Diamond Sharpening Buck Knife Assistance

Top Gunner

Top Gunner

Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
50
Hello,
I’ve been having trouble with some dmt diasharp Diamond cards, when it comes to sharpening Buck knives. I have the trio - course, fine, and extra fine, and I rubber band a 15° angle guide to the end of the card and proceed to sharpen. I’ve used the angle guide method with whetstones (regular, not Diamond) and the Spyderco double stuff, and it works great for building the muscle memory of how to hold the knife for the proper angle. I got the cards because I just wanted to experiment with a different method without dumping a bunch of money on the full dmt stones.

The problem I’m having is that the Diamond cards are scratching up the blades noticeably (and not really sharpening them much either). I first tried with a 420HC Buck 112, and it barely sharpened the blade, but left it’s mark now permanently. I then took the blade to the double stuff, using the same method, and it came out hair popping in due time, with no further damage.
I just purchased one of Buck’s Heritage series - a 102 in D2 steel. The blade came unusually dull for a Buck knife, and I’ve read that D2 really needs something like Diamond to sharpen in a reasonable time. I tried the spyderco, and it barely made a difference in sharpness. Then I tried the Diamond cards and… same results. Scratched up my blade, and it is no sharper. For this effort I was using the fine grit.

So, I’m using an angle guide (I’m not dragging the profile of the blade clear across the diamonds), I’m using little to no pressure, just using basically the knife weight, while holding it steady… can anyone tell me what I’m doing wrong?

Both knives are users, so the scratches aren’t the end of the world, but it’s not my preference either, and if I can avoid it, I’d like to. I’ve been looking into buying some dmt diasharp stones, but if I can’t do anything except damage my blade on the cards, I’m not going to drop cash on a larger version of that.

Any input would be appreciated, thank you. I’ll try to load some pictures. I’m not really sure how… do I have to use photobucket or something? Are we still stuck in the MySpace era of photo uploading?
 
The issue you are having with the scratching is due to the diamond "dust" that comes off the cards. That's getting on your guide, and when you run your knife up on it the dust is scratching the blade.

It also sounds like they are loading pretty bad, so this fix may work for both problems: Use some type of lubricant on the cards.

I like regular (non-amonia) glass cleaner, and some use a water squirt bottle with a few drops of dish soap to break the surface tension.

Finally, clean the cards really well before you use them again with something like Bar Keeper's Friend to get the steel out of card. Let them dry, and then use the lubricant on the clean cards.

The heat treat Buck uses is awesome, but that makes them a bit harder to sharpen than the same steel from another manufacturer. I would recommend a full set (300/600/1200) of the Ultra Sharp Plates in 3x8 from Best Sharpening Stones. They also make a combination 300/1200 plate if you want to keep the cost down. The Ultra Sharp's work better (IMO) than the new DMT's and are much cheaper.
 
If this uploads correctly, here are pics of the 102 in D2 (above), and the 112 in 420HC (below).
Dh2stQh.jpg


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Glock Guy said:
The issue you are having with the scratching is due to the diamond "dust" that comes off the cards. That's getting on your guide, and when you run your knife up on it the dust is scratching the blade.

It also sounds like they are loading pretty bad, so this fix may work for both problems: Use some type of lubricant on the cards.

I like regular (non-amonia) glass cleaner, and some use a water squirt bottle with a few drops of dish soap to break the surface tension.

Finally, clean the cards really well before you use them again with something like Bar Keeper's Friend to get the steel out of card. Let them dry, and then use the lubricant on the clean cards.

The heat treat Buck uses is awesome, but that makes them a bit harder to sharpen than the same steel from another manufacturer. I would recommend a full set (300/600/1200) of the Ultra Sharp Plates in 3x8 from Best Sharpening Stones. They also make a combination 300/1200 plate if you want to keep the cost down. The Ultra Sharp's work better (IMO) than the new DMT's and are much cheaper.
Click to expand...
That does explain things. Thank you so much for the reply!
 
Glock Guy said:
Finally, clean the cards really well before you use them again with something like Bar Keeper's Friend to get the steel out of card. Let them dry, and then use the lubricant on the clean cards.
Click to expand...

I just bought some Bar Keeper's Friend to clean my Green Elephant ceramic sharpening rod. Was wondering if it would be safe to use on a 6-in. x 2-in. DMT Dia-Sharp diamond stone. Yes or no?

Thanks. :)
 
you're not maintaining your angle when sharpening. the scratches are being caused when you change the angle of sharpening at the end of the stroke .just need more practice
 
Those scratches near the tip of the blade are familiar to me.

