Cold Steel American Lawman gets dull too fast

B

Brawny

Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
354
I have the S35vn version and once I get it sharp (which takes me forever on a Sharpmaker) it gets dull fast just cutting cardboard.
Am I expecting too much or do I need to put a different angle on it?
 
Sure you don't have a burr? Have you tried completely removing the factory edge and getting it to good steel (maybe the edge was burned at the factory)?
 
Likely a burr or possible the edge not being apexed from the factory. Try focusing on one side of the edge at a time and listen to the sound that that the edge makes while making contact with the rods. When finishing up, start alternating sides of the edge with light pressure
 
cashville said:
Likely a burr or possible the edge not being apexed from the factory. Try focusing on one side of the edge at a time and listen to the sound that that the edge makes while making contact with the rods. When finishing up, start alternating sides of the edge with light pressure
Click to expand...

The left side absolutely makes a raspier sound.
 
B Brawny so I actually just made the sound connection myself a couple of days so still trying to make sense of it myself... Hopefully I’ll get some free time this week to do some testing on this theory, but i think it means you need to work the left side of the blade more.
Try working the left side of the blade back and forth / up and down the rod a good 10-20 times, then hit the right side a few times in a similar manner. Rinse and repeat this process a few times and see if it gets you anywhere.
Experiment yourself and see what works best. The numbers I gave are kinda random estimates. I don’t actually count the number of swipes I do - just kinda go at it and see what works best!

Also be sure that your rods aren’t “loaded” up with steel particles. You have to clean Sharpmaker rods pretty frequently to keep them from getting loaded (especially if you’re using the corner of rods.)

I’ve personally noticed that the degree to which a knife suffers in terms of sharpening effectiveness with a loaded rod depends on a few variables like the knife steel (and hardness), the edge you’re trying to touch up (factory vs better reprofiled edge), etc. Some knives can be touched up to an extent with a loaded rod, some knives seem to get duller with a loaded rod.

And one more thing when it comes to the sound thing I mentioned - you may notice a different sound between the two sides of the edge from other factors as well. Could be that the edge you are touching up was originally sharpened at different degrees per side. You could be holding the knife differently between the two sides/rods. Try to keep a look out for stuff like that when listening to the sound of the edge on the rods.

keeping the rods clean and preventing them from getting too loaded is of the utmost importance. There is also no sense in moving to a more refined grit until you are getting good results with lower grit rods (don’t move from the brown/medium rods to the white/fine rods until you are getting good results with the brown rods.)
I personally do most of my work with touch ups using the brown rods. In most cases, I generally like the edge I get when touching up with the brown rods and don’t even use the fines rods in most cases. But for the most part, I usually sharpen with a Wicked Edge to ~1000 grit and strop to get a relatively refined edge, then touch up with the brown rods.

I am far from a master sharpener, though. Please let me know if you make any mental connections yourself! I’m always happy to hear what others do to get their best results.

Look up the “sharpie trick” to see what part of the edge you are hitting. Color both sides of the edge of the knife with sharpie, then hit both sides a few times. Look at the edge to see if you are removing material from the shoulder or at the apex.

Try not to use a lot of pressure in general. You want to use just enough to ensure that the edge is making constant contact with the rods. When doing the finishing / final few sets of strokes, really try to focus on light pressure.

Tilt the knife on each stroke as get to the belly of the blade (tip of knife goes down, butt of knife goes up kind of tilt.

Make sure you aren’t turning your wrist / the knife left or right as you swipe the blade down the rods
 
hi Brawny, in theory sharpening is very basic, a 2 stage process:
1. apexing
2. deburring

In practice i find deburring to be much more challenging, and it's nothing i could explain in text , picture , or video .... because even after 2yrs of freehanding practice and constant(?) improvement i still *uck at getting consistent results:oops: .
i somehow manage to deburr in the end (result) but others can do it so much better (faster, more effectively, more efficiently, more effortlessly, more elegantly, better result).

id grade myself with "A-" for efforts :p
and with "B-" for sharpness result. that's still good, something i can live with and move on:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
I am almost done reading a book named "Knife Deburring - Science Behind the Lasting Razor Edge". I haven't been able to try the exact approaches to burr/wire edge removal that they describe, but it's pretty interesting. They explain the differences between Positive burrs, Negative burrs, and In-Between burrs. Then they explain how tough steels create one type of burr, and how brittle steels create the second type of burr, with In-Between burrs for steels that are a little of both. They also talk about the correct way to remove a Positive burr vs a Negative burr. And they list popular steels that fit into each category.

Like I said, I haven't tried their suggestions, but what they have described so far matches my experience with burr removal.

I am not sure if the info in the book could be adapted to the Sharpmaker, given that in most cases they recommend CBN or diamond stones.
rurmmels
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top