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How can i sharpen this dang knife
- Thread starter BIGGMANN
- Start date
I used to be proud of my skills at using oilstones to hone my knives, but the old saying about pride going before a fall is true. When it came to sharpening any of my CPM440V blades, they got the better of me. I was so frustrated that I was about to send my first one, my BF Blue Native, back to the factory for resharpening when I decided to give the Spyderco SharpMaker 204 a try. I was a revelation to me how well that device works. It is ever so much better than the old Crock Stick that I had bought from A.G Russell years ago and still love. The biggest differences are that the 204 has two edge angle settings and it also has two grades of ceramic stick, medium and fine, and they are triangular so that you can use the corner and then the flat, giving you four choices of sharpening surfaces. BTW, what they call "medium and fine", I would call "fine and extra fine". It very quickly put the hair-popping edge back on any and all of my Spydies and any other knives upon which I have tried it.
Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
Your best bet is to read Joe Talmadge's Sharpening FAQ which solves the majority of the problems people have. The FAQ can be found on Bladeforums but is all over the internet. If you are still stuck then describe in detail exactly what you are doing and what is happening as a result. If I had to make a guess I would say that the angle you are grinding is not the angle the blade was sharpened at from the factory. The marker trick (outlining the edge with a marker to show where you are removing metal), usually solves this problem. It and many other techniques are described in the FAQ.
-Cliff
-Cliff
thanks fuller thanks cliff 
i have everything from 154 on my microtechs
to cv on my cases and 440 on my bucks
and aus8 on my spydercos
and with those steels i can makem sharp enough for
surgery
but this bg42 is killing me
i will follow your suggestions and see where
they lead me thanks again fellas
i have everything from 154 on my microtechs
to cv on my cases and 440 on my bucks
and aus8 on my spydercos
and with those steels i can makem sharp enough for
surgery
but this bg42 is killing me
i will follow your suggestions and see where
they lead me thanks again fellas
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2002
- Messages
- 433
I have a Cold Steel blade that I bought used for 20 bucks. The guy who had it killed the edge, it was rounded so bad I had some major work to do on it.
I have a Lansky sharpening system, but the stones werent taking a good enough bite out of the blade.So I got a Gerber diamond sharpener from walmart. It cost 7 bucks. Its round on one side flat on the other. It kinda looks like a retratable pencil.
I duct taped the handle of the gerber to a metal rod and used the guide from the Lansky to keep the same angle. I think I used 25 deg.
I use both the flat and the round of the diamond hone. It cut the blade fast gave me a good bur and then I used the lansky stones to finish it up.
I think on some steels now cause they are so tough, you have to have some kind of diamond sharpening system.
good luck
Jack
I have a Lansky sharpening system, but the stones werent taking a good enough bite out of the blade.So I got a Gerber diamond sharpener from walmart. It cost 7 bucks. Its round on one side flat on the other. It kinda looks like a retratable pencil.
I duct taped the handle of the gerber to a metal rod and used the guide from the Lansky to keep the same angle. I think I used 25 deg.
I use both the flat and the round of the diamond hone. It cut the blade fast gave me a good bur and then I used the lansky stones to finish it up.
I think on some steels now cause they are so tough, you have to have some kind of diamond sharpening system.
good luck
Jack
- Joined
- Nov 28, 1999
- Messages
- 14,985
That ain't no steel like in your Grandpappy's pocketknife you got there! My recommendation would be for a diamond sharpener of some sort. I use the DMT diamond stones; first with the coarse blue one, then step down to the fine red one, and finally with the extra fine green one. Occasionally, I will strop the final edge on the back of an old leather belt, but it's really not needed.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 1999
- Messages
- 2,596
Biggmann
You're only 1 UPS day away. I would be glad to sharpen it for you for return shipping $$$ only. Shoot me an Email if you're interested. BG42 CAN be a PAIN to sharpen by hand.
If I HAD to sharpen it by hand, I would use a DMT diamond hone in fine, then X fine with water.
Neil
You're only 1 UPS day away. I would be glad to sharpen it for you for return shipping $$$ only. Shoot me an Email if you're interested. BG42 CAN be a PAIN to sharpen by hand.
If I HAD to sharpen it by hand, I would use a DMT diamond hone in fine, then X fine with water.
Neil
thanks again fellas
ive had no problems with any other steel i can think of
but this bg42, for some reason it just has me in the corner
but im not beaten yet im reading up on it and im gonna take
mr bucks advice and you other guys and get me a diamond sharpener
and see what happens i sharpen my knife at a 45 degree angle i
believe on all my knives once on each side back and forth it works fine for
my other knives and i put a nice ammount of preassure not
to much not to little the 440 for instance on my 110s get
razor sharp in a matter of a half dozen passes on each side
but this hi falutin stuff is rough what good is the
expensive junk if you cant sharpen it easier than the
cheaper stuff
why should i buy a knife with bg42 over a knife
with a 440 blade i cant think of any reason
is it less stain retardent ?
if you care for your knives most if not all can be
is it tougher ?
