How does one sharpen a serrated hawkbill?

mrknife

mrknife

Joined
May 9, 2010
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Just got an old used ss harpy in SE, and gonna get some serrated tasmans eventually. How does one sharpen them?:confused:
 
mrknife said:
Just got an old used ss harpy in SE, and gonna get some serrated tasmans eventually. How does one sharpen them?:confused:
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If you can find them Spyderco has a great tool set they used to sell called the 701 Profiles. They discontinued them a couple of years ago but they can be found if you look in the right places. Those Profiles fit Spyderco's serrations almost perfectly and sharpen the Spyderedged blades similar to what the factory did.

Now the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker does do a decent job on Spyderedges if you follow the instructions on the video well. But what I don't like about the Sharpmaker for serrated blades is that it tends to deform the original pattern to a degree. I can keep my serration patterns perfect with the 701 Profiles and I do hope that Spyderco brings them back at some point.

Also you might want to take a look at Spyderco's GOLDENSTONE>> it's a great sharpening tool>> the only thing I don't like about it is that it's only available in one grit>> but I'm hopeful that Spyderco will eventually do more with the GOLDENSTONE down the road.
 
Bro , use a spyderco sharpmaker .
Or a lansky sharpening system. That's how l get my serrated Harpy shaving sharp.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
Bro , use a spyderco sharpmaker .
Or a lansky sharpening system. That's how l get my serrated Harpy shaving sharp.
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my broke ass only got the lansky crock sticks, and those things do work, cut my thumb yesterday sharpening my opinel. Will need to look into that tho, more harpys and tasmans incoming
 
mrknife said:
That might be the plan!
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Absolutely not!!! If you're going to be a responsible knife owner ( PE or SE) then it's time you learn to maintain it and keep it sharpened. Don't be intimidated because it's a skill anyone can learn with knowhow and practice. The sharpening tools are available and the investment is not expensive. If you don't like Spyderco's sharpening equipment then you might want to look at the diamond sharpening tools that DMT has to offer. But if nothing else get a Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker because that's a investment that will pay a huge dividend over time. And the video it comes with gives you an excellent tutorial on how to use it. It also comes with a very easy to understand instruction booklet>> I'm pretty sure the newer ones also do.

There are a lot of guys here at BF on the maintenance, tinkering thread that will be more than glad to help you. Don't take the easy way out because there will be a day you will need that skill.
 
JD Spydo said:
Absolutely not!!! If you're going to be a responsible knife owner ( PE or SE) then it's time you learn to maintain it and keep it sharpened. Don't be intimidated because it's a skill anyone can learn with knowhow and practice. The sharpening tools are available and the investment is not expensive. If you don't like Spyderco's sharpening equipment then you might want to look at the diamond sharpening tools that DMT has to offer. But if nothing else get a Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker because that's a investment that will pay a huge dividend over time. And the video it comes with gives you an excellent tutorial on how to use it. It also comes with a very easy to understand instruction booklet>> I'm pretty sure the newer ones also do.

There are a lot of guys here at BF on the maintenance, tinkering thread that will be more than glad to help you. Don't take the easy way out because there will be a day you will need that skill.
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I agree with JD . Sooner or later , every knife user should learn how to re sharpen their knives. It's a skill that's like firing an 8 gauge double barrel shotgun. Hard at first , but easy once you know how. I remember when l sharpened my first Serrated Hawkbill last year. It was a SS VG-10 Harpy. A friend of mine who calls himself a " knife expert " had the audacity to tell me to throw the knife away after the serrations dulled out. His reasoning was that serrated knives can't be resharpened and are disposable. What's worse , is that l was actually considering throwing my $109 Harpy away just by listening to him. Then l joined blade forums and " Deacon " here told me how to sharpen 'em up. First , l used to use a standard kitchen sharpening rod , but the edge wouldn't hold up for as long as the original factory edge. Then l got a 204 sharpmaker and all my troubles were over.
P.S : Don't you dare throw it away .
 
carbonsteelfan said:
I agree with JD . Sooner or later , every knife user should learn how to re sharpen their knives. It's a skill that's like firing an 8 gauge double barrel shotgun. Hard at first , but easy once you know how. I remember when l sharpened my first Serrated Hawkbill last year. It was a SS VG-10 Harpy. A friend of mine who calls himself a " knife expert " had the audacity to tell me to throw the knife away after the serrations dulled out. His reasoning was that serrated knives can't be resharpened and are disposable. What's worse , is that l was actually considering throwing my $109 Harpy away just by listening to him. Then l joined blade forums and " Deacon " here told me how to sharpen 'em up. First , l used to use a standard kitchen sharpening rod , but the edge wouldn't hold up for as long as the original factory edge. Then l got a 204 sharpmaker and all my troubles were over.
P.S : Don't you dare throw it away .
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Ah yes, the Deacon, that's a name that ive seen dotted about the spyderco forums. hes even responded to a few of my posts here. Hes got a lotta harpys! that or a lot of pictures of em!
 
