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Having trouble sharpening AUS8 on my Sharpmaker. Any hints?

S

sharkattacksw

Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
626
I'm having trouble getting a shaving sharp edge on my American Lawman, which is AUS8, while using my Sharpmaker. I'm following the directions to the letter as shown in the DVD and online by Sal himself, but I can't seem to get the razzor edge I'm after. Is AUS8 hard to get an edge on? I know it's not necessarily premium steel, but it's not junk either. Or is it?

Any tips will be welcomed.
 
By 'shaving sharp' I assume that it is getting sharp, as in 'phonebook paper slicing sharp', at least?

If so, are you using the Ultra Fine rods and/or a strop?
 
Have you verified using a felt tip pen that the stones are making contact with the edge of the knife?

Was this a new knife? Has it been sharpened previously? If the existing bevel is greater than 20 degrees you'll have a hard time sharpening with a Sharpmaker.
 
The sharpening stickies are your friend. The answers you seek are most likely handled with the knowledge they contain.

Without knowing what specific symptoms you're experiencing, we can't help much.

I will share a tip specifically regarding Cold Steel AUS-8 and ceramics that helped me. I kept getting a stubborn burr that would not go away. Ceramics tend to put a lot of pressure on the apex. Once I learned to use almost nonexistent pressure on my finish strokes, that dull wire edge disappeared.

Not sure if that could be what's going on. Get back to us with some more specifics.

Good luck.
 
Thanks guys. Apologies, I'll have a look at the stickies. I'll also have to try the Sharpie trick to see where the edge is hitting on the rods. Wish me luck. From what I've been able to learn so far, knife sharpening is an art that takes lots of practice. I think was hoping it'd be easier than it is, based on the Sharpmaker ads and testimonials. Practice makes perfect!
 
Youre going to hear this alot but learning to freehand from the start is the most effective road to happiness, even if it isnt your immediate goal.

Sharpmaker is easy, but only hits the tip of the iceberg. Any of the guided systems or other cheats still rely on knowing the same overall principles, or results wont happen. Therefore, by the time these are learned, a guy could've been practicing freehand sharpening anyway.

Point being, in the long run, focusing on simple freehand principles will make you more skilled, and allow you to use the training wheels and other assisted systems to much better effect.

Clear as mud lol ?
Good luck.
 
Like 440, Aus-8 is hard to get an edge on. Aus-6 is hard too, and yet is a bit easier.

It does correlate to how long the edge will last imho. To get around the curved bellies, I sharpen free-hand parallel to the edge, to minimize side rocking. Going perpendicular maximizes rocking, and so makes a rounder less sharp edge. With a deep re-profile, the extra-coarse dia-sharp leaves striations, so, when finishing, compromise with diagonal movements, to avoid deep striations parallel to the edge that weaken it. Use the shadow under the edge to keep the angle constant.

Gaston
 
No apologies necessary. You came to the right place to learn.

I use a Sharpmaker for most of my sharpening and it's quite easy to get extremely sharp edges with it.

Start with the 'Sharpie trick' and makes sure you're hitting the apex. Try both 30° and 40° slots with the Fine rods. This way you get a good idea of the bevel angle without removing steel. Let us know what you find.
 
More often than not, factory edges on most knives initially come pretty 'thick', with wide edge angles and/or thick grinds behind the edge. Trying to sharpen such edges on the Sharpmaker often generates the very same questions and frustrations from many who try. Usually, it's due to not fully apexing the factory edge; sometimes that's due to the thick edge geometry being outside the 40° inclusive limit of the Sharpmaker, and other times it may just be due to not taking it far enough to reach the apex. That's where the 'Sharpie method' will prove useful, indicating whether or not you're grinding all the way to the apex of the edge.

AUS8 steel is usually easy to deal with; Cold Steel's AUS8 seems to have a good reputation, so I wouldn't be distracted by worrying about the steel itself. The thickness of the edge grind is more likely the issue here. As an example, SOG made good use of AUS8 in some of their older knives; I have an older SOG folder (Twitch XL) with a very thin hollow grind in AUS8. Combined with the very thin grind on that knife, the AUS8 is a breeze and a joy to sharpen, and takes a great edge. For thicker edges, more time will need to be invested to thin the edge grind down a bit (I'd go for 30° inclusive or lower), after which tuning it up on the Sharpmaker should be much, much easier.


David
 
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It's not the steel, you're not hitting the edge yet. Keep going till your able to get a burr on each side. It might be a while. You may need the diamond or cbn rods. A lighted loupe might help too. You can safely ignore Sal's directions of 20 strokes per side, or whatever he says; it will probably be hundreds and hundreds of strokes. I've done many many knives on the sharpmaker.
 
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