Diamond Stones for M2 Steel?

T

thunderjacket

Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Messages
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Hello hello,

I'm in the market to buy a sharpener and was wondering how necessary diamond stones are to sharpen M2 steel. I've heard that this material is a royal PITA to work with otherwise, but most of the kits i'm courageous enough to buy (sharpmaker and lansky...i guess i'm not that courageous) only come with ceramic rods. Any kit or upgrade with diamond is mondo mooola (which i don't have) and I'm a little too green to free hand. What's your take? Is it worth it to fork out the money? Will ceramic rods put on the same edge but just be a lot harder? I'm open for suggestions and comments.

Thanks in advance,

Peter
 
Ceramics will work just fine, the mediums work fairly well for initial resharpening(assuming there isn't any real damage to the edge) and the whites put an unbelievable edge on M2. If you want to reprofile though you should seriously consider investing in a medium/coarse diamond stone or use a silicon carbide stone and keep the surface fresh (I just use the rough concrete on my driveway for this, it's just a 2 dollar chinese stone and it's only used for rough work). As a final step just use the back of a leather belt or get a real strop to finish off the edge, this really helps no matter what grit or stone you used to sharpen with.
 
Just my opinion, but if you ever need to do any reprofiling(which, inevitably you will) on an M2 blade, you are going to need a diamond stone. That stuff is over 60 Rockwell, and anything less is simply going to polish it. Those little Gerber Bird and Trout knives used to be made from M2, and even diamond stones didn't take off much metal from those.
 
Ceramic will be fine for keeping it sharp, but I think you'll need diamond if you ever let it get really blunt, or need to reprofile it.

David
 
ceramic rods or hard ceramic water stones will work on M2 (I have a pink 5000 grit Global stone I polish the edge on, though it laughs at my clay bonded stones). But, as others have said, you will need diamond or silicon carbide (sandpaper sharpening) if you need to reprofile or grind out any dings.
 
I just reprofiled my BM710HSSR (M2) with my EdgePro. The aluminum oxide water stones didn't have any problems with it. I then put the final edge on with the white ceramic Sharpmaker stones and then gave it a few passes on the ultra-fine Spyderco Sharpmaker stones.
 
I just sharpened my 710HSSR completely on a Sharpmaker, synthetic stones, not the diamond sleeves. No problems.
 
You guys are good! Thanks for all the comments...based on my budget and the overall consensus that the sharpmaker will do the trick under most circumstances, I think I'll hold off on diamond.

Thanks...and keep posting...i'm sure, it'll help somebody in the future.
 
Diamond (bench) stones are the way to go. Even for steels with a lower rockwell ratings. I' ve used several over the years. And rarely even go back to all other systems I have in my accumulation. One exception may be the occasional need to touch up a serrated edge or a recurved blade. For these I reach for the optional triangular diamond sleeves offered by Spyderco. They slip right over their own ceramic stones. Or you can simply drop these right into the recesses under the base of their plastic container and have an instant benchstone.

N2
 
thunderjacket said:
You guys are good! Thanks for all the comments...based on my budget and the overall consensus that the sharpmaker will do the trick under most circumstances, I think I'll hold off on diamond.

Thanks...and keep posting...i'm sure, it'll help somebody in the future.
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Don't forget, if the Sharpmaker looks like it's going too slow for you, there's a low-budget fix. Go get some 100ish-grit wet-dry sandpaper and wrap that around the Spyderco stone. It'll cut very fast.

If your budget can withstand it, I do agree with Nakano that diamond hones or sleeves are great. But the low-budget approach of Sharpmaker + wet/dry sandpaper works just fine.
 
I just used the edges of the brown rods on a sharpmaker to reprofile a 30 degree primary edge on a BM710HS - Took about 4 - 5 hours, but well worth the effort.
 
Stockman said:
I just used the edges of the brown rods on a sharpmaker to reprofile a 30 degree primary edge on a BM710HS - Took about 4 - 5 hours, but well worth the effort.
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LOL, that is what I call dedication! I took my BM910HS down to about a 22 degree angle and it seemed to take forever on a coarse 4"x10" DMT diamond lap, though polishing it up on the 5000 grit ceramic stone took a lot less effort (then gave it a bit steeper secondary bevel with the stone and convexed the edge a bit on a leather strop with diamond paste and 1/2 micron honing compound... took a nice polish) Good steel can take a smaller angle, depending on what you use it for (I don't hack on hard stuff or slit fiberglass with it, so mine has held up well and have only had to strop it occasionally since)
 
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