• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Grind trouble on a ZDP Delica

gglotz83

gglotz83

Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Messages
198
Hello everyone,

Today I went to touch up the edge on my new ZDP Delica, and I found that the angle of the relief edge is significantly different from side to side. On one side, 20 degrees on my edge pro just hits the microbevel perfectly. On the other side of the blade, 20 degrees on the edge pro is hitting the upper shoulder of the relief edge....not even close to the edge.

I don't mind correcting a little bit of inaccuracy from the factory, but this seems a bit extreme. Is this something that you would send back to Spyderco?
 
Of course not! Sharpen the knife to your preferences and use it! :)
Seriously, you'll want to take some steel off the edge manually in order to remove the factory (machine driven) edge anyway.
Many users also like to lower the angle in order to take advantage of the potential of ZDP to hold a thinner slicing edge.
If you want a tougher knife you ought to get the VG10 version.
 
This is common with all production knives. They're sharpened by hand with a grinder or belt. So they're almost never perfect. Knowing how to resharpen and re-profile an edge is a must. I wouldn't sent it back for that. Just use your edge pro to set the primary bevel to 15d per side, then put on a 20d per side micro bevel. Keyword there is "micro". It'll slice like no other if done properly. ZDP can be a bear to sharpen but it shouldn't be too bad with your edge pro.
 
Fancier said:
If you want a tougher knife you ought to get the VG10 version.
Click to expand...

I've carried a VG10 delica for many years, I got this one to try the ZDP!

Moxy said:
This is common with all production knives. They're sharpened by hand with a grinder or belt. So they're almost never perfect.
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand this. But 10 degrees of error (I estimate) between sides is a bit sloppy. I would expect that from a $30 knife, not a $100 knife.
 
I agree. It's less than satisfactory. But I've see worse error on much more expensive knives. If you re-profile it to a mirror polish it'll cut better than any factory edge and be less prone to chipping.
 
Moxy said:
I agree. It's less than satisfactory. But I've see worse error on much more expensive knives. If you re-profile it to a mirror polish it'll cut better than any factory edge and be less prone to chipping.
Click to expand...

Yep, it will be better than new! I will post some pics when its done.
 
These knives are sharpened by hand so, some variation is to be expected and is is perfectly normal. I've had an Edge Pro for many many years and I have yet to find any knife from any brand that has a perfectly symmetrical edge, out of say 300+.
 
I reprofiled the blade on the edge pro tonight, and I'm very happy with the results. It turned out that the asymmetrical grind was not as bad as I originally thought. I ended up putting a 16.5 degree primary bevel on the blade (per side), with a 20 degree inclusive micro-bevel. One side needed quite a bit of work, but the other side was pretty good.

This was the first time that I ever sharpened ZDP-189, and I have to admit that it was not too hard to sharpen. Not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be...I'd say about the same as S30V....maybe a tad tougher.

I took the final edge up to a 1500 grit stone, which gave me a nice semi-mirror polish.

IMG_20140616_193531.jpg
 
gglotz83 said:
I reprofiled the blade on the edge pro tonight, and I'm very happy with the results. It turned out that the asymmetrical grind was not as bad as I originally thought. I ended up putting a 16.5 degree primary bevel on the blade (per side), with a 20 degree inclusive micro-bevel. One side needed quite a bit of work, but the other side was pretty good.

This was the first time that I ever sharpened ZDP-189, and I have to admit that it was not too hard to sharpen. Not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be...I'd say about the same as S30V....maybe a tad tougher.

I took the final edge up to a 1500 grit stone, which gave me a nice semi-mirror polish.

View attachment 449548
Click to expand...

I convexed my ZDP Endura....it took awhile, but now has beautiful mirror polished edge & It is SHARP too! That is some HARD stuff, but, as long as its used as intended-not for prying, etc. I think it should maintain that edge. I dont suppose you have put it under a microscope? I may post this as a new thread, but I happen to have a small digital microscope & often use it to examine knife edges/grinds (a little anal, maybe, but I have learned a lot by doing it...$50 'scope has been good investment). I am a former butcher & seafood cutter, so dull knives are a non-starter with me. I was checking out my ZDP Endura & noticed teeny-tiny "micro-pits" all over the flats on both sides...basically the entire visible steel parts of the whole knife. I havent searched older threads & apologize if this has already been discussed, I just joined BF & also just occurred to me to ask when I read your post. Just curious, not really concerned about it. I know the ZDP is "Powdered Metal" tech & dont know a whole lot about it, other than a rough understanding of the process.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top