Help! I f’d up my knife sharpening it.

[Photovongsa]

HELP, I definitely f’d my brand new Spyderco Native blade sharpening it up on the Worksharp Precision Adjust.

so I’ve had my WPA for about a month and love it. I’ve put my kitchen knives and camp knifes on it as well as both my Benchmade Bugouts (s30v, M4). All without issue and all to awesomely sharp edges. The system has flaws but I’m happy with it.

About a week ago I received my first Spyderco. A s110v Native 5 LW from Lynchnw. The grind was completely uneven so I set to the task of evening it out in the WPA.

As I did with my M4 Bugout , i took my time to create a burr and removed it. Standard stuff. However for some reason the Spyderco was the ONLY knife that developed scrapes along the primary grind. It happened while using the harder stones is my guess and it mostly appears on one side of the blade.

Any ideas on how to fix/remove it?

 

[Fripfrop]

I don't know much about sharpening, but could it be the difference in your stones vs a blade made with m4 and your stones vs a blade made with s110v? I know a guy that offered to sharpen my Mediator a while back. Didn't realize he didn't have the proper stone and the black finish is an absolute wreck now.

 

[Photovongsa]

I don't know much about sharpening, but could it be the difference in your stones vs a blade made with m4 and your stones vs a blade made with s110v? I know a guy that offered to sharpen my Mediator a while back. Didn't realize he didn't have the proper stone and the black finish is an absolute wreck now.

I supposed thats possible. im kinda new to this style sharpening system and the stones too. upgraded to the WPA from a Sharpmaker. this is also my first s110v knife so I could be going at it all wrong.

 

[Fripfrop]

I supposed thats possible. im kinda new to this style sharpening system and the stones too. upgraded to the WPA from a Sharpmaker. this is also my first s110v knife so I could be going at it all wrong.

I used to sharpen my little kershaw on a cheap stone from Walmart. I don't even want to attempt SanythingV. Those go straight to the local knife store when I'm home if I've used them a lot.

 

[Another Shepherd]

About a weeks ago I received my first Spyderco. A s110v Native 5 LW from Lynchnw. The grind was completely uneven so I set to the task of evening it out in the WPA.

As I did with my M4 Bugout , i took my time to create a burr and removed it. Standard stuff. However for some reason the Spyderco was the ONLY knife that developed scrapes along the primary grind. It happened while using the harder stones is my guess and it mostly appears on one side of the blade.

Any ideas on how to fix/remove it?

I'm not sure how that could happen, but I'm guessing it has to do with the original wonky grind.

Anyhow, you can polish out those scratches using the finer stones, just like you would sharpening the edge. Use a marker on the scratches, then set the angle very carefully to remove the marker only.

I was doing something similar last night to get rid of some really bad pitting on kitchen knives that someone (who shall remain nameless) left acidic food on and did not wash.

 

[fishface5]

All you can really do is create a new 3rd bevel along the area with the scratches, to make it uniform, but you probably can't duplicate the finish on the rest of the blade. Or yo could grind down the whole primary bevel, but that would scratch up the logo. I'm guessing a slightly uneven push-pull angle is the cause, and/or torn-out carbides sticking to the stones and scratching the steel?

 

[Photovongsa]

I'm not sure how that could happen, but I'm guessing it has to do with the original wonky grind.

Anyhow, you can polish out those scratches using the finer stones, just like you would sharpening the edge. Use a marker on the scratches, then set the angle very carefully to remove the marker only.

I was doing something similar last night to get rid of some really bad pitting on kitchen knives that someone (who shall remain nameless) left acidic food on and did not wash.

hahaha, I think I know who you're talking about, might be the same person(s) who keeps putting our chefs knives in the dishwasher.

as for polishing out the scratches, would the WPA or any jig be able to match that angle since the scratches are on the primary grind? how did you go about polishing your scratches at such a low angle?

