Cold Steel Voyager

I think that either knife would be great. I have both a Spyderco Endura (Old model) and an Older Model extra large Voyager. I love the Spyderco hole, it's easier to use than a thumb stud. That being said, my Voyager clip point is the easiest knife to sharpen to "wicked sharp" standards. The "tanto" point will outlast the Endura if you use the blade in tasks that can cause the tip to break off. The trade off of tanto tip strength, is a tip that is not to user friendly for everyday tasks.

As far as being as smoother to open, both are about the same. Except, the Cold Steel being BIG can flick open much easier. I personally do not like the newer Endura handle (two friends have "lost" their pocket clips) If you realy like the Endura, you can spend a little more cash and get the all metal handle version (awsome knife)The clip system is more secure and the handle shape is like the old Endura ( which I think looks better). Spyderco in my experience makes a better knife across the board, but Cold Steel Voyagers are hard to beat for the money.
 
Isn't it the better the steel is the easier it is to get it "wicked sharp?" Also, what is a simple sharpening device I can use to get my knives 'wiked sharp'. I don't really know much about sharpening. I have used some really crappy wetstones before. Something that isn't too expensive but that I can get my knives razor (literally razor) sharp w/out too much of a hassle. I have heard that the diamond stone or whatever they're called work well, but I have no first hand experience with those.

Also, keep in mind I have never been able to get any of my knives (even the good steels) sharo enough to shave with. I hven't tried many times and don't have much practice, so please keep that in mind.
 
Stainless steels tend to have large grains and carbides that make them hard to make wickedly sharp, some have vanadium added to shrink the grains. AUS 8 and VG10 are among the finer grained stainless steels, and they can be sharpened to a very fine edge.
VG10 is hard and wear resistant, so it may not sharpen easily on natural stones. I would suggest a diamond sharpener. Your endura will come razor sharp so all you will have to do is maintain the edge, by following the factory bevel with the sharpener. To learn how to sharpen, you can pactice on some cheap kitchen knives, until you are confident in your ability.
 
It would be great if you would provide me a link to a diamond sharpener so I get an idea of what I'm looking for.
Thanx
 
younggenious: Welcome to the forum.

I think you will be more than happy with any of the Cold Steel folders. I own a few of them. On the other side of the scale I own much more expensive folders and fixed blade. You simply cannot go wrong with any of the Voyagers, when it comes to value for the dollar.

The easy way to sharpen them is with a good old basic Lansky kit. You don't need the diamond kit to sharpen the Voyager steel.
 
A fine is very good for maintaining an edge, but will of course, take a while to sharpen a real dull one.
 
Just because a knife can be sharpened easier than another knife dosen't mean that the steel is better. Generally, the harder to sharpen blades will hold an edge longer. I love to sharpen, so I am happy with a knife that I can get real sharp, real fast.

As for sharpening stones or devices, well I found old (VERY old) stones that came out of an old butcher shop. One in particular is worn down and very smooth but I haven't found anything better for maintaining an edge. A good piece of leather (strop) is great to put on that final edge.
 
Point well taken.

I still think I'm going to get something similar to one of these:

dmtbench.jpg

eze62fj.jpg


These are both diamond bench stones. Both fine grit. One is made by DMT (top) and the bottom is made by EZE-LAP. As you can see, the top one (DMT) look much different with all of those little cirles etc... what's the difference, if any?
 
After reading -THIS THREAD- I have now considered something else. The Spyderco sharp maker sounds great. Any opinions? Also, it has diamond replacement rods... they are like $80 for a pair. Why so much? Is diamond THAT much better than ceramic?

Oh, and sorry for all the repetative posts, but answers to all of them would ne GREATLY appreciated.
 
For someone who knows little on how to sharpen the Lanskey is a great system, as well as the Spyderco Sharpmaker. You really do need at least 2 different grits. Read the sharpening faq on this site it will help alot in sharpening. Diamonds are really great for sharpening blades that need alot of work done, but I think the finishing hone should be ceramic or hard Ark.
The Cold Steel knives are a great knife at that price, they are ground very thin and cut like a devel. And the aus 8 steel is very good, gets very sharp and holds it well.
 
Ceramics are fine for softer steels and harder steels if you don't let them get dull. Diamonds just work faster, and unlike ceramics stay flat and take forever to wear out. I think the dots on the DMTs is intended to hold the water that is used as a lube.
 
I really wish I could get the sharpmaker with diamond sharpeners w/out having to pay so much. I guess for now I'll get the regular kit with the ceramics. The VG-10 on my new Spyderco will be the hardest metal I will have to sharpen, and I will just be maintaining it. The other knives that are dull are made out of softer steels. And the replacements for it are fairly cheap. PLus I get the luxury of being able to give the Spyderco the exact edge angle it came with (30 degrees I think). So I guess I'l get that in the near future.
 
The diamond hones make a huge difference for knives that you have to re-profile. They can easily save you half an hour or more, for particularly thick edges.

If you want a lower-cost solution to getting diamond hones, then what you can do is buy the Sharpmaker, and also buy an x-coarse Diamond hone from Eze-lap. When you reprofile, lean the diamond hone up against the sharpmaker stick -- now the diamond is at exactly the same angle as the sharpmaker. Since you're just reprofiling, you do one side at a time anyway, so this works great.

And with the money you saved, go buy the Sharpmaker x-fine hones!


Joe
 
I used just the coarse Spyderco ceramic hones to reprofile one of my older-style Benchmade ATS-34 Stryker blades. It is definitely doable, but it took hours (divided up over several days). I did that before I had gotten Joe's advice above (I also had asked the same question). I *think* the ATS-34 blade I reprofiled is at a harder HRC than the Spyderco VG-10(?). So just maintaining that razor-sharp edge ought to be fairly simple.

Jim
 
Ok, so I think I will get the Spyderco Sharpmaker, then a little later on down the road I'll get a diamond sharpener for any major work I'll need to do.
 
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