Introduction first post. Sharpening question.

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boatandabeer

Joined
Sep 18, 2023
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2
Hey guys! New to the forum and getting back into knifes a bit. I have always been a Benchmade guy. I have 9 of them now. (Crooked River full and mini, Super Freek full and mini, Mini grip, Contego, Grizzly Ridge, S30V Grip, 470-1 Osborne Emissary) I also just bought a Para 3. Sweet knife.

I have always sent my knifes into Benchmade to get the Lifesharp service done, but recently bought a Worksharp Precision Adjust sharpener. I'm trying to get a good factory edge on some of these knifes but have a few questions.

1: People say M4 is really hard to sharpen. Does this mean there is a certain technique, or that it just requires more passes/more time on the stone?
2: The manual says to do 8-10 passes with the stone per side. Will doing it more grind away too much at the blade? I never feel the "burr" that a lot of videos talk about.

Any info would be appreciated. I have been grinding the knifes around 18 degrees or so.

Thanks and I look forward to reading and contributing to the forums as I can!
 
boatandabeer said:
Hey guys! New to the forum and getting back into knifes a bit. I have always been a Benchmade guy. I have 9 of them now. (Crooked River full and mini, Super Freek full and mini, Mini grip, Contego, Grizzly Ridge, S30V Grip, 470-1 Osborne Emissary) I also just bought a Para 3. Sweet knife.

I have always sent my knifes into Benchmade to get the Lifesharp service done, but recently bought a Worksharp Precision Adjust sharpener. I'm trying to get a good factory edge on some of these knifes but have a few questions.

1: People say M4 is really hard to sharpen. Does this mean there is a certain technique, or that it just requires more passes/more time on the stone?
2: The manual says to do 8-10 passes with the stone per side. Will doing it more grind away too much at the blade? I never feel the "burr" that a lot of videos talk about.

Any info would be appreciated. I have been grinding the knifes around 18 degrees or so.

Thanks and I look forward to reading and contributing to the forums as I I’d say sharpen h til you feel
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boatandabeer said:
Hey guys! New to the forum and getting back into knifes a bit. I have always been a Benchmade guy. I have 9 of them now. (Crooked River full and mini, Super Freek full and mini, Mini grip, Contego, Grizzly Ridge, S30V Grip, 470-1 Osborne Emissary) I also just bought a Para 3. Sweet knife.

I have always sent my knifes into Benchmade to get the Lifesharp service done, but recently bought a Worksharp Precision Adjust sharpener. I'm trying to get a good factory edge on some of these knifes but have a few questions.

1: People say M4 is really hard to sharpen. Does this mean there is a certain technique, or that it just requires more passes/more time on the stone?
2: The manual says to do 8-10 passes with the stone per side. Will doing it more grind away too much at the blade? I never feel the "burr" that a lot of videos talk about.

Any info would be appreciated. I have been grinding the knifes around 18 degrees or so.

Thanks and I look forward to reading and contributing to the forums as I can!
Click to expand...
M4 isn’t hard to sharpen with diamonds, takes a really nice edge actually. I’d say go until you feel a burr instead of counting strokes. But check for one frequently. I definitely over-sharpened when I started out, more than once, and all I can say is “removing too much metal” is relative. You might be able to tell a difference, but you’d have to look pretty hard. At a glance, I doubt you’d notice.
 
I use a 600 grit DMT stone for my manix 2 in m4. Few passes per side and it would be good to go. I also had a micro bevel so my experience with it might be different than yours
 
Get a good set of stones in various grits and a leather strop. Learn how to freehand sharpen and you can take that skill with you everywhere you go.
 
IMO the most important thing to do is not let it get too dull. Especially if it’s a super steel, like M4. Frequent touch ups go a long way, like on a sharpmaker, or even just a strop. I recently got some 16 micron juice and Used it a couple times.
Took it (20CV) from a working edge to shaving in a few minutes. Great stuff. Not as aggressive as the sharpmaker, but I don’t like to take off any more metal than i have to
 
Most knives have edge angles between 17-19. Bushcrafter and Military, fixed blade type knives dip into the 20's (Meant for rough use). Follow the factory edge. There's no need to re-profile.


Strokes per side? I have never counted strokes. I do enough to remove the previous scratches, left by the previous grit. Balanced out between both sides. Don't intentionally stay on one side too long.


As for M4 being difficult to sharpen. I find it an easy metal to work with. One of my favorites.


You can detect a burr by running a paper towel against the edge. The burr will grab the paper towel. Feel free to use a cotton ball.


You need a loupe. 30x.
 
Welcome to the forum!

As a novice sharpener myself, if you’re not ever feeling a burr, you might not actually be sharpening the apex of the edge. The good old “sharpie trick” is a great way to see where you are actually hitting the stones. Just color the edge of the blade with a sharpie and do a few passes to see where it is actually hitting. If you’re like me you might be surprised to see that you’re not actually sharpening the edge even when it seems like you are - it takes awhile to get the feel of it.
 
celticrogues said:
Welcome to the forum!

As a novice sharpener myself, if you’re not ever feeling a burr, you might not actually be sharpening the apex of the edge. The good old “sharpie trick” is a great way to see where you are actually hitting the stones. Just color the edge of the blade with a sharpie and do a few passes to see where it is actually hitting. If you’re like me you might be surprised to see that you’re not actually sharpening the edge even when it seems like you are - it takes awhile to get the feel of it.
Click to expand...
Good advice.

Factory edges can be far from 18 or 20 degrees. I have seen Benchmade factory angles any where from 14 to 30 degrees.
 
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