how to mantain a blade made from budget steel?

[RustyIron]

To my knowledge, Ganzo has not made a counterfeit of any knife-and they make a pretty good knife for the money. I have one sitting on my desk.

I'll go one further and say it's an exceptional knife for the money. A while back I was browsing the web looking for a knife with an Axis-style lock. Up popped a picture of what looked like a pretty good knife. It was under twenty bucks! My curiosity got the best of me, and I ordered up a couple of these "Ganzo" knives. When they arrived, I took one apart, checked it out, and whipped a pretty nice edge onto the 440C. I carried and used the knife for a couple days, and it was just fine. I did't like it as much as my nicer knives, so the Ganzos just live in a drawer. They're not as good as a top shelf knife, but for someone on a budget, I think they're fine.

 

[Bearbreeder]

You keep talking about me all you want. I have been given immunity from criticism.

I will continue to remind you Ganzo is not to be trusted. They steal from other companies and they steal from their customers. Believing somehow they won't rip you off is naive at best at worst it's because you're a company rep and your job is to show up here in the middle of nowhere and defend them. Allthough if you did work there I'd worry about you getting ripped off too since a leopard never changes it's spots.

I will remind you that their products are junk and not worth even the Alibaba #1 supplier price.

Yadda yadda yadda

Youve never owned or used one

And yet you say they cant get and wont stay sharp

Theres no reason to listen to your "advice"

You can hate it all you want but its a functional reliable knife

 

[knarfeng]

That's enough with the insults.
Discuss the knives, not the other posters.

 

[MolokaiRider]

Ganzo knives business was built on theft. I’m not a fan.

I was gifted a few and tried them out. It’s quite obvious they make models VERY similar to other companies.

Yes, they hold an edge fine along the same parameters as similar alloys from other makers.

Something else to consider:

 

[Bearbreeder]

Cold steel kind of takes the cake for extreme behavior, at least online

I mean posting vids of killing live fish with a sword in a river ....

But then their knives are pretty decent

Back to the OPs question

Just listen to those here who have used ganzos, for their 440c your setup will be fine

For their d2, cheap diamonds might make things a bit faster

Either way you should be able to get the ganzo hair splitting sharp

 

[Danke42]

As one of the most counterfeited names in the business, and someone who actually knows knives- I'll tell you this:
Making a knife of the same pattern is not counterfeiting, nor is it stealing. It's been done by almost every manufacturer in every country.
To my knowledge, Ganzo has not made a counterfeit of any knife-and they make a pretty good knife for the money. I have one sitting on my desk.

I guess as long as you don't count the fake Benchmades with the copied Axis lock that was under patent then yeah they're super.

Over time when one company has ceased to make a pattern another company will make a similar knife. That "appears" to be fine based on gentleman's agreements within the industry.

Other companies that make a near to exact copy while the original is still in current production and flood then out via DHgate Aliexperss etc. aren't covered by that kind of agreement.

I don't pretend to make the rules here or in life. I'm just a simple fellow who doesn't steal from anyone and I expect others to do the same. I won't demagnetize my moral compass for a deal.

I don't troll eBay and the like looking for stuff to complain about. But I do think that here on Bladefourms fakes, homages, clones, etc. have no place.

 

[knarfeng]

I like using cheaper knives like Ganzo or Wal-Mart OzarK Trails knives (I tweak those a little to get them smoother to open), but I am not sure how I should be sharpening them. Alot of sharpening videos folks are getting their knives crazy sharp, but are often using much better steel.

Now, I have some kitchen knives that are crazy sharp but I have to work on the edge alot with a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I have a Thai ktichen knife, a vegetable cleaver, but the steel is chippy so it gets a touch up every few months. But for pocket knives that could be excessive, and I want to just make a good utility edge for general purpose cutting (like opening mail packets or boxes, not finely chopping bok choy). I am thinking some kind of microbevel might make the edge stronger, but I look forward to some input from more experienced blade enthusiasts.

