- Joined
- Jul 6, 2005
- Messages
- 307
i have no problems sharpening traditional blades. ive just gotten my first chisel ground tanto in the form of a used CRKT M16, and im having a little bit of trouble getting a shaving sharp edge on it.
i have a lansky system (with a coarse diamond for fast removal, and regular stones from extra-course to super-fine), as well as some strops for final finishing.
im having a few issues. the main edge was just a 30 degree grind, however the tip goes up to about 35+ degrees and then even higher at the point - 40 or so. im not so worried about this - if all else fails ill just grind the entire tip down to a uniform 35 degrees and be done with it (you can do this with a slightly modified lansky clamp). what i cannot understand for the life of me is why i can't get a proper edge on the main blade. it had a pretty dull edge so i worked down from course to superfine but it never even reaches shaving sharpness. there is no burr either.
is this due to the chisel grind? arent these supposed to be sharper due to the 0 degree angle on the other side? or could it be due to the lower quality AUUS-6 (or possibly even AUS-4 - some zytel handled M16s were made of this) steel? i can usually easily get a shaving sharp edge on an AUS-6 blade (i have a kasper KFF and companion that are both of the same steel), so perhaps it is a combination of the poor steel/chisel grind? perhaps a chisel grind is more suited to a higher quality steel?
suffice to say, ive never been a fan of tanto points and now that i actually own one thats chisel ground i am not impressed... i think ill stick to traditional drop and spear points - the tanto is a much bigger pain in the ass to sharpen, the left side grind makes precision work difficult for right-handers, and i honestly do not see much benefit in the tanto geometry - in fact i see the steel of the pointy 'belly' of the tanto eventually wearing down to the point where resharpening affects the geometry, and at that point itll just naturallly convert into a spear/drop point
so any tips on sharpening this thing with my current equipment? or should i just give up and leave it as a carpet-cutting/box-cutting/prying working edge and not worry about it?
cheers,
-gabriel
i have a lansky system (with a coarse diamond for fast removal, and regular stones from extra-course to super-fine), as well as some strops for final finishing.
im having a few issues. the main edge was just a 30 degree grind, however the tip goes up to about 35+ degrees and then even higher at the point - 40 or so. im not so worried about this - if all else fails ill just grind the entire tip down to a uniform 35 degrees and be done with it (you can do this with a slightly modified lansky clamp). what i cannot understand for the life of me is why i can't get a proper edge on the main blade. it had a pretty dull edge so i worked down from course to superfine but it never even reaches shaving sharpness. there is no burr either.
is this due to the chisel grind? arent these supposed to be sharper due to the 0 degree angle on the other side? or could it be due to the lower quality AUUS-6 (or possibly even AUS-4 - some zytel handled M16s were made of this) steel? i can usually easily get a shaving sharp edge on an AUS-6 blade (i have a kasper KFF and companion that are both of the same steel), so perhaps it is a combination of the poor steel/chisel grind? perhaps a chisel grind is more suited to a higher quality steel?
suffice to say, ive never been a fan of tanto points and now that i actually own one thats chisel ground i am not impressed... i think ill stick to traditional drop and spear points - the tanto is a much bigger pain in the ass to sharpen, the left side grind makes precision work difficult for right-handers, and i honestly do not see much benefit in the tanto geometry - in fact i see the steel of the pointy 'belly' of the tanto eventually wearing down to the point where resharpening affects the geometry, and at that point itll just naturallly convert into a spear/drop point

so any tips on sharpening this thing with my current equipment? or should i just give up and leave it as a carpet-cutting/box-cutting/prying working edge and not worry about it?
cheers,
-gabriel