Delta-3V edge maintenance on Light Choppers

nandok

nandok

Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
609
So I'm getting to the point where I need to touch up the edge on my Light Chopper. This will be my first time working with 3V. I use the knife mostly to open coconuts. I am curious, what do you all use your Light Choppers for, and how and how often do you maintain their edges?
 
3V is a little more difficult to sharpen than something like 1095 or O1, but it is easier than the high carbide stainless steels like S30V, Elmax etc.

The most import thing is to avoid overheating the edge, so powered grinding should only be done at low speed and under coolant, never dry. This is because the vanadium carbides are very hard and don't really abrade well with most abrasives, so they're rubbed out rather than cut which generates heat, and the steel is heat sensitive. 3V maintains good hardness up to about 1000F, but to maintain optimal edge retention you should never exceed 500F and this is easier to do at the apex of the edge than many people realize.

If you're sharpening by hand, particularly with diamond, it is pretty simple, straight forward and safe. I often use oil stones to touch up the edge on my own and it's pretty straight forward.

The Delta protocol probably has the best fine edge stability for 3V, so there is not a lot of chasing the burr back and forth. It gets sharp without too much drama.

If your edge ever gets very dull or damaged you can always send it in for re-sharpening for the cost of return postage.
 
Nathan, it will be great if at some point in the future you post up a video of yourself doing sharpening by hand using your oil stones or diamond plates :thumbup:
 
I use spyderco fine ceramic rods 90% of the time and DMT fine and extra fine diamond stones about 8% of the time. For the other 2%, after I chop chunks out of rock, out comes the Norton.
This shit is really easy to keep up, in my experience. Those super stainless steels are ridiculous to bring back once they blunt.
 
Great info in this thread, really appreciate the sharing of knowledge and experience!
My Choppa may need some attention after this weekend.
We'll see... :eek:
 
Roman Landes has done interesting work on sharpening .He found it's VERY easy to heat damage an edge !! Take your time , do it by hand and even then make sure it doesn't get warm .
I've found it best to occasionally lightly touch up the powder metal types with a fine diamond .
Whatever the HT you can mess it up with grinding. I don't want to have to sharpen three times to get past damage or reprofile because the same broke off the tip !
 
Teppojutsu said:
Dang burned through the factory edge already :)

How many coconuts do you think you processed?
Click to expand...

Around 200. And it's not just opening the cocos. I shape them as requested for a local shop, which involves more work than just opening the nut. I chop and slice through the husk, and I'm not shy about twisting and prying with the blade buried in the husk. Also the knife edge impacts and slices the actual hard coco shell. Although it will still do a quick job of opening coconuts, it is noticeably more work than when it was razor sharp.
The knife is still plenty sharp. I wouldn't say I "burned through" the original edge. I prefer to maintain it than let it get dull.

Thanks Nathan, Lorien, and Mete for the input. I think I'll see where I get with a strop and/or fine ceramic rod. Does anyone have any data for edge apex temperature during belt sanding? I get there are many variables involved; just trying to gauge how "easy" it is to exceed 500F.

How awesome to get a response from the knife maker and designers! Thank you Nate and Lorien for your commitment to your product quality and customers! Thank you Nathan for being willing to fix my edge should I need it...which could well be the case... :p:rolleyes::cool:

IMG_2331_zps0xicvej9.jpg


IMG_2322_zpsfbhtujji.jpg


IMG_2335_zpsrrzadylh.jpg


I still wanna hear from the rest of you what you use your Light Choppers for and how you maintain them!
 
mete said:
Roman Landes has done interesting work on sharpening .He found it's VERY easy to heat damage an edge !!
Click to expand...

Mete, can you point me to any of Roman's work? All I'm finding are references to a book in German (which I cannot read). Do you know of any work of his in print or online in English? Thank you!
 
nandok said:
Thanks Nathan, Lorien, and Mete for the input. I think I'll see where I get with a strop and/or fine ceramic rod. Does anyone have any data for edge apex temperature during belt sanding? I get there are many variables involved; just trying to gauge how "easy" it is to exceed 500F.
Click to expand...

at anywhere near 500F, you'd definitely feel that with your fingers. I don't see any reason you'd need a powered sharpener for this knife- while it's wear and impact resistant, it's also malleable enough to respond to whatever kind of sharpener you like to use.