Tools I have:
300,600,1000 and 2000 Japanese stones (I use oil) and an edge guide
Lansky Crock Stick box
Spyderco Sharpmaker + ultra fine rods (use that on the Thai knife, it's crazy sharp but edge is a little brittle. I sharpen it at a 20 degree angle per side).

Enough with the clones, stuff.

The original question was how to sharpen low end steels, such as found on less expensive knives, most of which are made in China.
That is the topic of this thread. That is a valid topic and there have been few on-topic answers.

Answer the original question or move on.

 

[Danke42]

Q: How do you sharpen an inexpensive knife? A: Same way as you sharpen any other knife. You don't need any sort of special inexpensive knife sharpening gear.

Q: Will those inexpensive knives hold a sharp or a working edge as long as knives that cost more? A: That is a "how tall is a tree" question. There are lots of great reliable choices in affordable knives and some will have quality steel that performs well.

Q:Are either bubble pack knives from Walmart or clone/counterfeit knives from DHgate EBay or Alibaba good choices? A part 1: No the bubble pack knives are cheap disposable knife shaped objects made to fill a void in some uneducated consumer's life but not meant to be used reliable and sharpened and re-sharpened for years. There are many other better choices and many reviews on here in the General Knives Discussion and the Review section. A Part 2: The fakes are not good as they say they are not worth your consideration. There are many other much better knives to choose.

 

[RustyIron]

The original question was how to sharpen low end steels, such as found on less expensive knives, most of which are made in China.

Ok, then. I'll play. The attached pic is from an inexpensive knife that was sitting in a drawer, one of the dreaded Ganzo's that are so controversial here. I don't remember exactly how it was sharpened, but I'm certain I carried it for a few days since it was last done. When it was sharpened, I would have been using some Nubatama stones. If I was putting in a lot of effort, I would have taken it to 8k on the stones, then stropped it with some CBN. But looking at the edge in the pictures, I might have stopped in the 800-1k range, and maybe stropped it after that. Clearly, I was just playing and experimenting. With a little effort, this knife would be made very, very sharp. As it is, it's still perfectly fine.

 

[Bearbreeder]

I missed seeing if the OP has a strop

If not then one of those double sided cheap paddle strops on ebay or aliexpress will work fine for $5 or so, though amazon might be a bit faster with the coronavirus impacting shipping in china

Or just make one out of an old leather belt

For non super steels i find a strop with some flexcut yellow or lee valley green really gets rid of any burr

On the spyderco fine its easily shaving sharp, after a strop off that stone its hair splitting sharp

 

[FireDragon76]

Yes, I have a strop. It doesn't seem to improve the edge a great deal when I use it, vs. simply using the ultra fine rods or a honing steel, however. I've also had a few times it's overly rounded an edge in a somewhat uneven manner.

 

[Bearbreeder]

Yes, I have a strop. It doesn't seem to improve the edge a great deal when I use it, vs. simply using the ultra fine rods or a honing steel, however. I've also had a few times it's overly rounded an edge in a somewhat uneven manner.

With the ultrafine a strop doesnt have as much benefit

But if you only go up to medium then a stop makes quite a bit of difference

On workin knives i dont go beyond the spyderco fine

 

[soc_monki]

I usually don't go past the brown (medium) stones. I kind of like the bit of extra tooth they have. Really depends on what you're cutting and if you want better push cuts vs slicing. Ultrafine stones will easily get a knife hair splitting sharp. I can almost do it with the brown.

 

[Ben Dover]

IME, the "secret" to lower end steel is to KEEP it sharp. I.E. don't allow it to get dull. I like 15 degree with 20 microbevel to make it convenient to maintain with Crock Sticks or the SM.

I have a few blades of AUS series, 440 and 420 series etc that are easily kept scary sharp. Of course that means "touching them up" almost every time they're used. 3-5 swipes on a plain leather strop after the Crock Sticks, and they're good to go.