 

[killgar]

If looks were my concern, I would wrap a piece of sandpaper around a small block of wood and carefully sand down towards the edge following the grain of the blade grind. Only sanding down towards the edge, not up from the edge. Then re-sharpen to produce a clean edge line. I would want to match the sandpaper grit to the grain. Not seeing the knife in person it's hard to tell, but you could do some test sanding with different grits on a cheap knife or other piece of steel to find the right grain pattern.

It looks like either 320 or 400 grit, maybe 600. If you start out at the higher/finer grit you can always go down to a lower grit until you match the grain.

This is a method I have used to remove scratches from blades where the grinding grain is visible.

 

[Danke42]

Why not just leave it as is and use it?

And maybe when sharpening stop a few times along the way to look at the edge. Both sides got marked up and if you'd checked it wouldn't look as rough.

 

[Photovongsa]

Why not just leave it as is and use it?

And maybe when sharpening stop a few times along the way to look at the edge. Both sides got marked up and if you'd checked it wouldn't look as rough.

I am going to use it but since I was unfamiliar with this issue I figured I'd reach out to the interwebs and see if I could find some more info on it. I noticed the scratches while doing my first initial passes with the 220 grit stone. because I was trying to even out the grind I felt that using the 220 was my best chance to remove as much material as possible on what I was led to believe a "difficult to sharpen steel" . I know it's just cosmetic but again, just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I didn't know about the stones/steel combo or the WPS in general.

 

[David Mary]

another way it can be fixed is a few passes per side on a scotchbrite belt.

 

[Another Shepherd]

as for polishing out the scratches, would the WPA or any jig be able to match that angle since the scratches are on the primary grind? how did you go about polishing your scratches at such a low angle?

Do you have the old Work Sharp Precision Adjust or the newer Work Sharp Professional Precision Adjust? With the old one, you're out of luck. With the new one, use the magnetic table.

Or, as others have pointed, you could use any of a variety of unguided sharpening methods, depending on what you have available.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

You didn't hurt the knife.

 

[777 Edge]

It happens due to your knife blade moving downwards while you're sharpening. Likely because of the original WSPA clamp assembly not being very secure, the knife not being securely clamped or possibly due to excessive pressure while you're sharpening.

Basically, your knife is deflecting downwards while your sharpening and every few strokes as you use more pressure or the clamp assembly flexes downwards, the stone scrapes your primary bevel just behind your edge.

I suggest (at the very least) getting yourself one of Gritomatic's V-block clamp supports and using that while sharpening:

V-Block Clamp Support for Work Sharp Precision Adjust

V-Block Clamp Support eliminates flexing of V-Block Clamp and may significantly improve the sharpening quality.When flipping the blade, keep the support in place by hand.

www.gritomatic.com

Even better, upgrade to the Leading Edge core upgrade magnetic platform:

Leading Edge Universal Upgrade Kit for Work Sharp Precision Adjust

Leading Edge Universal Upgrade enhances capabilities of Work Sharp Precision Adjust knife sharpener with features of Leading Edge sharpening platform. Universal Upgrade includes: Leading Edge Core with magnetic working table (one magnet block) and three-point knife guide Long Blade Magnetic...

www.gritomatic.com

As for your knife, it's just surface scratches, not much to worry about. It won't harm the knife, and you'll probably be able to remove the scratches fairly easily using one of the methods some members have suggested above.

 

[kreisler]

what we learn from the op:
1) the Spyderco has a wonky grind (wavy behind the edge)
2) doht use WPA ever (your bad your mistake)
3) live and laern
4) learn the principles with the sharpmaker instead, and transition to freehanding
5) sell the WPA, sell the sharpmaker
6) live a righteous happy life with no regrets

 

[Photovongsa]

Do you have the old Work Sharp Precision Adjust or the newer Work Sharp Professional Precision Adjust? With the old one, you're out of luck. With the new one, use the magnetic table.

Or, as others have pointed, you could use any of a variety of unguided sharpening methods, depending on what you have available.

Unfortunately the old version

 

[777 Edge]

Unfortunately the old version

The Gritomatic upgrades makes the old version even more versatile that the new version.

