How do i sharpen a Tanto?

colubrid

colubrid

Gold Member
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Nov 26, 2005
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Okay I am just getting into Emersons and was wondering how do I sharpen a single sided tanto blade? I have Spyderco sharpmaker. Is it possible to do a good job? or do i need a different sharpening system?
 
A tanto being basically 2 straight edges is one of the easiest blades in the world to sharpen. You lay it down on a stone, and swipe it. The chisel ground ones are even easier, they are only sharpened on one side. Here is an entire forum dedicated to sharpening, give it a look see. I'd be willing to bet that this is covered several times over. ;)
 
colubrid said:
Also the link you suggested is for a different sharpening which already messed one Tanto up.
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I'd say if it was "messed up" you're doing it wrong.
I've been sharpening my knives with that method (round ceramic rod) and just switched over to using a Sharpmaker mostly now. Hopefully you figured it out, let us know if you need any pointers.
 
I only know how to use the sharpmaker. What angle should I try to fix?
 
colubrid said:
I only know how to use the sharpmaker. What angle should I try to fix?
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Most go with the 40 because of the steep angle most chisel ground knives are at. Just make sure you get a burr then gently knock it off. Try the sharpie trick too if it isn't working out (cover the edge in sharpie, when you get the true edge you'll remove the sharpie and see where you're sharpening).
 
I am not getting anywhere with mine.

Is there someone here that can do a professional sharpening (or rather reprofiling) to a knife that was basically ruined?
 
dude watch your sharpmaker dvd,



color your edge with a sharpie, put stones in the 40 degree slots, using the corners of the stone not the flat, start with brown stones then white, make sure you hold the knife's edge to the stone (watch the sharpie to see where the metal was removed). lightly slide the edge downwards while gently pulling in a slicing motion. when you hit the "secondary tip" of the tanto blade, stop and readjust the upward edge onto the stone ( unless you want to slowly knock that secondary tip down )


after about 20-40 swipes down the edge, run the other side of the edge like 5 times down the stones, examine edge closely to see if burr was removed, if not a few more swipes down the stones,

next do some stropping motions on your jeans for alittle bit

now repeat steps with the white stones



works for me, probly wont whittle hair, but will cut paper


altho depending how dull the blade is.... the sharpmaker may not be the right option
 
Karda said:
Richardj can help you out.
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I hope so. Or should i send it off to Tom krein for reprofiling?
What do you guys think? reprofile by Tom krein or convex edge by Richardj ?

It is a spec-war model Benchmade CQC-7
Maybe i should just a convexed edge as the writing on it has some value.
What do you guys think?

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maybe a reprofile would get rid of the scratches in the ebad blast on the lower half of the blade.

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Tom Krein no longer does regrinds from what he stated a year ago. Richardj is your best bet, he can show you how to sharpen the knife over the phone.
 
why don't you call or email emerson? I know yours is actually a benchmade model but I'd bet they'd do it for fee to sharpen it for you.
 
Benchmade ofers life time sharpening. I can't rember if it's free, or a small fee.
 
That 970 looks like it was in pretty good condition. Was something wrong with the edge when you got it?

I'd do like the others have suggested. Send it to BM or Emerson then start looking at how to sharpen a chisel grind. I use a Sharpmaker on my Emersons. Just remember to do the sharpened side then only use the rod to remove the burr on the flat side.

Too bad, that 970 looks pretty sweet but it should clean up fine once you get it taken care of.
 
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