Help!--I can't get my new Sebie sharp!

L

Lukers

Joined
Jul 17, 1999
Messages
571
Hi Everyone,
I just got my first CRK knife. I got a Large Sebenza Classic in trade for a ZTBM I had. I am impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the Sebie. The tolerances on the knife are very tight and the plunge lines on the blade are perfect. I love the lock too because it becomes a fixed blade when it goes "thunk". For all these reasons I want to keep the knife. I normally wouldn't want to keep something around this expensive but I "love" it. The only problem is that I can't get it sharp. I used it one night at work and cut a lot of boxes at work on purpose to see how well it held an edge. Now I can't get it sharp after hours of trying. I have sharpened Busses, Spydies, SAK's, and knives I have forged out of 1095 and 5160. I could get all of them shaving sharp very easily with just a ceramic rod and a leather strop with white rough.
But after trying to sharpen the Sebie for so long I am starting to give up. I realize that the knife has some what of a convex edge on it. Could it be that I am not sharpening this correctly? What should I do to get it sharp?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Luke
 
Luke,

It seems that you know quite a bit about knives and sharpening- I can't see why you are having a problem with this Sebenza.

Why don't you contact CRK directly and they will sharpen the knife for you.

Also, you may ask them for some pointers so you don't need to keep sending it back to them- They will be more than willing to help you out.

Neil
 
Remove the convex edge with diamonds. After you have the convex flattened out, you shouldn't have too much trouble. BG-42 is a little tougher to sharpen than the steels you mentioned. Good luck.

Paul
 
Use a black permanent marker on the edge and keep going until the black edge disappears. When it disappears, you will have raised a burr and from there you'll achieve the edge you want.
 
I've always used the Spydie Sharpmaker. Even the first sharpening session on the convex edge has never been a problem.

If the knife has become really dull you need to try something else before using the SM, otherwise it will be slow going.

Frank
 
I use the sharpmaker with the grey stones and have excelant results.I keep the knife straight up and down so it will be the sharpmaker angle on top of the CRK angle.The sharpmaker angle is a more durable edge and holds up much better for me.If it is real dull I lay an EZE-Lap course stone on the sharpmaker and do a few strokes to help speed up the sharpening.Then go back to the grey stones.
thanks
ford
 
CRK will sharpen your knife for a nominal fee ($10 or $20, I forget).

Problem is, you don't want to send it off every time you use it and dull it.


The following assumes that you know about the "burr", how to get it, how to strop it off, etc. If not, see Juranich's book: http://www.razoredgesystems.com/catalog/book.html


Many recommend the Sharpmaker, and CRK will also. I tried this, and it does work, use that marker to see exactly where you are sharpening... you might be missing the edge and just grinding on the convex bevel. Two caveats:
1. you must hold the knife at the same exact angle every stroke. And you must be patient and steady.
2. you must be cautious that you don't let the knife slip off the stone while under hand pressure (to cut), or you will VERY QUICKLY round off the point of the knife. I did this on my Sebbie (Doap!) and that resulted in a round trip to CRK.

I ended up taking the convexivity out of my big Sebbie, and use Lansky diamond stones, shaving sharp. For me personally, this is both easier and I can more consistently get that very sharp shaving edge. Others have better success w/ Sharpmaker. I've practiced much more w/ Lansky, that probably is why it works better for me.

Here is a rehash on how Reeve actually sharpens these knives in their shop:
1. assuming it's really dull, they use a worn 180 to 320 grit belt grinder to put about a ~20 degree flat bevel on the knife (that's 40 degrees included angle).
2. then they use a very hard wool felt 10" wheel on a buffer (1800 rpm) with an aggressive buffing compound / rouge (I forgot the brand). They take a flat bevel and work that mild convex edge back onto the blade, slightly steepening the angle from around 20 to around 22 degrees. This polishes an edge very nicely. And CRK delivers the most refined of the "very sharp" edges of anyone in the business.

For a long while, it was only Chris Reeve and Scott Cook that sharpened all the knives. Others do now, but it took training and practice. All of this is done by hand, no jigs or fixtures. And it is near perfection in terms of bevel width and mild convexivity. (Only a few custom makers get pretty close to this super polished convex edge, here are some from my personal experience, I'm sure there are others: RJ Martin, Greg Lightfoot, Mayo, and of course Scott Cook who is running his own knifemaking biz now.)

Again, you can use a red or black felt tip marker while you are mastering.

You can imitate this exactly but it'll cost you money:
1. a small belt sander from Sears is $100 to $200
2. a bench grinder... well, $30 to $80 will buy you one. Then you need to buy the right wheels.
3. try Brownell's (gun supplies) for the wool felt wheel that CRK uses or used in past. Anything from a 6" to 10" will work really, depends on what your bench grinder can handle. (these are $40 to $50!)
4. Alternatively, these guys sell the same hard fiberboard wheels I have for a compromise (this works fairly well, I use for big knives/machetes):
http://www.texasknife.com/store/s-pages/TKS_MainframeStore.htm
Scroll down to "PROFESSIONAL KNIFE SHARPENING WHEEL SET" for $20.


I have not mastered this technique yet ... I tried this on my Sebbie and on a Greg Lightfoot folder w/ similar edge, but two things: my hands/body/arms aren't tuned to keep the angle totally steady, and my rouge isn't very aggressive, and I have a hard fiberboard wheel and not felt. It wasn't the level of sharpness I can achieve on my Lansky. I need more practice and a more aggressive rouge.

I can get a scrapey/shaving to a fair shaving edge on my machete's this way (bench grinder), it's very polished and somewhat steep ~ 30 degrees (60deg included) since machete.

But I end up back on my Lansky when I sharpen my big user sebbie. My small ones still have the factory edge (light use) and I'll try the Sharpmaker again when they dull.

Alternatively, check out this thread on how to sharpen a convex edged blade...it contains other threads. I've used this method on a 12" Bowie and a Talonite user, to achieve a reasonable and polished decent, but not hair jumpin, shaving edge:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=182200&highlight=convex
 
Whatever system you use, try this....

Well, okay, stop. If the edge is messed up (you know what I mean), send it to CRK. If not, try this....

Use a fairly rough grit (180 maybe) and grind in at an angle so that the grind is equal in width to what you currently have. Alternate sides a few times, then concentrate on one side and grind in a good burr. Now concentrate on the other side and grind in a good burr. I mean a real good burr. Now........

Go to 600 grit. Increase the angle JUST A TOUCH. Start with the burred edge and sharpen until the burr is gone. Now do the opposite edge and gradually alternate sides more and more until you're alternating on every stroke and it feels really sharp. Now....

Increase angle just a little more. Use 3000 grit. Alternate sides each stroke. You'll feel when it's done. All of a sudden, it'll go from real sharp to sharper than s--t! Now.....

All you have to do to maintain this edge is go over it with 3000 whenever it needs a touch up.

If all of the above seems impractical, buy an Edgepro!!!! Anyway, this is what I do and the edge is awesome!

Pete
 
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