Glass shaptons , Worth the money ?

A

Arfropubes

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Apr 3, 2011
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I am thinking about GS mainly due to my inability to get a shaving edge on my razors with a coticule. Yet in the nature of multi use tools I of course would use them with my knives. What if any experience do you have with them, how well do they hold up / last ? 5mm of cutting surface seems rather thin. I know for razors 16000 and up is needed to get that smooth shave but is that over kill for a pocket, camp knife ?


Thanks

Shayne
 
Yes, they are well worth it.

No, 16K is not overkill for a pocket knife. My EDC pocket knives are honed to 30K.
 
Ben Dover said:
Yes, they are well worth it.

No, 16K is not overkill for a pocket knife. My EDC pocket knives are honed to 30K.
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Agreed, on both counts.
They are well worth it, and they will last you way longer than you think.
I know guys who have honed thousands of razors on them and they still look pretty much like new.

Personally I hone most any knife to the same level I do with all my straights.
There's nothing like a really fresh, sharp edge on a knife.
 
I go up to 8000 on my camp knives and had them for years. They are worth it and work great on D2
 
Had em for close to half a year now. The 500 grit stone rocks. I do feel that the higher grit stones load quickly if you don't use light pressure.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
Yes it is.
.
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My EDC pocket knives are Spyderco Militaries in CPM M-4 and CPM S90V.
They are also my "bragging rights" knives.:D

Both are sharpened to 30K on Shaptons, and polished to .25 micron CBN on strops.

So far, neither has failed to cut anything I needed to cut.:thumbup:
 
I have an edge pro with 320, 500, 1000, 4000, 8000 and 16000 grit SG's waiting for me at home. I will give an opinion tomorrow :)
 
Ben Dover said:
My EDC pocket knives are Spyderco Militaries in CPM M-4 and CPM S90V.
They are also my "bragging rights" knives.:D

Both are sharpened to 30K on Shaptons, and polished to .25 micron CBN on strops.

So far, neither has failed to cut anything I needed to cut.:thumbup:
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But it is overkill, hence my reply. What "bragging rights" does carrying a pocket knife finished with a 30k stone give you?

EDIT: To answer the OP, 16k is an incredible degree of refinement really only suitable for special applications, for example finishing a straight razor. The reason why is because that degree of refinement leaves a very smooth, "glass" edge that will glide over soapy skin and push right through whiskers like butter. A coarser, toothier finish can irritate the skin, hence the reason why professional honemeisters go so high.

But for a pocket knife? What would you do that would warrant that? I think anyone who does it for "bragging rights" should reevaluate the people he is hanging out with.

Think about what you use your pocket knife for, and you may find that you'd actually benefit from a somewhat toothier, coarser edge for things like cutting zip ties, breaking down boxes, slicing errant strings, etc., etc. I'd say 2k or even 1k, followed by stropping, is probably good.
 
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Magnaminous_G said:
But it is overkill, hence my reply. What "bragging rights" does carrying a pocket knife finished with a 30k stone give you?
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If you have to ask you just don't get it. There is still hope though, one day you might get to paly with the cool kids. :cool:
 
Magnaminous_G said:
But it is overkill, hence my reply. What "bragging rights" does carrying a pocket knife finished with a 30k stone give you?

EDIT: To answer the OP, 16k is an incredible degree of refinement really only suitable for special applications, for example finishing a straight razor. The reason why is because that degree of refinement leaves a very smooth, "glass" edge that will glide over soapy skin and push right through whiskers like butter. A coarser, toothier finish can irritate the skin, hence the reason why professional honemeisters go so high.

But for a pocket knife? What would you do that would warrant that? I think anyone who does it for "bragging rights" should reevaluate the people he is hanging out with.

Think about what you use your pocket knife for, and you may find that you'd actually benefit from a somewhat toothier, coarser edge for things like cutting zip ties, breaking down boxes, slicing errant strings, etc., etc. I'd say 2k or even 1k, followed by stropping, is probably good.
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Depends on how you cut and what you cut. If you prefer push cutting and don't cut anything abrasive, a polished edge is right for you. "Overkill" also depends on your sharpening methods. Spending over an hour in refining an edge on stones sounds like overkill. But for me, going from P400 to a 3 micron belt, a Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish loaded belt, a 0.25 micron diamond spay loaded belt, and a bare leather honing belt is about 5 minutes.
 
If you want polished, push-cutting edges, you still don't have any reason to go to 16k. You will get a pretty, shiny bevel that is as smooth as you could like with 4k - 8k.
 
I certainly get satisfaction out of showing off a nice, neat, shiny bevel on a Military.
Like he said...cool kids.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
If you want polished, push-cutting edges, you still don't have any reason to go to 16k. You will get a pretty, shiny bevel that is as smooth as you could like with 4k - 8k.
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For pocket knives yes, but you can really appreciate how refined the edge is with chef's knives when cutting food. The food literally looks like it was mechanically bisected because of how flat it looks. But yeah, might not be worth the time and money with 20+ degrees per side pocket knives unless you're a professional whittler or something:rolleyes:. Once you go to a powered system, it just seems tedious and painful to imagine doing it manually on my Edge Pro, which has been largely unused for the better part of 3 years:D.
 
To each his own. I'm certainly not suggesting that you can't go to 30k (or beyond!) for whatever reason you choose, but Ben Dover's response needed clarification. It is irresponsible and says something about your sharpening experience if you are encouraging new sharpeners to go that high for a pocket knife, as if there were any good reason to do so (there isn't. not one.).

And to suggest that people go out and buy a $500 stone because this will somehow make them cool and give them bragging rights is... silly


But if you yourself want to finish your pocket knife to 30k for poops and giggles, go for it.
 
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I don't see any reason to go that high.

I've enjoyed a novelty edge or two in pursuit of a successful hht, but outside of that I can get a mirror polish with a lower grit rating than 16 or 30k.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
Snip...

...It is irresponsible and says something about your sharpening experience if you are encouraging new sharpeners to go that high for a pocket knife, as if there were any good reason to do so (there isn't. not one.).

And to suggest that people go out and buy a $500 stone because this will somehow make them cool and give them bragging rights is... silly


But if you yourself want to finish your pocket knife to 30k for poops and giggles, go for it.
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I agree, most knife users will not benefit from such a degree of polish.
In fact, I would say it would be quite the opposite.

There are, however unlikely to you, others that actually do.
I always carry one knife polished "all the way" as it benefits a certain task I do quite often in my job.
As an added protection on projectors used in various simulator settings, I always cut out a filter to add to the longevity of bulbs and mirrors.
This fabric, while superb as a filter, is a pain to cut because it is idiotically easy to tear and rip.
With a set of good quality shears I can cut it.
I find it works fine with a highly polished edge too.
Wanna guess what I'm more likely to have on me?
 
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