Help sharpening my Insingo with a Sharpmaker

[dupree]

I've searched around BF and read a thread or two about sharpening Sebenzas on Sharpmakers, but the most helpful thread I found is nearly 10 years old, so I thought I'd start a new one.

I've got a small Insingo, have been EDCing it for about 2 months, use it to open mail, cut boxes, slice cheese, terrorize sheets of paper, whatever. Nothing too demanding, but it's no longer armhair-shaving sharp as it was from the factory. So I'd like to sharpen it up but I'm worried about somehow mucking up the convex edge.

And I recently got a Sharpmaker -- my experience with it has been very positive. I used the 40-degree setting to take my Wüstof and Furi kitchen knives (Cr MoV 15) from uselessly dull to amazing... in about 5 minutes per blade! :thumbup:

So I have a good feel for sharpening those knives with that steel, but I'm worried I'll "wreck" the factory edge by clumsily reprofiling when all I want to do is maintain the edge. (Aware I can always send it to the spa if I really screw things up though) I don't know how to strop and don't have the materials so Sharpmaker will have to do.

Should I just go right to fine stones on the flat side at 40 degrees and see what happens? Other suggestions?

 

[merlinus]

I asked Heather, and she said to use the 40-degree edges of the Sharpmaker stones, not the flat sides. This has worked excellently for me, with the fine stones, but I try not to let the knife get too dull before sharpening.

 

[kreole]

I finish with a 40* edge with the Sharpmaker on my Insingos; I don't like S30v at 30* or less. Whenever I sharpen a knife for the first time, I will mark the edge with a sharpie and hit the edge @ 30* to see how close the factory edge is to that. If it's close, I'll switch to 40* to do the edge. If it's not close, I will reprofile the edge entirely down to 30*, and then finish with 40*. The benefit of getting it down to 30* (or less) first is that every time you touch it up, you'll have to take less metal off to get it sharp. My CRKs haven't come at 30*, so I always reprofile them down to 30* the first time I sharpen them, then throw on a small 40* microbevel.

It really depends on you, though. Doing it the way I do, it'll take longer that first time to get it down to 30*, but then each time you resharpen, it takes less time. In other words, if you don't reprofile so that the edge (all the way up) is at 40*, you need to take off more metal each time you resharpen, so it will take longer compared to the subsequent sharpenings if you do reprofile down to 30* first, though each of them won't take as long as reprofiling it down to 30* will. For me, it's worth doing the longer job the first time to make every subsequent job shorter.

 

[snowreaper1]

I suggest investing in a strop to maintain the factory edge the way it is. A few swipes
at the end of the day and you keep the blade razor sharp. Waiting until the knife
dulls to sharpen everytime will lead to a lot of unnecesary metal to be removed.
Also since Im still a novice at sharpening its easier for me to use a strop. And when I
do need to sharpen Ill probably just end up sending my sebbies in to CRK.

 

[nyefmaker]

Hey There, I have used the "V" sharpening systems made by Smiths, Lansky, Case, Crock Stick and various others for over 25 years, so I have countless experience with them. And in my opinion, the sharpmaker is the best of them all.

First, I ONLY EVER use the 40 degree setting on any crk so far. To me, it makes a strong durable edge that is long lasting. I always found the 30 degree setting to be more for kitchen knives, fillet knives, and other knives with very thin blades. Anything else gets the 40 degree setting. Not into the whole micro bevel thing. But thats just me.

I use the brown stones, fine white stones and I bought the ultra fine stones ( they basically polish the edge )
I also rarely use the edges of the stones because when drawing the knife down, the tip will slide off the edges of the tri stones rounding the point. So I pretty much only use the flats of the stones.

If the knife is pretty dull, I will use the brown stones to get an edge back quickly. I draw the knife down the flats of the stones stopping at the bottom and the tip of the knife should be in the center of the stone flats. This will preserve the point factory edge. Use slow controlled strokes....

I then move to the fine white stones and use the same slow controlled strokes method stopping the tip in the center of the stones..........This should bring it to a shaving edge. I should note when you first go to the white stones, after the first couple of strokes, it seems like your dulling the knife, but all its doing is going through the rough edge caused by the brown stones. So after several strokes, you will notice a hair popping edge forming. Sharpen to your desire.

If I want a polished edge, I go to the ultra fine. I dont use them as often, but there are there when I want that polished edge.

