stone with some 220 grit sandpaper but it will wear the sandpaper quickly and eventually exceed the cost of the leveling stone. You could also trade out the Naniwa for a King Ice Bear 4k, the only reason I wouldn't is because of size. The 4k is a smaller stones but does work very well if you don't mind it's smaller size. The Naniwa is a much better stone though so I would highly recommend you consider it first.
 
I finally got around to trying out the Shapton 1k, 2k, and 5k stones. Started by testing out my Mora stainless which had a 40 degree micro bevel on. I did about 50 passes on each side and no matter what I do it seems like a doll and I'm getting nowhere. Is the 1000 stone to fine to use for a reprofile? I feel like my technique is okay but I just can't understand why I'm not making much progress. Maybe I'm just being hastey.

Also I took a look at my D2 Enzo and it seems to have some tiny chipping. Will the 1000 stone be too fine to fix this and do I need to get something more coarse?

YlGaRzS
 
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The 1k will be able to handle a fair amount of grinding, small chips included.

Remember to be mindful of finger pressure and edge position while sharpening. The large Scandi bevel is sensitive to where you apply pressure, if you are always pressing at the top of the edge then the other side that is touching the stone will be ground more at the shoulder of the bevel and not so much at the edge. This means you will be constantly thinning the bevel geometry and never really sharpening the edge. Alter this geometry too much any you will have very poor edge performance.

So keep pressure towards the edge and focus on forming a solid apex and burr. Don't worry if you convex the bevel a bit on the stones, it's natural and will happen over time anyways. Making the bevel very flat is very very hard to do on stones so try to not worry about that aspect too much.
 
I have the Enzo Birk in both D2 and S30V and they can be a bit of a pain in the butt to sharpen if you let them get to dull. The large contact area of the Scandi bevel combined with the high wear resistance of D2 and s30V makes for slow sharpening so make sure to touch up the edge often.
 
Thanks for the tips. Tried doing this while the 1 year old took a nap, so I was probably subconsciously rushing and being sloppy.
 
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