cant prove it by me
ahh well i dont know ill just keep tryin
ive had no problems with any other steel i can think of
but this bg42, for some reason it just has me in the corner
but im not beaten yet im reading up on it and im gonna take
mr bucks advice and you other guys and get me a diamond sharpener
and see what happens i sharpen my knife at a 45 degree angle i
believe on all my knives once on each side back and forth it works fine for
my other knives and i put a nice ammount of preassure not
to much not to little the 440 for instance on my 110s get
razor sharp in a matter of a half dozen passes on each side
but this hi falutin stuff is rough what good is the
expensive junk if you cant sharpen it easier than the
cheaper stuff
why should i buy a knife with bg42 over a knife
with a 440 blade i cant think of any reason
is it less stain retardent ?
if you care for your knives most if not all can be
is it tougher ?
cant prove it by me
ahh well i dont know ill just keep tryin
ya know what jack the damn eze lap
says diamond stone right on the leather
pouch hahaha but its not the grit i need
i dont think i dont sharpen any knives on
it really got it as a gift i mainly use my
croc stic and my smiths
as for the 45 degree angle i know i dont
sharpen any of my knives at a degree
greater than that as for the different
types of grinds im still learning
ive got all different types of knives and i guess
they have different types of grinds either way
this is the only steel thats giving me a problem
it used to be a knife was a knife and it was
good steel or not holds an edge well or dulls
easy now that im into knives and such its got
friggin complicated lol
eze lap a diamond lol damn sure is hahaha
says diamond stone right on the leather
pouch hahaha but its not the grit i need
i dont think i dont sharpen any knives on
it really got it as a gift i mainly use my
croc stic and my smiths
as for the 45 degree angle i know i dont
sharpen any of my knives at a degree
greater than that as for the different
types of grinds im still learning
ive got all different types of knives and i guess
they have different types of grinds either way
this is the only steel thats giving me a problem
it used to be a knife was a knife and it was
good steel or not holds an edge well or dulls
easy now that im into knives and such its got
friggin complicated lol
eze lap a diamond lol damn sure is hahaha
Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
BIGGMANN :
The harder and more wear resistant steels require a *lot* more pressure than steels like 440A. You have to really lean into them unless you are working with a diamond hone.
[bg-42 vs 440A]
It will rust faster]
No.
BG-42 will stay sharp longer, and in fact should be easier to sharpen assuming proper care has been taken to grind the bevels as you should be able to put less metal at the edge of a BG-42 knife (light use), as since it is stronger it will resist rippling easier. The edge will also be a lot crisper, less likely to form a burr.
-Cliff
The harder and more wear resistant steels require a *lot* more pressure than steels like 440A. You have to really lean into them unless you are working with a diamond hone.
[bg-42 vs 440A]
It will rust faster]
No.
BG-42 will stay sharp longer, and in fact should be easier to sharpen assuming proper care has been taken to grind the bevels as you should be able to put less metal at the edge of a BG-42 knife (light use), as since it is stronger it will resist rippling easier. The edge will also be a lot crisper, less likely to form a burr.
-Cliff
I use a crockstick ceramic dogbone hone, works well on all the harder steels. I usually sharpen cpm440v mostly, but it will work well with all (ats-34, vg-10, aus-118, 154cm, ect.) I think I got it at smoky mountain knife works for a $1.99 (?!?). It works well if you know how to sharpen!!!
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2000
- Messages
- 3,140
If you're really pretty good at freehand sharpening, you might consider one of the DMT Duo Stones, like an 8"x 2" Coarse/Fine (325/600 grit) or Fine/extra fine (600/1200 grit) DMT. They will efficiently cut any steel you're likely to encounter in the near future.
I was taught to sharpen freehand by a knifemaker over 25 years ago on benchstones and have always preferred that method of sharpening.
For most tasks these days I use the venerable Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. I found the 204 after I found ATS34 and BG42. It makes living with those steels so much more palatable to me for regular edge maintainance. I added the Spyderco Diamond rods to my Sharpmaker rig for more aggressive work on the harder modern steels and consider them a good investment.
Now I am considering getting a couple 8" DMT bench stones to see if my freehand work on good diamond stones can beat what the Sharpmaker can do. My results with the Sharpmaker have been good enough so far that I have some small reservations about spending the cash for the DMTs (could buy another knife with that money!).
As the saying goes YMMV.
jmx
I was taught to sharpen freehand by a knifemaker over 25 years ago on benchstones and have always preferred that method of sharpening.
For most tasks these days I use the venerable Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. I found the 204 after I found ATS34 and BG42. It makes living with those steels so much more palatable to me for regular edge maintainance. I added the Spyderco Diamond rods to my Sharpmaker rig for more aggressive work on the harder modern steels and consider them a good investment.
Now I am considering getting a couple 8" DMT bench stones to see if my freehand work on good diamond stones can beat what the Sharpmaker can do. My results with the Sharpmaker have been good enough so far that I have some small reservations about spending the cash for the DMTs (could buy another knife with that money!).
As the saying goes YMMV.
jmx
You're on the right track. Go with a diamond sharpener. I can't get crap for an edge with my beloved Lansky but a cheap little diamond triangle sharpener makes me look like a pro. Just don't tell anyone you are good at it or you'll have piles of knives to sharpen.