Delica 4 edge angle

[cgmblade]

I've had this particular D4 for 8 or 9 months. As is typical of Spyderco knives, it came quite sharp, but when I eventually went to touch up the edge on the Sharpmaker I discovered that the edge angle was greater than 20 degrees (around 22 I guess). My understanding (of course I could be wrong) is that Spyderco aims for a edge angle of around 20 degrees per side, but that each knife is sharpened by hand and there may be slight variations.

The blade is VG-10. Using the Sharpmaker diamond rods I've reground to 15 degrees per side. My question is; should I leave the final edge at 15 degrees or add a micro bevel of 20 degrees per side?

This is a primary edc knife. I peel apples, open packages, cut string/twine, and breakdown cardboard boxes with it.

The question has to do with the specific qualities of VG-10 versus other steels in terms of hardness and edge holding. I've also recently had to re-profile a Queen stockman w/ D2 blades and I very quickly learned that D2 is much, much, much harder to re-profile than is VG-10.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Chris

 

[knarfeng]

I have used Spyderco VG10 with a straight 15° per side angle without problems. Especially for the jobs you list.

 

[cgmblade]

I have used Spyderco VG10 with a straight 15° per side angle without problems. Especially for the jobs you list.

Thanks, that's reassuring.

BTW, my cultural literacy must be lower than I thought. I had to look up 'vorpal blade'. If I ever see one on ebay I'll let you know.

 

[Jason B.]

Don't worry your not the only one thet had to look it up.

I agree, a 15 deg angle should work fine and if you notice and chipping or other major deformations add a microbevel.

 

[cgmblade]

Thanks, I'll leave it as is for now and see how it works.

 

[Gotsouthern]

I think you'll be just fine as well. I got a couple VG10 Spydercos I keep in reg EDC rotation (Endura 3, Centofante 4), and set mine to roughly 15 deg/side, to .25 mic finish, and they do very well. I've found if you push them a step further, say whittling or some box cutting, and the edge will just baaarreeely "shine" on the very most edge after some use, you just can see it in perfect light. Its still shaving sharp in that spot, and can be touched up with nothing coarser than 1 mic diamond on felt. One of my favorite all around steels.

 

[chipped]

It's weird that my Delica is kind of a pain to sharpen whereas my Native III is very easy. I use a Sharpmaker on both.

 

[cgmblade]

The primary grind angle on the saber ground blade is thicker than the grind on the Native. Originally, due high grind angle, when I used the Sharpmaker for my Delica the rods weren't acutally contacting the edge. They were only hitting the shoulder of the primary bevel. Use the black marker method to see if you are actually hitting the edge. You may need to do some re-profiling yourself or at least tilt the blade more toward the center of the Sharpmaker to get a angle greater than 20 degrees.