Honing compound for 154CM?

R

river251

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Jul 26, 2013
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I have a much loved Benchmade 665, my EDC for the last few years. I'm gearing up to sharpen it myself, instead of using their Lifesharp service. I'm making a strop from belt leather I bought but did not use (Hermann Oak vegetable tanned).

I have seen some amazingly knowledgable people here talking about honing compounds, recommending different compounds for different steels.

I love an ultra sharp edge. I hope to learn how to make it last as well. I most often cut cardboard, paper, tape, mostly at the office, but use it for rope and unlimited other things as needed. I am very careful with the blade and it has no real scratches (I'm sure it will eventually).

Would the green or white or a diamond compound be best for this beautiful knife?

Thanks,
Jim
 
Green is roughly 6k grit, while white is about 12k. 6k will obviously work faster, while 12k will give a finer end finish.

I used black (3k) and green for my stropping for years. Within the last month, I decided to try 16 micron (1K) and 8 micron (2k) cbn emulsion, and am extremely pleased with their efficiency. I start with one of these, then finish with a few passes on green.

For reference, between my day job and use testing for review preparation, I’m averaging 500-1,000 feet of cardboard, 100+ zip ties, and well over 100 plastic banding straps per week. The above set up has been a game changer for maintenance.
 
154 CM/CPM 154 should be pretty easy to strop. I use black then green.

Diamond/CBN emulsions work awesome, but arent needed for that steel. Typically they work best with the high vanadium/tungsten steels. To really cut into the carbides/ matrix.
 
Imho the green compound will be fine for what you want to accomplish.
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I haven't found stropping to be very effective on CM-154. It seems to take off that 'bite' of a freshly honed edge.
 
Thanks, you guys, once again. Sounds like green it is, and maybe experiment with some black first or white last, just for fun.

Jim
 
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