Delta-3V edge maintenance on Light Choppers

An hour? I just use $45 set of Japanese water stones. Start with 600, then 800 then 1000.

I had several sharpening kits, etc.. none of them worked as fast, and easily, as the water stones. Just dont buy stones under $35 or so.. However, these work best, AFTER you learn to use them PROPERLY..

Really, one thing thats more important thatn anything else when using stones, is keeping the edge angle consistent while going back and forth. Some people on go in one direction, but I do back and forth, it works just the same.. As long as you can hold the angle of the edge the same..

It important to have it at as close to the originally designed angle as you can get it, and then hold it there as youre going back and forth.

I aint paying $300 for no sharpening kit.. however I have learned first hand how sucky cheap stones are.

If you can afford $80 Japanese water stones, then go for it. Start learning by sharpening cheaper knives first..not your $400 knife, obviously.

Ive had sharpening kits, rods, even plasticky sharpening Crap stones from Cabelas and such.. they ALL suck, compared to a nice set of Japanese water stones..

Only thing I need to upgrade is my strop. My 1.5 x 6 inch, pussy strop sucks balls, but I aint got the disposable income for a $60 just yet. Got 60 things on my priorit list, ahead of it, so that will hav eto wait.
 
Great thread and question! I have only used my LC for miscellaneous tasks around camp, but so far I love the knife and am nowhere near needing to sharpen it yet. I did purchase a Wicked Edge system since it was on a pretty decent sale at Blade Show, and I plan to use that for all of my knives going forward.

 
Thanks for the input and pictures, everyone! Keep 'em coming!

Nathan the Machinist said:
I'm curious, how did the cutting ability, handle ergo and edge retention compare to what you'd been using before?
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In a word, "favorably"...and...I gotta do some more R+D before I can give you a definitive answer. You got some stiff competition, most of them Busses. I rotate through a bunch of knives when doing these jobs because I love feeling the differences in performance. It...almost...seems like the D3V edge might have an edge(!) on the INFI... but like I said, I gotta use your LC a lot more before I'll really say anything. The ergos seem on par with the Busse Fusion handle: comfortable and nicely filling for my paws. Haven't tried holding it all the way back yet. I did get it from you in unbuffed Micarta and I'm finding it's too rough on my hand. I get a blister after a few hours on the first segment of my index finger so I'm gonna sand the scales some there and that should take care of that. Most recently, in addition to the Light Chopper, I've been using a Battle Saw and a Nuclear Meltdown Fusion Steel Heart LE. The BS's straight handle feels cramped/small to me at times for the knife's length, and the NMFSHLE's feels similar to the LC, though smoother (paper Micarta, diamond quilted pattern). I haven't had any grip issues with any of the common modern bombproof scale materials with 3D patterns on them. In general the LC feels similar in my hand to the SH (size and balance), but the SH's thickness (.32" spine/full flat grind/maybe 2" wide?) definitely calls for a different technique on the cocos. The LC edge is slicier which makes up for its lower weight. It holds up amazingly, especially in light of how thin it is. The LC's lightness and balance makes it a pleasure to use for hours on end. And I love the metal ringing sound the it makes on contact! And the aesthetics (lines and finish) of the LC are superb. As is its functionality. It has quickly won my heart and a top spot in my users. They are all bad@ss knives. And lemme tell you, any of these knives are sharper after 200 coconuts than any of the leaf spring machetes I started with (years ago) was after 2! lol
 
nandok said:
Thanks for the input and pictures, everyone! Keep 'em coming!



In a word, "favorably"...and...I gotta do some more R+D before I can give you a definitive answer. You got some stiff competition, most of them Busses. I rotate through a bunch of knives when doing these jobs because I love feeling the differences in performance. It...almost...seems like the D3V edge might have an edge(!) on the INFI... but like I said, I gotta use your LC a lot more before I'll really say anything. The ergos seem on par with the Busse Fusion handle: comfortable and nicely filling for my paws. Haven't tried holding it all the way back yet. I did get it from you in unbuffed Micarta and I'm finding it's too rough on my hand. I get a blister after a few hours on the first segment of my index finger so I'm gonna sand the scales some there and that should take care of that. Most recently, in addition to the Light Chopper, I've been using a Battle Saw and a Nuclear Meltdown Fusion Steel Heart LE. The BS's straight handle feels cramped/small to me at times for the knife's length, and the NMFSHLE's feels similar to the LC, though smoother (paper Micarta, diamond quilted pattern). I haven't had any grip issues with any of the common modern bombproof scale materials with 3D patterns on them. In general the LC feels similar in my hand to the SH (size and balance), but the SH's thickness (.32" spine/full flat grind/maybe 2" wide?) definitely calls for a different technique on the cocos. The LC edge is slicier which makes up for its lower weight. It holds up amazingly, especially in light of how thin it is. The LC's lightness and balance makes it a pleasure to use for hours on end. And I love the metal ringing sound the it makes on contact! And the aesthetics (lines and finish) of the LC are superb. As is its functionality. It has quickly won my heart and a top spot in my users. They are all bad@ss knives. And lemme tell you, any of these knives are sharper after 200 coconuts than any of the leaf spring machetes I started with (years ago) was after 2! lol
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that is one hell of a testimonial!