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For serrations we generally recommend hand filing each serration individually, as it will keep the "teeth" on the serration from becoming rounded over time. Spyderco's file set works well if they aren't butter knife dull, and DMT also makes a tapered Diamond file which also works well.
 
gpknives said:
For serrations we generally recommend hand filing each serration individually, as it will keep the "teeth" on the serration from becoming rounded over time. Spyderco's file set works well if they aren't butter knife dull, and DMT also makes a tapered Diamond file which also works well.
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It might as well be a butter knife, I ran my thumb up and down the harpy blade
 
mrknife said:
It might as well be a butter knife, I ran my thumb up and down the harpy blade
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If the edges are rounded , then you're pretty much done for , man. I don't know how you can get a serrated knife THAT dull shaving sharp again. I touch mine up every Friday night .
 
Hi Mrknife, the serrated pacific salt is by far my most used folding knife. I have it on the ocean everyday and it sometimes gets sharpened 2-3 times/week. I use the Spyderco sharpmaker exclusively and after well over 100 touchups there is no significant rounding of the teeth and they are in good condition. It will still treetop hairs and pushcut newsprint. I also have a Tasman and it is basically the same sharpening protocol. The only real difference is when sharpening the Tasman I recommend you drop the handle a bit when you get to the tip so the tip remains semi perpendicular to the stone.

Here is an old post I made about sharpening serrations with the sharpmaker.

Serrated Edge:

Fine rods in the 40 degree slots. Three passes on the serrated (left) side pulling straight down like normal. Then 2 very light passes on the back side. When working the back side, tilt the knife so it is almost flat with the rod...about 5 degrees instead of the 20 degree angle you would get if you pulled straight down. Repeat until sharp. Thats pretty much it. One tip is you want to go fairly slow and keep the pressure fairly light so that you don't "jump" the serrations. If you go too slow it doesn't work....too fast either. There is a certain speed at which the rod will smoothly enter and sharpen each of the individual serrations as you pull the knife down. It will be pretty obvious once you are doing it and have a tactile feel for it.


basically all you are doing is adding a microbevel to the factory grind. It is really easy. If you have let it get butter knife dull then you will probably have to start with the mediums. Once you get the thing screaming sharp it is VERY easy to keep it shaving sharp with the sharpmaker. Just give it 6 or 8 passes on the fine rods every now and then and it will never even lose its shaving edge.
 
Surfingringo said:
Hi Mrknife, the serrated pacific salt is by far my most used folding knife. I have it on the ocean everyday and it sometimes gets sharpened 2-3 times/week. I use the Spyderco sharpmaker exclusively and after well over 100 touchups there is no significant rounding of the teeth and they are in good condition. It will still treetop hairs and pushcut newsprint. I also have a Tasman and it is basically the same sharpening protocol. The only real difference is when sharpening the Tasman I recommend you drop the handle a bit when you get to the tip so the tip remains semi perpendicular to the stone.

Here is an old post I made about sharpening serrations with the sharpmaker.

Serrated Edge:

Fine rods in the 40 degree slots. Three passes on the serrated (left) side pulling straight down like normal. Then 2 very light passes on the back side. When working the back side, tilt the knife so it is almost flat with the rod...about 5 degrees instead of the 20 degree angle you would get if you pulled straight down. Repeat until sharp. Thats pretty much it. One tip is you want to go fairly slow and keep the pressure fairly light so that you don't "jump" the serrations. If you go too slow it doesn't work....too fast either. There is a certain speed at which the rod will smoothly enter and sharpen each of the individual serrations as you pull the knife down. It will be pretty obvious once you are doing it and have a tactile feel for it.


basically all you are doing is adding a microbevel to the factory grind. It is really easy. If you have let it get butter knife dull then you will probably have to start with the mediums. Once you get the thing screaming sharp it is VERY easy to keep it shaving sharp with the sharpmaker. Just give it 6 or 8 passes on the fine rods every now and then and it will never even lose its shaving edge.
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so i ran my thumb over it again, its not that dull, there a cut there now, thanks for the tips!
 
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