Is my sharpening setup ok?

Loneriderz · Sep 5, 2009

20 odd knives later I have finally decided to get some proper sharpening supplies. Before this it was sandpaper and a cheap double sided silicon carbide stone that did not seem to work all too well other than on a carbon steel marking knife.

Anyway these are what I have right now... A 600 and 1200 grit diamond stone or is that a hone, not sure about the difference but it's a metal plate covered with diamond grit.

I also bought a paddle strop on eBay that comes with 2 compounds. Gray and green. My user knives are a Spyderco Endura, Spyderco Dragonfly and a Spyderco Wayne Goddard. In other words all VG10 though I have a knife in D2 steel on the way. I'm also thinking of finally using my 2 custom folders; CPM S30V and CPM 154CM. Is there anything else I should be thinking of getting?

So far I've tried stropping my Endura with the green compound but I seem to produce a very smooth edge that seems dull. Not sure if that makes any sense. It shaves arm hair but when it comes to paper cuts the original Spyderco edge seems better. Will try to improve on technique...

Your comments (good or bad) and suggestions are appreciated...

David Martin · Sep 5, 2009

Lone, your equipment seems good.I'd watch the angle and pressure you strop at.Just keep praticing and you'll improve.DM

Loneriderz · Sep 5, 2009

Thanks David. I'm still practicing... Looking for optimum pressure and angle. Think I got the angle part down but I'm not sure if I should use light pressure or jut the weight of the blade. Some videos on youtube seems to suggest a good firm pressure is needed. Oh well, nothing comes easy I suppose.

unky_gumbi · Sep 5, 2009

I use mild pressure on my strop to start and finish with just the weight of the blade. I also go tip to heel. I find I get a better edge over the full length of the blade, but I think thats just a personal preference thing. The most imoprtant thing is not to roll the edge at the end of you stopping.
This is all stuff I learned here so the other members will help you out, just read what they say and give it a try, and you will find what works for you

David Martin · Sep 5, 2009

Lone,Yes, as Gumbi wrote;mild pressure,1lb.max. and don't roll the blade at the end of the stroke.Just lift.I go one stroke then change sides,30-50 strokes.Good luck,DM

nolan raborn · Sep 5, 2009

I don't see why people still have problems with sharpening. Buy you a Spyderco Sharpmaker and you can not go wrong. It is the easiest way to sharpen if you don't let your blade get butter knife dull before you try to sharpen it. Mine keeps all of my knives shaving sharp with very little effort on my part.

Loneriderz · Sep 5, 2009

unky_gumbi said:
I use mild pressure on my strop to start and finish with just the weight of the blade. I also go tip to heel. I find I get a better edge over the full length of the blade, but I think thats just a personal preference thing. The most imoprtant thing is not to roll the edge at the end of you stopping.
This is all stuff I learned here so the other members will help you out, just read what they say and give it a try, and you will find what works for you

I'll try the tip to heel to see if it suits me too. I've read about not rolling the edge at the end of a stroke and have been doing it conscientiously.

David Martin said:
Lone,Yes, as Gumbi wrote;mild pressure,1lb.max. and don't roll the blade at the end of the stroke.Just lift.I go one stroke then change sides,30-50 strokes.Good luck,DM

Mild pressure... OK will do.

nolan raborn said:
I don't see why people still have problems with sharpening. Buy you a Spyderco Sharpmaker and you can not go wrong. It is the easiest way to sharpen if you don't let your blade get butter knife dull before you try to sharpen it. Mine keeps all of my knives shaving sharp with very little effort on my part.

I guess the Sharpmaker is a more convenient route but I just wanted to go with a more conventional route; using stones and strops. If what I've read so far about the Sharpmaker is true, then there's only so much that the Sharpmaker can accomplish in terms of level of sharpness and edge angles. Not to say I will never get one... I love all my Spydercos and every product I've bought seems to exude quality and I'm sure the Sharpmaker is no different. I will probably get one soon as I have a few knives with recurves and ALL my user knives have combo edges so there's no way to avoid getting one.

One thing I forgot to mention is that after reading through a few threads on stropping it seems that most advocate using the smooth side of the hide but my strop came with the right side up. Will this make any difference?

David Martin · Sep 6, 2009

Lone, If your saying your strop came with the rough side up? That could be the culprit.
We all use the very smooth side up.If you have access to another strop try it and see if that makes a difference.Then you'll know.DM

Loneriderz · Sep 6, 2009

David Martin said:
Lone, If your saying your strop came with the rough side up? That could be the culprit.
We all use the very smooth side up.If you have access to another strop try it and see if that makes a difference.Then you'll know.DM

Thanks David... I'm sure I can scrounge up a leather belt somewhere. I'll give the smooth side up a try. I knew something wasn't right somewhere.

Hard H2O · Sep 7, 2009

nolan raborn said:
I don't see why people still have problems with sharpening. Buy you a Spyderco Sharpmaker and you can not go wrong. It is the easiest way to sharpen if you don't let your blade get butter knife dull before you try to sharpen it. Mine keeps all of my knives shaving sharp with very little effort on my part.

From what I have read they are nice if you only want to sharpen at the two angles. They are nice if you do not need to remove a lot of material. They are nice if you do not mind being limited to the grits they provide.

They sound great for maintaining an edge already at one of the angles provided.

Loneriderz said:
Anyway these are what I have right now... A 600 and 1200 grit diamond stone or is that a hone, not sure about the difference but it's a metal plate covered with diamond grit.

So far I've tried stropping my Endura with the green compound but I seem to produce a very smooth edge that seems dull. Not sure if that makes any sense. It shaves arm hair but when it comes to paper cuts the original Spyderco edge seems better. Will try to improve on technique...

Make sure you aren't rolling over the edge on the strop. Holding the angle is as important on the strop as it is on the hone.