With really bad damage, like I dealt with today, I used a med/coarse DMT trifold and a Spyderco fine ceramic rod and that took care of most of the flat spots and dings. I'll probably go back at it with the Norton, since there are a couple deeper dings from throwing it from 40' directly into the ground, (lol) and I love a crisp, consistent laser edge. Works best for parting matter, imo.

I like using Autosol for cleaning my knives. It is abrasive and tends to polish while it cleans, but I like shiny things so it works for me :)
 
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For Landes comments you'd have to search through various forums .He is a metallurgist,makes knives and has worked professionally for blade makers [razor blades etc] . With a machine ,wheel or belt .you create heat .That's a given ! What happens with the heat ? Minimize the heat produced, don't use worn out belts ! Use some water cooling such as a mist system.Diamond also make things easier. Do the last stage BY HAND !
Think of the point when using a power tool .You create heat but where can it go ? Even with fluid for cooling it's a problem . I've had good brands of factory knives breaking off tips .The only answer was overheating. In addition the heat damage doesn't require long time to do damage. By the time you feel it the damage is done !

Lorien , BTW we don't have molecules in metal. Only things like grains and atoms !!
 
fixed!
 
after my last test session, where ye olde LC was chucked repeatedly into rocky ground from a good distance, I had to spend some time sharpening the dents and dings out of the edge.

I used my Norton oil stone, first at medium grit, then fine. Then clamped the handle in the vice and worked my way from coarse, to medium to fine DMT trifold, and finished polishing with a Spyderco fine ceramic rod. Probably spent about an hour, all told.

Here are the results;






[video=youtube;l2FroYvuZM0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2FroYvuZM0[/video]
 
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[video=youtube;_T71WEbf0Lo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T71WEbf0Lo[/video]
 
nandok said:
Around 200. And it's not just opening the cocos. I shape them as requested for a local shop, which involves more work than just opening the nut. I chop and slice through the husk, and I'm not shy about twisting and prying with the blade buried in the husk. Also the knife edge impacts and slices the actual hard coco shell. Although it will still do a quick job of opening coconuts, it is noticeably more work than when it was razor sharp.
The knife is still plenty sharp. I wouldn't say I "burned through" the original edge. I prefer to maintain it than let it get dull.

Thanks Nathan, Lorien, and Mete for the input. I think I'll see where I get with a strop and/or fine ceramic rod. Does anyone have any data for edge apex temperature during belt sanding? I get there are many variables involved; just trying to gauge how "easy" it is to exceed 500F.

How awesome to get a response from the knife maker and designers! Thank you Nate and Lorien for your commitment to your product quality and customers! Thank you Nathan for being willing to fix my edge should I need it...which could well be the case

I still wanna hear from the rest of you what you use your Light Choppers for and how you maintain them!
Click to expand...

Dats a whole lot a coco nuts :)
 
nandok said:
Around 200. And it's not just opening the cocos. I shape them as requested for a local shop, which involves more work than just opening the nut. I chop and slice through the husk, and I'm not shy about twisting and prying with the blade buried in the husk. Also the knife edge impacts and slices the actual hard coco shell. Although it will still do a quick job of opening coconuts, it is noticeably more work than when it was razor sharp.
The knife is still plenty sharp. I wouldn't say I "burned through" the original edge. I prefer to maintain it than let it get dull.

Thanks Nathan, Lorien, and Mete for the input. I think I'll see where I get with a strop and/or fine ceramic rod. Does anyone have any data for edge apex temperature during belt sanding? I get there are many variables involved; just trying to gauge how "easy" it is to exceed 500F.

How awesome to get a response from the knife maker and designers! Thank you Nate and Lorien for your commitment to your product quality and customers! Thank you Nathan for being willing to fix my edge should I need it...which could well be the case... :p:rolleyes::cool:

IMG_2331_zps0xicvej9.jpg


IMG_2322_zpsfbhtujji.jpg


IMG_2335_zpsrrzadylh.jpg


I still wanna hear from the rest of you what you use your Light Choppers for and how you maintain them!
Click to expand...


That is very cool. We had real work in mind when we developed this knife, and ^ that is real work. I'm glad to see these being used.

I'm curious, how did the cutting ability, handle ergo and edge retention compare to what you'd been using before? I've never processed coconuts before.
 
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