Couldn't improve nephews spyderco's edge

[2 shot]

My brother and I use to get our hunting knives hair popping sharp when we were teenagers. Now I suck with flat stone sharping.

I worked on my Nephew's Spyderco knife that was in seriously bad shape for 15min and barely improved it. I have a tri-stone sharpener with course, med and fine stones.(don't know the grit) Do I need to work it over on the course for a long time and then go to the finer stones?

I have the same results with my kitchen knives. With them I am always in a hurry because I am cooking. Don't have much confidence at the moment.

Also what is the most common blade edge angle? TIA.

Edit: Decided to give a shot at a Gerber pen knife I bought back in the early 80's. It wasn't in too bad of shape but not sharp like a knife should be. Using the med. and fine stones I was able to bring it to a decent level of sharpness. I stropped it on a belt and low and behold it is nice and sharp. Not as sharp as an inexpensive Kershaw I purchased recently but can cut hair on my arm with it. So I am feeling better but....I would hate to spend money on a fancy system when there is a possibility I could rekindle my old skills of many decades ago.

 

[grizzled gizzard]

When is the last time your stones were lapped? Clogged stones don't work well. One thing you might think about is getting an Extra Coarse DMT plate. Not only would it give you a very good way to re profile your blades, but it would easily take the top layer off of your oil stones, and bring them back to life. That's a sweet two pronged approach. DMT has a few different sizes and styles (and prices). A 2"x6" Diasharp or the bigger Duosharp (maybe 2.5"x8"?) wouldn't be too expensive, and would give you an awesome new tool in the sharpening arena. Lap under a full running faucet. Practice is good too, and should build confidence.

 

[yablanowitz]

Something else to bear in mind is that modern knives, especially Spyderco, are run at higher hardness than used to be common, and the carbide content of some of the steels is just flat scary. Depending on the specific steel, the hardness can run as high as Rc 65. If the knife is in bad shape or you are changing the edge angle, it can take a very long time on the coarse stone just to get the bevel established. Stay on that coarse stone until the knife is sharp, then go to the finer stones to refine the edge.

 

[2 shot]

Yes later on after being successful on the Gerber, I got to thinking that the Spyderco likely had a much harder steel and would indeed need more time on the coarse stone. Of course it will take more strokes on each consecutive stone as well....I will get the bugger...thanks for the information.

 

[Phydeaux]

2 shot,

I've noticed that my knives that are made of the SV-30 take a little more time to sharpen. One of my friends touched up my Sage I (SV-30). He was amazed how hard the steel was as the worked it on his stone. I've noticed that it feels harder than other steels too.

I've got a few Gerbers about the same vintage as yours. The steel does feel softer than some of the newer steels.

You still have the technique. You will get the Spyderco sharp.

As I remember, the first time I sharpened some SV-30, it took longer than expected. Now it only takes a couple of minutes because I don't let them get too dull.

ric