Nate and I both have a profound respect for Busse and what they've achieved wrt materials and pattern development. Busse really is the complete package.

I think I can speak for Nate here, too, when I say that comparisons with Busse's cutlery is a HUGE compliment!

Thanks for the excellent feedback, especially wrt to the ergonomic interface. We'll discuss your observations, and will likely incorporate some tweaks to the handle shaping as a result. Nice thing about small production runs is the ability to refine, refine, refine.

All feedback is welcome, don't be shy. Unless you wanna critique my cutting technique ;)
 
I was using my Light Chopper on some dried hard wood. It bites hard and deep. Pieces of wood were exploding out with each chop.

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All the hard chopping did dull the edge a little. It started to catch the A4 size copy paper when I slice the paper. I managed to get it shaving sharp again by doing a few light passes on my Sharpmaker ultra fine rods and stropped it after that on my old leather belt. All done in under 15min. I would say it is fairly easy to take care even in the field. [emoji106]



Don
 
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A few updates:

I've been maintaining my edge by first smooth steeling, then fine ceramic rod, then strop with .5μm compound. Works great. Less than 15min per session. I gotta get used to hand sharpening; I've always used my belt sander before. Thanks for the caution and inspiration!

As far as the handle rub I had mentioned, I lightly smoothed my handle with sandpaper. In the circled area below, only on this side, I sanded extra, taking down the ridges in the Micarta to 1/2 or 1/3 of the original height. The edges of the fastener holes got special attention too, especially in the circled area. Now I can use it all day long without any skin friction issues. No grip issues either. You guys with grip issues must be wailing the holy snot outta your choppers! Or am I not seeing something?

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JustinFournier said:
Any particular reason? My guess is it's too hot and sweaty for gloves there, never been to Hawai'i
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Ha! Well....It's never occurred to me! Guess I haven't had the need. Thinking about it now, I don't like the idea as I fantasize it would be more clumsy, cumbersome, and uncomfortable. And man, seems like those gloves would get funk-nasty quick. I will bear the concept in mind for future reference, though! lol I should mention my hands are kinda roughed up from years of manual labor.
 
I never used to wear gloves. Then my wife started making me put lotion and skin fix and crap on my hands to fix the roughness and cracks etc.

So I hated that, and started using gloves. Now I have gloves for almost everything and hate doing many things without them. It somehow becomes a psychological thing.
 
I wear gloves on camping trips but only due to the fact I handle a lot of wood and don't like splinters. None of my current camp knives have rough handles (smooth micarta and Grivory) but they grip enough that I don't feel the need for gloves and only do it for splinter protection.

I do gotta say, heavy chopping with gloves feels better than without, I wear Mechanix gloves and they work well to add a small layer of protection and vibration absorption. I have yet to have a rougher-handled chopper, the Beckers I've used have all had grivory or hardwood scales.
 
I prefer bare skin, but sometimes I'll cover up, just in case things get rough or I'm concerned about infections;).
 
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JustinFournier said:
I never used to wear gloves. Then my wife started making me put lotion and skin fix and crap on my hands to fix the roughness and cracks etc.

So I hated that, and started using gloves. Now I have gloves for almost everything and hate doing many things without them. It somehow becomes a psychological thing.
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Hmmm...it would be nice to have smooth hands...I actually sand my hands sometimes...

KingMC said:
I wear gloves on camping trips but only due to the fact I handle a lot of wood and don't like splinters. None of my current camp knives have rough handles (smooth micarta and Grivory) but they grip enough that I don't feel the need for gloves and only do it for splinter protection.

I do gotta say, heavy chopping with gloves feels better than without, I wear Mechanix gloves and they work well to add a small layer of protection and vibration absorption.
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I can see myself using gloves for splinter protection and sustained chopping of hard wood.

Lorien said:
I prefer bare skin, but sometimes I'll cover up, just in case things get rough or I'm concerned about infections;).
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JustinFournier said:
Solid plan, hard to say no.
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rdrr :D
 
Back to the thread topic, I don't believe I've said much about the amazingness of the edge on my LC. Mind blown. It's shaped at least another 100 cocos at this point. For how thin it is...wow, wow, WOW. Doesn't bend, doesn't chip, doesn't dull. It shouldn't be able to take what it does (or so my mind says). Super easy to maintain. That's with heavy and merciless use as described earlier in this thread, not first degree abuse.

I wish I could but I can't really compare it to anything (INFI in particular) because all my other choppers are substantially thicker and have larger shoulder widths. And I don't have any thicker 3V. I hope to soon, but not now.

The LC is my Speedy Gonzales chopper. It gets the job done in more and smaller bites, but as someone has already noted it ends up getting things done quicker. And I can use it all day long with a smile.

Bravo!
 
Thanks for the first hand account nandok. Not many of us have chores like that to do, so it's awesome to hear how it holds up.

You know many of us will never push this steel to it's limits, but that doesn't mean we won't appreciate the potential.
 
Wow, this thread is really nice. The only problem is that it makes me want to get a chopper to hack down the bushes in the garden.
 
Lorien said:
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.
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90% of the time ceramic rod on zwear and 3V. Wet stones the other 10% when it gets too beat up for the rod and needs a new apex formed. I think most people need a qucik hone instead of stones and go too corse with stones and go backwards. For general edge maintenence.
 
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