How to sharpen Hawkbills?

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MichaelMyers

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Dec 10, 2015
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I have a CS Black Talon 2 that I tried to sharpen with the spyderco rods free hand but I can't seem to get it anywhere near factory sharpness. What's the best way to do it?
 
It's probably haven't fully apexed. Try lower grit sandpaper wrapped around the rod. A round rod with diameter smaller than the blade curve will have more surface contact than the triangle corner, it might be faster that way. The triangle should work, just taking more time. Have you cleaned it up? Using pencil eraser, it'll remopthe swarf. Corner usually loads fast, and the metal removal slows down drastically.
 
Last edited:
MichaelMyers said:
I have a CS Black Talon 2 that I tried to sharpen with the spyderco rods free hand but I can't seem to get it anywhere near factory sharpness. What's the best way to do it?
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An oval diamond chef's 'steel' in 10" or 12" length works well for hawkbills and other recurved edges. The diamond abrasive and wider & longer contact area with the oval means it'll also work much faster in establishing a new apex.

Other means can be used as well, like wrapping wet/dry sandpaper around a more suitably-sized cylinder, like a large dowel or section of pvc pipe. Some also grind an edge of a coarse stone into a radiused shape for such jobs; obviously, that's a little more work to set up, if you don't have a couple of coarser stones on hand.

The corners of the medium SM rods are pretty limited in working speed, if the existing edge isn't in very good shape. Relatively fine grit will limit aggression, and the short length of the stroke and extremely narrow contact area will limit it further. You could also purchase the optional diamond or CBN rods for the SM; but an oval diamond steel in a larger working size can be had for about 1/2 the money (I've purchased two in the ~ $25 range apiece). If you're wanting to do it freehand, there's not much incentive to spend the bigger $$ on the smaller SM diamond/CBN option.


David
 
The corners of the sharpmaker rods have been the perfect thing for my hawkbill and recurve sharpening in the past.
 
Technique is very important when sharpening hawkbills. You must use the opposite of the stroke you would use with a blade that has a normal (outward curved) belly. Instead of rotating the handle UP as your go through the curve, rotate the handle DOWN. Watch the contact area on the stone and you'll see how the downward rotation keeps the entire edge in contact with the abrasive.

Brian.
 
3 times on the left side of the blade and one on the right side for serrated blades on the triangle stones.
 
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