Differences sharpening a traditional?

Postlapsaria

Postlapsaria

Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Messages
205
Got a Sharpmaker for Christmas and was able to get a VG-10 Spyderco, 8Cr13MoV Spyderco, a Victorinox and a Leatherman very sharp following the instructions.

I'm not having the same luck with my 1095 GEC Beer Scout. In fact, I think I made it worse than it was following the same process.

Is there something I'm missing about the angle or material of this type of knife?
 
Technically there is no difference. Make sure that you hit the very apex. Color the edge bevel with sharpie o.e. so thatyou can see where you abrade.

Br oliver
 
After making sure you hit the apex, finish with a few very light strokes per side. My GEC’s get very sharp on the Sharpmaker.
 
It all depends on how you have the knife ground. I use 20 degrees per side for my GEC’s. I use a worksharp and grind them to 17 degrees per side then use the Sharpmaker to maintain at 20 degrees per side. I find the 1095 used in GEC’s to be very refined and sharpens to a very nice edge on the Sharpmaker. Other knives I maintain freehand.
 
Postlapsaria said:
Got a Sharpmaker for Christmas and was able to get a VG-10 Spyderco, 8Cr13MoV Spyderco, a Victorinox and a Leatherman very sharp following the instructions.

I'm not having the same luck with my 1095 GEC Beer Scout. In fact, I think I made it worse than it was following the same process.

Is there something I'm missing about the angle or material of this type of knife?
Click to expand...

IF your GEC is like others I've heard of (I don't have any, myself), part of the issue may just be a relatively wide/thick edge grind. This has been a complaint among some fans of GEC's knives (see the Traditional forum), sometimes.

Another possibility, which might also be aggravating things in tandem with a wide/thick edge:
1095 and other simple, non-stainless steels are sometimes almost too easy to overgrind on harder sharpening media, like ceramic hones (Sharpmaker, etc). A very, very light touch, even lighter than you might use on your other stainless knives, can make a difference there. 1095 has absolutely NO hard carbide content, even as compared to the small amounts found in simple stainless blades, which is attributable to their chromium content (1095 has no chromium at all). So the steel that's there, in 1095, is relatively defenseless in wear resistance, which also means it's very vulnerable to a too-heavy touch in the finishing stages when sharpening. That lack of wear resistance can be a good thing, though, in that it means 1095 can easily be sharpened on less aggressive stones, such as Arkansas stones. Those two are a good match for one another.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
IF your GEC is like others I've heard of (I don't have any, myself), part of the issue may just be a relatively wide/thick edge grind. This has been a complaint among some fans of GEC's knives (see the Traditional forum), sometimes.

Another possibility, which might also be aggravating things in tandem with a wide/thick edge:
1095 and other simple, non-stainless steels are sometimes almost too easy to overgrind on harder sharpening media, like ceramic hones (Sharpmaker, etc). A very, very light touch, even lighter than you might use on your other stainless knives, can make a difference there. 1095 has absolutely NO hard carbide content, even as compared to the small amounts found in simple stainless blades, which is attributable to their chromium content (1095 has no chromium at all). So the steel that's there, in 1095, is relatively defenseless in wear resistance, which also means it's very vulnerable to a too-heavy touch in the finishing stages when sharpening. That lack of wear resistance can be a good thing, though, in that it means 1095 can easily be sharpened on less aggressive stones, such as Arkansas stones. Those two are a good match for one another.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Thanks!
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
IF your GEC is like others I've heard of (I don't have any, myself), part of the issue may just be a relatively wide/thick edge grind. This has been a complaint among some fans of GEC's knives (see the Traditional forum), sometimes.

Another possibility, which might also be aggravating things in tandem with a wide/thick edge:
1095 and other simple, non-stainless steels are sometimes almost too easy to overgrind on harder sharpening media, like ceramic hones (Sharpmaker, etc). A very, very light touch, even lighter than you might use on your other stainless knives, can make a difference there. 1095 has absolutely NO hard carbide content, even as compared to the small amounts found in simple stainless blades, which is attributable to their chromium content (1095 has no chromium at all). So the steel that's there, in 1095, is relatively defenseless in wear resistance, which also means it's very vulnerable to a too-heavy touch in the finishing stages when sharpening. That lack of wear resistance can be a good thing, though, in that it means 1095 can easily be sharpened on less aggressive stones, such as Arkansas stones. Those two are a good match for one another.
Click to expand...

This^

I had a bear of a time sharpening by Beer Scout at first. It's never liked being sharpened on diamonds. I have had some success with my Sharpmaker but the last time I sharpened it, I did so on a Norton Combo stone followed up by my Ultra Fine Spyderco ceramic. But, I had to use a feather light touch with the Spyderco stone.
 
Thanks again for the tips. I spent a lot of time testing with a Sharpie and going through the back bevel process. It's definitely more sharp, but won't shave. Meanwhile, my cheapo Leatherman Skeletool gets shaving sharp easily.

Think I will check out the other stones mentioned here. I will report back.
 
Postlapsaria said:
Thanks again for the tips. I spent a lot of time testing with a Sharpie and going through the back bevel process. It's definitely more sharp, but won't shave. Meanwhile, my cheapo Leatherman Skeletool gets shaving sharp easily.

Think I will check out the other stones mentioned here. I will report back.
Click to expand...

If I were betting, I'd bet the edge angle is probably relatively thick on that knife, maybe at/above 40° inclusive. Once taken down to ~30° inclusive or lower, shaving sharpness comes much more easily. With such troublesome sharpening jobs, that fixes the issue almost every time, especially in steels that should otherwise be relatively easy to make shaving-sharp, like 1095 and low-alloy stainless steels.
 
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