Insingo sharpening help

I

II=I

Joined
Jan 9, 2006
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Just looking for some help on sharpening my Insingo on the Sharpmaker. No matter what I try I can't seem to get an edge that will even slice paper. I'm not sure what the factory edge is/was but I came to the conclusion that it was slightly more than 20 since the sharpie trick with the 40 inclusive setting only removed from the shoulder. After that I tried to freehand alter the angle to match and got a halfway decent edge but still not enough to cleanly slice paper and couldn't improve upon that. This time I thought I'd try to reset the bevels to 15 and put a 20 degree micro on at the end as spyderco recommends. However that attempt resulted in the worst performance yet. I'm guessing the problem is that it's just gonna take forever with stock rods to change the bevels at all? So, having just the stock medium and fine rods, what's the best way/method to put a razor edge back on my Insingo?
 
II=I said:
Just looking for some help on sharpening my Insingo on the Sharpmaker. No matter what I try I can't seem to get an edge that will even slice paper. I'm not sure what the factory edge is/was but I came to the conclusion that it was slightly more than 20 since the sharpie trick with the 40 inclusive setting only removed from the shoulder. After that I tried to freehand alter the angle to match and got a halfway decent edge but still not enough to cleanly slice paper and couldn't improve upon that. This time I thought I'd try to reset the bevels to 15 and put a 20 degree micro on at the end as spyderco recommends. However that attempt resulted in the worst performance yet. I'm guessing the problem is that it's just gonna take forever with stock rods to change the bevels at all? So, having just the stock medium and fine rods, what's the best way/method to put a razor edge back on my Insingo?
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I do know that CRK puts what equates to a convex edge on their knives. This makes it a little difficult to resharpen

Make sure you are fully apexing there and forming a burr on one side before moving to the other side and take your time.

Get you angle right and stick to it. Changing the angle up a bunch of times without putting the time into getting a good bevel may be hurting you as well.

IMO
 
neverdie36 said:
I do know that CRK puts what equates to a convex edge on their knives. This makes it a little difficult to resharpen

Make sure you are fully apexing there and forming a burr on one side before moving to the other side and take your time.

Get you angle right and stick to it. Changing the angle up a bunch of times without putting the time into getting a good bevel may be hurting you as well.

IMO
Click to expand...

Good advice. I had the same problem with S35VN at first. I was so worried that this steel was soft, from all the negative information out there about it and the HRC etc, that I wasn't putting in enough time. Its harder than you think, and takes time to be reprofiled to match the sharpmaker. The other thing to keep in mind is to never let the blade touch the black plastic of the sharpmaker's base as you draw the blade down. The plastic gets dust from the stones imbeded in it and if you slide the blade down the stone (rod) and hit the plastic, you can undo the work you've just done to make it sharp.
 
Thanks. So with S35 how long might a reprofile on the medium stones take? I've been at it a while and still no burr. Half hour or hour per side? More?
 
II=I said:
Thanks. So with S35 how long might a reprofile on the medium stones take? I've been at it a while and still no burr. Half hour or hour per side? More?
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Just make sure you are maintaining a steady angle. The medium stone is actually pretty fine by comparison. If you had the diamond rods, that would make this a lot easier. Just stay at it.
 
neverdie36 said:
Just make sure you are maintaining a steady angle. The medium stone is actually pretty fine by comparison. If you had the diamond rods, that would make this a lot easier. Just stay at it.
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Yeah I just ran out to Lowe's and picked up a cheap double sided coarse/fine diamond stone to use. It's really sped up the process and I'm gonna finish up after lunch. I'm using the sharpie to measure progress and I'm pretty much there except for a small stretch on both sides near the tip. Is there a trick to hitting that section cus it seems like I'm either missing it or the original angle there was more shallow than the rest of the knife and I have more material to remove? Also, for putting on the 40 degree micro what would you recommend? Do I need to use the medium stones at all or should I put it on with just the fine?
 
II=I said:
Yeah I just ran out to Lowe's and picked up a cheap double sided coarse/fine diamond stone to use. It's really sped up the process and I'm gonna finish up after lunch. I'm using the sharpie to measure progress and I'm pretty much there except for a small stretch on both sides near the tip. Is there a trick to hitting that section cus it seems like I'm either missing it or the original angle there was more shallow than the rest of the knife and I have more material to remove? Also, for putting on the 40 degree micro what would you recommend? Do I need to use the medium stones at all or should I put it on with just the fine?
Click to expand...

The bevel at the tip is usually a steeper angle than the rest of the knife. So if you are holding the same angle all the way down the edge, the top will take longer as you have more material to remove from the shoulder.

I don't use a micro bevel but I think most people just use the fine stone lightly to add the micro bevel.
 
I'm no expert by any means, but I was under the impression that the 40 degree angle on the SM was to remove shoulder if required, and you finish up on the 30 degree angle to get the micro bevel. For me, I'm getting pretty good results only using the 30 degree angle. When the edge thickens eventually, then I plan on thinning with the 40. Am I doing it wrong?
 
I think you got it backwards. There's lots of good vids about the sharpmaker. If you put your rods into their holders, you can visually see the difference in angle. In theory you would remove the shoulders (if required) with the 30 setting, and sharpen the blade with the 40 degree setting. If you did it the other way around, the 30 degree sticks would hit the shoulders of the 40 degree profile and miss the edge of the blade.
 
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My EDC is a small Insingo but it took a complete reprofile before I really started liking this knife. I reprofiled at ~15 degrees per side and use my Sharpmaker at 20 degrees per side for touch-ups. That micro-bevel approach seems to work very well with the profile and steel. I went through the same process with my user Mnandi.

IMG_0192.jpg

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Alternate sides often so as to NOT form a large burr on one side before moving to the other. It is so easy to form a very tenacious burr with these steels, and then when you think it is sharp (the burr IS sharp) it does not hold up well in use.

I guess I disagree with the common "consensus" that you must form a burr on one side, then work on the other. Work it up evenly so the two sides form a clean edge together. Then you will have fewer probles forming a clean edge at the end.
 
kidcongo said:
I think you got it backwards. There's lots of good vids about the sharpmaker. If you put your rods into their holders, you can visually see the difference in angle. In theory you would remove the shoulders (if required) with the 30 setting, and sharpen the blade with the 40 degree setting. If you did it the other way around, the 30 degree sticks would hit the shoulders of the 40 degree profile and miss the edge of the blade.
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Thanks! I was a little confused as the image on the SM made it look like the 30 was the wider angle. Guess that doesn't make much sense after all. I rewatched the videos, and we're all good now.
 
Don M said:
Alternate sides often so as to NOT form a large burr on one side before moving to the other. It is so easy to form a very tenacious burr with these steels, and then when you think it is sharp (the burr IS sharp) it does not hold up well in use.

I guess I disagree with the common "consensus" that you must form a burr on one side, then work on the other. Work it up evenly so the two sides form a clean edge together. Then you will have fewer probles forming a clean edge at the end.
Click to expand...

It just depends how practiced you are. I work each side evenly then refine from there but someone less practiced may not be fully apexing the edge.
 
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