Sharpening on small hones, like the diamond cards, makes it a little too easy to lightly drag the end of the blade across the corners of the hones at the end of the sharpening pass. I've done it myself, many times. I essentially learned sharpening on smaller hones like these, before I ever tried bench stones, and have a lot of scratched blades to show for it. It's not that this can't be avoided on these hones, but it's something one has to watch out for when finishing the pass near the corners on the hone. Even the lightest accidental contact on a diamond hone will leave scratches like that.

And some too-shy hesitancy to apply much pressure on a diamond hone can mess with control, in maintaining the angle OR pressure. You want to maintain some moderate pressure, so you can feel the firm & flush contact with the bevels. It's OK to use a little more pressure than just the weight of the blade - the hone won't be harmed by that. Trying to calibrate your touch for something that light (as the weight of the blade only) makes control of the angle very difficult. A fingertip placed just behind the bevel is a good way to apply that moderate pressure near the edge, so you can feel what's going on at the portion of the edge being worked. If you use the card hone on a bench or table, with both of your hands available for handling the knife, you can put a fingertip of one hand behind the bevel, and the tip of a finger of the other hand on the spine, so you can feel that fingertip lightly grazing the surface of the hone at your chosen angle. That's another way to lend some control, so the spine of the blade isn't wobbling up/down, and therefore creating rounding of the apex. The rounding caused by the up/down wobble of the angle is what makes it seem like the edge isn't being sharpened at all (and it isn't, although metal is being ground away).
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
Those scratches near the tip of the blade are familiar to me.

Sharpening on small hones, like the diamond cards, makes it a little too easy to lightly drag the end of the blade across the corners of the hones at the end of the sharpening pass. I've done it myself, many times. I essentially learned sharpening on smaller hones like these, before I ever tried bench stones, and have a lot of scratched blades to show for it. It's not that this can't be avoided on these hones, but it's something one has to watch out for when finishing the pass near the corners on the hone. Even the lightest accidental contact on a diamond hone will leave scratches like that.

And some too-shy hesitancy to apply much pressure on a diamond hone can mess with control, in maintaining the angle OR pressure. You want to maintain some moderate pressure, so you can feel the firm & flush contact with the bevels. It's OK to use a little more pressure than just the weight of the blade - the hone won't be harmed by that. Trying to calibrate your touch for something that light (as the weight of the blade only) makes control of the angle very difficult. A fingertip placed just behind the bevel is a good way to apply that moderate pressure near the edge, so you can feel what's going on at the portion of the edge being worked. If you use the card hone on a bench or table, with both of your hands available for handling the knife, you can put a fingertip of one hand behind the bevel, and the tip of a finger of the other hand on the spine, so you can feel that fingertip lightly grazing the surface of the hone at your chosen angle. That's another way to lend some control, so the spine of the blade isn't wobbling up/down, and therefore creating rounding of the apex. The rounding caused by the up/down wobble of the angle is what makes it seem like the edge isn't being sharpened at all (and it isn't, although metal is being ground away).
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, this is very helpful info. Lots to learn - I’ll give these suggestions a try!
 
Top Gunner,

I agree with Soleil & Obsessed with Edges. I too have seen and created those same scratches. I found it was when I came to the upswept part of the edge. It is very easy to have your knife hit the DMT plate at the end of the stroke, right where the upswept part of the edge starts. I found that I had to concentrate on the angle as you approach this part of the edge. If you continue with the same angle, you won’t hit the blade. Hope this makes some sense.

Brian
 
BWYO said:
Top Gunner,

I agree with Soleil & Obsessed with Edges. I too have seen and created those same scratches. I found it was when I came to the upswept part of the edge. It is very easy to have your knife hit the DMT plate at the end of the stroke, right where the upswept part of the edge starts. I found that I had to concentrate on the angle as you approach this part of the edge. If you continue with the same angle, you won’t hit the blade. Hope this makes some sense.

Brian
Click to expand...
Sure does. I ordered the above mentioned Diamond stones (full size), so hopefully I can progress a bit more with a proper sized stone, (and utilizing some lubricant and cleaning products). It’s a little wonky learning on the credit card sized plates. Thanks for your reply.
 
Most welcome! I am sure it will be easier on larger stones. Just concentrate on holding the same angle around the swept part of th edge.

Brian
 
BreakFreeCLP works great on cleaning diamond hones, lifts the swarf out. Leave it on an hour or two or overnight if possible, but it works right away, too. DMT bench stones are a good investment; I've had mine for decades. They work a lot better than the small ones. Diafolds are good, too, especially for the field.
 
Alberta Ed said:
BreakFreeCLP works great on cleaning diamond hones, lifts the swarf out. Leave it on an hour or two or overnight if possible, but it works right away, too. DMT bench stones are a good investment; I've had mine for decades. They work a lot better than the small ones. Diafolds are good, too, especially for the field.
Click to expand...
Good to know! I’ve got plenty of break free clp around. Thanks very much
 
It looks to me as if those scratches are a result of running the edge off the plate.
 
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