Chisel Grind Disaster!

T

The Towcutter

Joined
Jan 16, 2001
Messages
166
I cannot get my CQC7 sharp. I've follwed advice in the archives and it does not work. I have a sharpmaker 204 and I have been at this thing all night. I have a NIB BM 975 that is a razor blade. Unbelievably sharp! This Emerson that I have (blade was satin finished by previous owner, real nice job - just dull)will not sharpen. I am holding the knife vertically and using the 40 degree angle. I like this knife, I just want to sharpen it. SOS!
 
So Frustrating!!!!!!!!! I thought chisel edges were supposed to be the easiest to sharpen? Two hours and I still can't slice paper. Is it the Sharpmaker? To be honest it kinda sucks on DULL knives. Sharp ones it is awesome on, but dull knives it doesn't really do much. I'd try my Lansky, but I remeber that they are Horrible with chisel edges. Oh well, that's what EBAY is for!
 
The best way to sharpen a chisel grind is on a bench stone. That's what I use for CQC7, as well as all my woodworking chisels.

It's actually easier to sharpen than a regular knive. The grind is so wide its very easy to follow. Work the grind side then wipe the burr off the back side.
 
I've had luck using the Sharpmaker. The first time, I work the chiseled edge until I get a burr the length of the blade, then use a strop to take off the burr. I suppose this may make a slight convex edge over time, but I've had great results.

CJ
 
I sharpen mine on a lanskey, the only thing I like to use that POS sharpener for
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Does a good job too.

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i too have had HELL sharpening my CQC7, and here is what i finally did(AFTER sending back to emerson for a reprofile) - i got a GATCO and sharpen 1 edge w/the fine stone,(set at the last angle on the attatchment, the steepest angle))till you feel a burr, then polish off the burr w/a gatco porcelain finishing stone - it will get the knife as good as it gets - imho we need to remember that the chisel edge is meant for self defense, and i dont think you will ever get it shaving sharp, just plenty sharp for the intended purpose - if any of you guys can get it razor sharp, let me know, i got a knife for ya to sharpen and will pay, emerson couldnt/didnt do it! also the CQC7 being ground left hand (why i dont know but chisel edges are right/left hand ground, and the CQC7 is left hand...) does not help - the way i described produced the best results of anything (eg - soft/hard ark, DMT, steels, strops, norton fine india stone , etc) i have tried - and i can sharpen the hell out of conventional grinds, i think i round the edge of the chisel grinds w/out a GATCO, etc for some reason or another - but imho they are tricky


sifu
 
I think for those of you that are having trouble with the chisel grind, I think you are making the "Classic Mistake" with these knives...I did when I first had them. Cussed a BM CQC-7...

I think you are trying too hard or you are guessing the angle and getting it wrong. (Maybe both, in which case you might have already changed the angle by removing alot of steel)

Take a black magic marker and paint the edge, then using a Spyderco Sharpmaker stone, a Spyderco Pro-Filer stone or a Tri-Steps, handheld, take the steel off slowly and evenly.

Keep feeling for the burr on the other side.
Pay attention to the black ink you placed on the edge...make it disappear, slowly and evenly.

Hold the knife out from 12 to 15 inches and look straight down the edge from the point, laying the stone flat on the bevel as well.

Make sure your kids are not around or something, it's all fun and games till someone losses an eye.
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When you get a good burr on the flat side, but don't roll it over, take it off on a leather belt.

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Usual Suspect
Ipsa scientia potestas est aut disce aut discede
Some of my Knives and other neat things
 
NO offense. Aren't chisel grinds for COMBAT knives only? Shouldn't you only use the cqc7 to cut flesh. For work knives you need a knife to be ground on both sides of the blade.
 
I was in the same boat last week with my new cqc7a.Sharpmaker,marker,strop on cardbroad,dull knife.Then camped it in my Gatco same thing.

Well it turns out I was not stropping correctly.Keep the knife flat,don't left up at the end of the pass.Once I learned this it got sharp.And now its wet I just got in from waterskiing and left it in my pocket opps,well glad I didn't wipeout and lose it especially since its so sharp now.

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AKTI #000946

[This message has been edited by Lone Hunter (edited 06-09-2001).]
 
Well the party is over. I just cannot sharpen this knife. It is frustrating me to no end. I really like this knife, but if it is this hard to maintain, I could never use/ own it. So as with all things that frustrate me I am going to part ways with it. It is now posted in the for sale forum. Thanks to all those who tried to help me out!
 
Doc R's directions start out the way that I would on this blade. I think your problem is that the blade is warn down and you need to remove considerable material. This is hard to do with ATS-34 which is hard and abrasion resistant. The Sharpmaker is not coarse enough and hard enough to do this task in a reasonable amount of time. If you are tired of fighting it, you might send it to the factory to be reprofiled. Subsequently the Sharpmaker should be adequate to maintain the edge (if you carefully match the bevel angles whenever you sharpen it).

You can do the job yourself if you have access to a more agressive sharpening tool. I'd probably hit it with my belt sander using about a 120 grit silicon carbide belt (being careful not to overheat the edge). Alternately I'd use a medium-coarse silicon carbide water stone or diamond bench hone.

I don't strop hard alloys like ATS-34 much on leather, it often seems to dull the blade more than sharpen it. I remove the burr using a few strokes on a fine ceramic rod at a slightly elevated angle then I strop it with a steel.

I'm sure you put in more than enough work to get the blade sharp, but you've been using the wrong tool for this particular job.
 
Is the chisel edge still there Towcutter? If it is, maybe you can still do what I did with my Sharpmaker that got my Emerson where it would shave hair. I bought a Benchmade CQC7 at a gun show and it was dull, not butter-knive dull, but dull nevertheless. I tried for at least 3 hours to re-profile that thing on the sharpmaker and finally gave up. I put the knife up and didn't mess with it for a while 'cause I was so discouraged. I got it out not too long ago and decided to try something different. I hope I can explain this well:

I set up the Sharpmaker with the rods in the 40 degree slots. Instead of holding the knife straight up and down when I start to sharpen, I lay the left side of the knife (the side with the angle grind) against the stone (start out on the flat part of the stone until you get the feel of this) and I twist the knife, rocking it back and forth on the flat of the stone until I feel the bevel lay flat against the stone. For reference, you end up holding the knife against the stone at a "leaning" angle. THEN, I stroke down the stone, ONLY stroking on the left stone 2 or 3 times. After that, I stroke down the right side stone, holding the knife straight up and down like you do with double ground knives. Then its back to the left stone, rocking back and forth to get the bevel flat against it, another 2 or 3 strokes, then back to the right stone, knife held straight again. Once you get the feel for this you can follow the normal procedure of starting off on the triangle part of the brown (grey?) stones, then the flat of them, then the triangle of the white stones then the flat of them. After I discovered this it took about 5 minutes to achieve that "scary sharp" edge on the Emerson.
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Hope this helps,
Flinx

[This message has been edited by Flinx (edited 06-09-2001).]
 
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