Fallkniven DC4 + spyderco sharpmaker -- Anything else?

K

Kirk_Ferentz

Joined
Feb 16, 2010
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589
Strops, steels, ceramic rods, paper wheels, sand paper, edge pros ... so many ways to sharpen a knife... makes my head spin.

It SEEMS from my research that a sharpmaker will do a pretty good job for me. I don't yet have any convex edged knives--it is all V-edge. I'm thinking a sharpmaker + the fallkniven stone for the field. It sounds like if and when I get a convex edge, the sandpaper + mousepad method will do well for me then (thus no need to worry about that at this point).

Anyone think I am on the wrong path? Right path but wrong products (e.g. a better stone than the fallkniven?)? Or should I supplement these two tools with something else like a rod or a stop for touch ups?
 
Sharpmaker at home and a DC3 in the field for v edges is a practical setup at a reasonable cost. I wish I would have started out with that setup years ago and saved all the $ I spent on various sharpening systems and field tools that didn't work as well. Now I use a variety of other sharpening tools including stones, strops, paper wheels and belt grinders, but the Sharpmaker and DC3 still get used.
 
save some dollars and leave out the sharpmaker.

once you master the stone (and those fallkniven stones are lovely), you won't need the sharpmaker.
 
sambo. said:
save some dollars and leave out the sharpmaker.

once you master the stone (and those fallkniven stones are lovely), you won't need the sharpmaker.
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Hmm, tempting. I have to confess that I started out using a lansky set up and am now using the lansky stones as free hand stones. I like the free hand technique a lot more.

Two concerns I have are that I wonder if the sharpmaker will help me be more consistent with my angles, and I wonder if it will help me avoid scratching around the edge of the knife (something I have had problems with in the past ... although I am a lot better at it and getting better).
 
Chromium Oxide (or diamonds) on leather will do a decent job of cleaning up scratches near the edge when some elbow grease is used. Obviously, the same strop can be used for final polishing of the edge or you can use the same compound on something harder (mdf, paint stir stick, cardboard, etc.) My recommendation is to start with a high quality compound and try it on different surfaces to find what works best for you. I've even seen it put on the pouch for the DC4 so that it can be carried in the field. I've been using the same bar of Lee Valley Veritas for five years and still have over 3/4 of it left.
 
Hammurabi said:
Chromium Oxide (or diamonds) on leather will do a decent job of cleaning up scratches near the edge when some elbow grease is used.
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Absolutely! :thumbup:

Obviously, the same strop can be used for final polishing of the edge or you can use the same compound on something harder (mdf, paint stir stick, cardboard, etc.)
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A veritable treasure trove of great info! :)
I'm in total agreement.

I've been using the same bar of Lee Valley Veritas for five years and still have over 3/4 of it left.
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... and then you had to go and blow it by using waaay too much compound for the past five years. You should have at least 7/8 of it left, if not more! Unless, of course, you used it a couple of times on a powered wheel. Come on... redeem yourself and tell us that you powered with it once or twice. LOL!!

Stitchawl
 
No power wheels but I do use it on a 1x30 belt sander and have "wasted" some on strops for other people. My guess is that if you used a bar of compound on a single strop to sharpen a single knife that you would run out of knife long before you ran out of compound.
 
Hammurabi said:
Chromium Oxide (or diamonds) on leather will do a decent job of cleaning up scratches near the edge when some elbow grease is used. Obviously, the same strop can be used for final polishing of the edge or you can use the same compound on something harder (mdf, paint stir stick, cardboard, etc.) My recommendation is to start with a high quality compound and try it on different surfaces to find what works best for you. I've even seen it put on the pouch for the DC4 so that it can be carried in the field. I've been using the same bar of Lee Valley Veritas for five years and still have over 3/4 of it left.
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So you are talking about rubbing the scratched surface of the blade on a strop or some other surface after you have rubbed that compound on it? Do you have a recommendation for a strop? Is an old leather belt as good as anything?
 
Hammurabi said:
No power wheels but I do use it on a 1x30 belt sander and have "wasted" some on strops for other people. My guess is that if you used a bar of compound on a single strop to sharpen a single knife that you would run out of knife long before you ran out of compound.
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One of my Egyptian friends who's lineage goes back to Biblical times has a bar of his great-great-great grandfather's compound that still has the Pharaoh's Imperial seal on it! :p .And it's only half used up! :rolleyes:
Bought at Lee Nile-Valley..... :D

So you are talking about rubbing the scratched surface of the blade on a strop or some other surface after you have rubbed that compound on it? Do you have a recommendation for a strop? Is an old leather belt as good as anything?
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When using compounds, the carrier for it isn't all that important as it's the compound itself doing the work. You could certainly use an old leather belt or even a piece of heavy canvas, thick cardboard, paint stirring stick, etc. What ever you happen to have around. Just be sure that if you are using compounds to strop beveled edges that the carrier is really firm and smooth. If you're stropping convexed edges that substrate can be a bit softer.

Stitchawl
 
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