Military; sharpening angles

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rprocter

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awile back i gave a Military BG 42, CF handles, to a good friend who is a hunting guide. he called to say he had field dressed an elk and 2 mule deer before needing any touch up. he attempted to sharpen at 20 degrees per side and said the result is o.k. but not as good as original. any advise here on sharpening this knife for the purpose of field dressing large game ? thanks, roland
 
It probably came from the factory at less than 15 per side (mine was around 13.5 per side), so he should go more acute. Also, Spyderco factory edges set a very high standard. Unless you have really good sharpening skills it is really tough to beat a Spyderco factory edge. Also, what stones was he using? Some of the older, softer stones won't deal with the newer high carbide steels as well as diamonds, ceramics, or high quality water stones.

Mike
 
thanks Mike; don't know what stones he used, but i will pass on your expert advice (i know it is from reading many of your posts). is it possible to do a decent job at 15 degrees (or a bit less) per side with an Edgepro ?(probably makes you cringe !). i ask because i have not tried mine at angles less than 18 degrees and don't want to mess up my friend's knife. roland
 
rprocter said:
thanks Mike; don't know what stones he used, but i will pass on your expert advice (i know it is from reading many of your posts). is it possible to do a decent job at 15 degrees (or a bit less) per side with an Edgepro ?(probably makes you cringe !). i ask because i have not tried mine at angles less than 18 degrees and don't want to mess up my friend's knife. roland
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The EdgePro should handle that with ease. I myself would finish up with a 20 degree micro-bevel. A micro-bevel is the surest way to a burr free edge. The Military's flat grind sits nice and stable on the EdgePro. At the most the edge might be 18 degrees. At 15 degrees, I'd be surprised if you hit more than a millimeter of new steel when honing. It could be less than 15 also. The only times I have a problem with the EdgePro is when my stones aren't flat. If you take your time you should wind up with an edge that is sharper than the original. Finishing up no higher than the 220 stone should give you an aggressive slicing edge
 
rprocter said:
thanks Mike; don't know what stones he used, but i will pass on your expert advice (i know it is from reading many of your posts). is it possible to do a decent job at 15 degrees (or a bit less) per side with an Edgepro ?(probably makes you cringe !). i ask because i have not tried mine at angles less than 18 degrees and don't want to mess up my friend's knife. roland
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I would say 18 degrees is probably good on the Edge Pro, because the Edge Pro actually sharpens more acute than the settings suggest on a full flat grind like a Military (the knife lays at an angle on the blade table, so that makes the hone hit the edge at a more acute angle than the setting is). If I was going to do the Edge Pro I would do the magic marker trick to match the angle so you aren't spending forever reprofiling the knife (if it is 15 per side the 18 per side setting might actually be closer to 13 per side accounting for the primary grind angle, which would mean lots of reprofiling time and blade scratches). That would be a quick and easy way to match the angle and get great sharpness, as the Edge Pro puts on some consistently sharp edges, but like I said on full flat grinds the angle settings can be decieving. I also suggest raising the angle slightly with each hone to be sure you are getting a burr free edge (or just finish at 20 like smegs said). The only problem I had with the Edge Pro on a Military was honing all the way to the very edge at the tip when sharpening, but that was because of me being a total newbie with it I'm guessing (it was a short term loaner I used).

Mike
 
thanks again Mike. i have only been sharpening for 6 months and at 61, it's something i have wanted to learn all my life. your explanation re: Edgepro is what i was looking for when i posted. my limited experience so far is that how a blade lies on the "table", or rest, and keeping that consistent each time i flip the blade over, is the key to getting a good edge. it's easy for some blades to rock up and down a little and even a little movement greatly affects the resulting eveness (or lack of) of the finished edge. so i'm going to get the knife from Ian, use a marker, match original edge, use 220 stone, then microbevel 3 - 5 degrees steeper, going no higher than 220 (would have gone to 600 on my own). then he can go hunting again. actually he's out there right now, with a dull Military. roland
 
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