Good grit for EDC

B

Bajjin3

Joined
Jan 19, 2013
Messages
11
Hi all,
I am a new and learning knife collector/user/sharpener. I have a dmt aligner as my sharpening system and I am becoming quite comfortable with it. On my 551 griptilian, which I use for general box cutting, plastic strap etc, I have been sharpening the bevel to the dmt's 1200 grit. While the 1200 grit works very well and makes short work of the material I cut I was wondering if there would be any benefit to stopping at the 600 grit stone? Would it be easier to maintain? Would the edge last longer, or less? I would really appreciate your guys' opinions as I've come to greatly respect the people on this forum.
 
While a coarser edge can have some advantages when cutting through fibrous material , leaving the edge at a 600mesh is quite coarse , and touchups will consequently eat up your blade more quickly over time. I would personally go finer , say finish on your 1200 , and then strop on some 3k Boron Carbide. Or add a couple waterstones to the mix. Will make cutting the cardboard easier , touchups easier , and eat up less of your blade.
 
I kinda thought that would be the case (grinding away the blade). I have yet to get into serious stropping though. Is the benefit of stropping just a more refined edge? I do have the aligner's finest grit (8000) stone as well. Should I take it to that level? Can 154cm, being a non-vanadium steel, be pushed that fine?
 
Absolutely , I consider 8k to be more "Low Grit" , but I am slightly insane :)

Edge Geometry will play a bigger part in durability than finish will at this point in your career. You can probably bottom out that DMT and still be fine. How low of an angle does the aligner go to? 15, 17 or so?
 
For a 1 inch width blade I think it does 16 degrees per side at the lowest. I know how crazy people are on here :rolleyes:, but for my mileage I just need and want an edge that works well and is easy to maintain, not cut the fabric of space and time. Maybe as I become more experienced, il join the "mirror polish" club.
 
To explain me myself and I a little better: I don't find any joy in sharpening. To me, it's work. I LOVE:p my knives, but I only sharpen them because i LOVE to use them. All I'm after is an edge that cuts well. I'm looking for a good balance of performance for the work I put into it.
 
Bajjin3 said:
To explain me myself and I a little better: I don't find any joy in sharpening. To me, it's work. I LOVE:p my knives, but I only sharpen them because i LOVE to use them. All I'm after is an edge that cuts well. I'm looking for a good balance of performance for the work I put into it.
Click to expand...

If it were my knife...I'd lower the angle per side to 13-15 degrees give or take, no larger, and maintain on the fine stone (600-800). Strop on 2 or three layers of newspaper over something hard, like a brick or generic combination stone, to remove the burr and finesse the edge a bit. If the aligner allows you to return to a steady angle this should work well with your system as it will only take a handful of passes to restore the edge. Yes, you will remove a bit more steel per touchup, but the edge will last a long time with that steel for utility uses. The finer you go, the more often you will need to take action in terms of maintenance.

154cm can take a pretty fine edge if you care to go that route.
 
It is a chore for me to sharpen knives as well. I'll do a five step process if necessary. I take em to 1000 on a stone and then leather belt strop with green or white compound.
 
HeavyHanded said:
If it were my knife...I'd lower the angle per side to 13-15 degrees give or take, no larger, and maintain on the fine stone (600-800). Strop on 2 or three layers of newspaper over something hard, like a brick or generic combination stone, to remove the burr and finesse the edge a bit. If the aligner allows you to return to a steady angle this should work well with your system as it will only take a handful of passes to restore the edge. Yes, you will remove a bit more steel per touchup, but the edge will last a long time with that steel for utility uses. The finer you go, the more often you will need to take action in terms of maintenance.

154cm can take a pretty fine edge if you care to go that route.
Click to expand...

+1
If you don't enjoy sharpening there's no reason to go any further then the fine DMT it leaves a nice toothy edge that works well for most edc tasks.
 
I generally sharpen on water stones (for convex edges) up to 5000 grit. With V edges I go up to the ultra fine Sharpmaker stones. That being said...the 1200 DMT will be just fine. Personally I'd strop the edge afterward though.
 
I go no higher than a Norton fine India (320 grit) stone. Its a simple set up, one twin grit stone and some mineral oil. It leaves a edge that will shave every hair it touches. DM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top