 

[Photovongsa]

It happens due to your knife blade moving downwards while you're sharpening. Likely because of the original WSPA clamp assembly not being very secure, the knife not being securely clamped or possibly due to excessive pressure while you're sharpening.

Basically, your knife is deflecting downwards while your sharpening and every few strokes as you use more pressure or the clamp assembly flexes downwards, the stone scrapes your primary bevel just behind your edge.

I suggest (at the very least) getting yourself one of Gritomatic's V-block clamp supports and using that while sharpening:

V-Block Clamp Support for Work Sharp Precision Adjust

V-Block Clamp Support eliminates flexing of V-Block Clamp and may significantly improve the sharpening quality.When flipping the blade, keep the support in place by hand.

www.gritomatic.com

Even better, upgrade to the Leading Edge core upgrade magnetic platform:

Leading Edge Universal Upgrade Kit for Work Sharp Precision Adjust

Leading Edge Universal Upgrade enhances capabilities of Work Sharp Precision Adjust knife sharpener with features of Leading Edge sharpening platform. Universal Upgrade includes: Leading Edge Core with magnetic working table (one magnet block) and three-point knife guide Long Blade Magnetic...

www.gritomatic.com

As for your knife, it's just surface scratches, not much to worry about. It won't harm the knife, and you'll probably be able to remove the scratches fairly easily using one of the methods some members have suggested above.

Didn’t know about the leading edge unit. I’ll have to dig into that, thanks!

I do currently use the WPA with a 3d printed support block under the clamp (from Etsy). As I mentioned before I discovered some obvious flaws in this system and the movement in the clamp system was the first thing that had to be resolved. i know the whole system isn’t perfect but the block does hold a sharpie marker in it

 

[777 Edge]

Didn’t know about the leading edge unit. I’ll have to dig into that, thanks!

I do currently use the WPA with a 3d printed support block under the clamp (from Etsy). As I mentioned before I discovered some obvious flaws in this system and the movement in the clamp system was the first thing that had to be resolved. i know the whole system isn’t perfect but the block does hold a sharpie marker in it

With the Gritomatic V-block support, light sharpening pressure and secure clamping, you'll get your knife sharpened perfectly fine with the old version of the WSPA. The Gritomatic V-block is much more secure with much more repeatable results than the one sold on Etsy.

Your Spyderco Native 5 does not have any issues and the primary grind is perfectly fine. The Edge grind angle is almost always off on any new factory knife, and will be uneven but this is not what caused your scratches. It also has nothing to do with the steel type. I am 100% sure that the cause is your knife flexing down while you're sharpening; this is what gives you the stray scratches just behind your edge.

When we talk about edge grind angle, then yes - it will typically vary between 14 and 25 degrees on a new Spyderco knife but it is easy to re-profile with diamond stones on your first sharpening. But again - this is not what caused your stray scratches.

 

[Photovongsa]

With the Gritomatic V-block support, light sharpening pressure and secure clamping, you'll get your knife sharpened perfectly fine with the old version of the WSPA. The Gritomatic V-block is much more secure with much more repeatable results than the one sold on Etsy.

Your Spyderco Native 5 does not have any issues and the primary grind is perfectly fine. The Edge grind angle is almost always off on any new factory knife, and will be uneven but this is not what caused your scratches. It also has nothing to do with the steel type. I am 100% sure that the cause is your knife flexing down while you're sharpening; this is what gives you the stray scratches just behind your edge.

When we talk about edge grind angle, then yes - it will typically vary between 14 and 25 degrees on a new Spyderco knife but it is easy to re-profile with diamond stones on your first sharpening. But again - this is not what caused your stray scratches.

thanks 777, I was 99% sure this was entirely my fault and being kinda new to the WPA I knew my technique wasn't perfect. in terms of the clamp, I agree with you there. finding a place to clamp the Natives short leaf shaped blade wasn't as straight forward as some of my other knives. it didn't feel as secure as the other knives I sharpened, no mater how tight the clamp dial was.