Whether is be a mnandi, sebenza, umnumzaan or a one piece knife, I use the same technique.

**** One very important thing I have noticed. When your stroking down the ceramic rods, as your sliding down, push the tip towards the bottom. So when you start the knife is verticle, once your finished the stroke, you will be somewhere between horizontal and verticle. This will preserve the uniformity of the edge. In other words, the edge bevel will be the same width at the heel of the blade as the tip. On certain knives, I will slightly surn the edge towards the sharpening rod being used. Its just the design and curves of the blade that warrent this. Sometimes I will even stand up and have the sharpmaker on the table, this way I am above it and its easier to point the knife downward. I also dont use tons of pressure either, let the ceramic do its job and remove the steel.

***And also, use the sharpie trick. I dont know who came up with it, but its pure genius. Sharpie the whole edge bevel, then begin to sharpen. This will easily show you where your sharpening and you will see where you need to adjust your hold position.

And a final note, S30V is hard steel, it might take a 50-100 strokes to get that hair popping edge back if really dull, or as little as 10, just depends on the degree of dullness.........As an example. I have a strider smf that I bought awhile back. Strider uses that goofy 23 degree angle. I reprofiled the smf to the normal 40 degrees ( 20 per side ). It came out perfectly. Perfectly even edge bevel. I will gladly take pics and email them to you if you like, I dont want to post strider pics here. The strider reprofiling took about 1 1/2 hours non stop. And I used the sharpie trick all the way.

 

[lathrop]

20 strokes per side on fine corners, 20 strokes per side on fine flats, 40 degrees. That is what I do to keep mine sharp.

 

[Socom Elite]

I use the Sharpmaker on the 40 and use the lightest bit of pressure I can on the rods.

 

[dupree]

Edge report:

Thanks to the advice from you gents, I managed to work up a nice edge along most of the blade.

I did about 10 strokes on the edge of the white stones, then tested on armhair and paper, did about 5 more, tested, then did a few on the flat sides on the white stores. 40 degrees.

It's quite nice for the most part, but I guess my inexperience in sharpening is showing -- seems like the middle belly got sharper than the ends. Is there a technique for solving this?

 

[nyefmaker]

Nice Graph...........Try rocking the blade and slicing down through in one slow controlled motion. By this I mean: Have the blade tip slightly up just above vertical, then with a rocking chair type motion, through the slice, begin pointing the tip down with the tip stopping in the center of the stone. This will give you even controlled sharpening instread of just sharpening the belly of the blade. So when you start, the tip should be above vertical and when finished the tip should be pointing down at aprox 45 degrees. Not completely horizontal, and not completely vertical. I should try and do a video to show you, never did one before.

 

[bd51]

Your knife will not be sharp the same all around because you use some parts of the knife more than others. I dont think you are doing it wrong, just have patience.

 

[kreole]

My large Insingo came just a few days ago, so it's fresh in my mind. Measuring using Spyderco's angle guide, I noticed the belly had the shallowest angle, while the tip had the largest; i.e., the angle was not uniform along the entire edge and corresponds directly to your picture. So, you will have to go longer to get each part at a uniform sharpness--because you must take less metal off the belly than the rest.

That was another reason I reprofiled right off the bat.

 

[dupree]

Try rocking the blade and slicing down through in one slow controlled motion. [...] when you start, the tip should be above vertical and when finished the tip should be pointing down at aprox 45 degrees

This sounds like a great idea; will give it a try. And please do let me know if you make a video! There doesn't seem to be too many good technique demo videos on Youtube.

 

[dupree]

Measuring using Spyderco's angle guide, I noticed the belly had the shallowest angle, while the tip had the largest; i.e., the angle was not uniform along the entire edge

I'm interested to know what angle reads you got. Something around 30º, plus or minus depending on which part of the blade?

 

[kreole]

I'm interested to know what angle reads you got. Something around 30º, plus or minus depending on which part of the blade?

It was ~40* at the shallowest part, and something above 45* everywhere else (45* is as high as the angle guide goes).

edit: I should add those are just what was closest to right on the guide; CRK's are slightly convex, so the guide doesn't work that well. Using a sharpie and Sharpmaker confirmed that it was about 40* at the belly and higher than that everywhere else, though.

 

[pmek5]

I should try and do a video to show you, never did one before.

I am going to get a Sharpmaker soon, and a video using a Sebenza would be fantastic (echoing dupree's comment in post #12).