Hi,
I ran across the DMT Magna-Guide Diafold Quad Kit (Model number DMG-4) (what a mouthful) and it looked like it might be the answer to my issue. I've been attempting to "hand" sharpen some cheap knives for practice, and while I can get a fairly sharp edge, I'm fairly certain my inability to hold a perfect angle is causing slight imperfections in my edges.
I'm mainly sharpening cheapie SAK blades to learn, but I think it's something I'll just never be perfect at. I can hand-sharpen well enough to make a non-usable blade usable, which is good enough for the field, for me.
So, I had purchased a Smith kit, which has an alignment tool, but three things suck about it:
#1 - Cleaning that Arkansas stone over and over is a pain.
#2 - It only has two blade angles.
#3 - The blade holder attaches in a retarded manner, due to some notched areas that aren't level, and this results in the blade not being held level.
That's 30 bucks down the drain, this time I'd like to do things correctly. From my reading, it appears DMT is well regarded, but I hadn't heard anything about this kit in particular. It's $100 bucks on their website, if this is a good kit, let me know if you know somewhere with a better price!
Another reason I'm wanting to get something to make sure I've got the angles correct, I'm planning to purchase a few Benchmade knives soon, and I *really* don't want to ruin them. That's why I'm getting the practice out of the way with 5$ SAKs, I'll move up to my nice SAKs and the Benchmades once I've gotten the sharpening down.
Oh, one final question, I've heard stropping is the last step in sharpening, to have the ultimate in sharpness/shine/mirror finish. What's the best 'value' for this work? Ideally, something fool proof (or, at least, fool-resistant).
Thanks!
David
I ran across the DMT Magna-Guide Diafold Quad Kit (Model number DMG-4) (what a mouthful) and it looked like it might be the answer to my issue. I've been attempting to "hand" sharpen some cheap knives for practice, and while I can get a fairly sharp edge, I'm fairly certain my inability to hold a perfect angle is causing slight imperfections in my edges.
I'm mainly sharpening cheapie SAK blades to learn, but I think it's something I'll just never be perfect at. I can hand-sharpen well enough to make a non-usable blade usable, which is good enough for the field, for me.
So, I had purchased a Smith kit, which has an alignment tool, but three things suck about it:
#1 - Cleaning that Arkansas stone over and over is a pain.
#2 - It only has two blade angles.
#3 - The blade holder attaches in a retarded manner, due to some notched areas that aren't level, and this results in the blade not being held level.
That's 30 bucks down the drain, this time I'd like to do things correctly. From my reading, it appears DMT is well regarded, but I hadn't heard anything about this kit in particular. It's $100 bucks on their website, if this is a good kit, let me know if you know somewhere with a better price!
Another reason I'm wanting to get something to make sure I've got the angles correct, I'm planning to purchase a few Benchmade knives soon, and I *really* don't want to ruin them. That's why I'm getting the practice out of the way with 5$ SAKs, I'll move up to my nice SAKs and the Benchmades once I've gotten the sharpening down.
Oh, one final question, I've heard stropping is the last step in sharpening, to have the ultimate in sharpness/shine/mirror finish. What's the best 'value' for this work? Ideally, something fool proof (or, at least, fool-resistant).
Thanks!
David
