Best Sharpmaker grit for cutting paracord?

J

Jaw2bone

Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
14
I have a Camillus paratrooper knife, the auto with clip point blade and a paracord cutter. I suspect the steel is a 440 series stainless. I am not going to be jumping out of any airplanes (I did at one time, but I got smarter :eek:); however I like to sharpen each knife for its intended purpose. I decided to sharpen the clip point blade for optimal efficiency on paracord, so that both blades are set up for cutting shroud lines.

I got a sharp 40 degree edge using my Spyderco Sharpmaker with diamond rods, which left an aggressive, rough finish on the edge. When cutting paracord, I feel the blade dragging a little. I am wondering if another sharpening session with the coarse (gray) ceramic rods would be best, or even if I should go all the way and produce a polished edge with the white rods.

I know the solution is to keep putting more polished edges on it until I reach the point of diminishing returns, but I figured someone here already knows the best edge for paracord.

Any suggestions will be appreciated!
 
Im no expert but I have no trouble cutting cord with an edge finished on the fine rods,the coarse rods may cut a little more agressivly at first but also seem to dull a little faster in my experiance.
 
ultimately and ideal knife for cutting cord is a serrated one. but i believe that a very sharp plain edge would make easy work of it also. i dont understand why you would undersharpen your knifes. also the diamond rods on the sharpmaker are designed to remove a good deal of material and reshape the edge. then the coarse are meant actually put a workable edge on there and so forth with the fine and ultrafine.
 
The medium Spyderco stones are actually pretty fine if you compare them to most medium benchstones.

If you are cutting cord against a surface, like a chopping board, or if you will be cutting through loops of cord held in your other hand you will be better served by a fine edge. Those tasks are mostly push cutting jobs. Take it to the highest grit you have.

However to cut nylon cord that is free-hanging (or under very loose tension) using a slicing motion, a fine polish may not be appropriate as the edge will tend to slip instead of biting in. For that sort of thing, I think the finish left by the diamond stones will be best.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Sixstrings: as I understand it, there is a difference between edge angle and edge finish. You can get the edge angle just as sharp with a diamond stone as with a fine ceramic stone, but the finish on the edge will be rough. Such an edge will cut some materials, like meat for example, better than a polished edge at the same angle. An polished edge will cut wood better than a rough edge but might be too slippery on certain types of cordage.

Our moderator Joe T emphasizes taking into consideration all the variables-- blade steel, blade grind, edge angle and edge finish, to maximize the blade for the intended purpose. I used to take every blade all the way through to the finest grit but after reading Joe's work I now keep some blades with a rougher edge, depending on what I will use them for. I started putting a coarse edge on my kitchen slicer and boning knife and the difference it made in cutting meat was amazing.

Here is Joe's sharpening FAQ:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=gr...asy.com&rnum=1
 
I say the grey stones should be much better, especially if you take the time and care to hone the blade to maximum sharpness with them. The difference in pushcutting ability of a medium ceramic vs the fine ceramic should be very low if both edges are properly formed, the medium will be far more agressive however.
 
Last night I did exactly that--I sharpened using the gray stones. I used the same 40 degree angle and then swiped off the burr with a few passes at a wider angle. Then I stropped the edge a little on cardboard. The blade now cuts through paracord without any dragging. I think I will leave it there and not go to the white stones.

Thanks, guys.
 
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