Hey guys, I just picked up my first Emerson, a CQC-8. I've got a sharpmaker and was wondering if this was the best medium to sharpen with. I don't have much practice with freehand sharpening, but can do it quite well. If the sharpmaker isn't, should I just pick up a diamond paddle or something similar?
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New Emerson, how to sharpen?
- Thread starter Edonis
- Start date
a sharpmaker will work but imho its a PITA to use to sharpen emersons or any other knives ground like them.
if ya dfo use a sharpmaker ya will have to hold the knife at a different angle (ie not straight up&down like ya normally would) to make the rods hit the blade at the right angle, which imho isnt easy to do and maintain the right angle. but they will work.
i prefer a diamond rod on the CQC8 to work up a burr then either a steel or a peice of cardboard to strop away the burr, go to the www.emersonknives.com site and they have some good instructions on how to do it.
if ya dfo use a sharpmaker ya will have to hold the knife at a different angle (ie not straight up&down like ya normally would) to make the rods hit the blade at the right angle, which imho isnt easy to do and maintain the right angle. but they will work.
i prefer a diamond rod on the CQC8 to work up a burr then either a steel or a peice of cardboard to strop away the burr, go to the www.emersonknives.com site and they have some good instructions on how to do it.
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2005
- Messages
- 19,834
i have found the angles dont align well on the sharpmaker, ie the blade grind is not at 20 degrees. also a chisel grind is best sharpened moving with the edge, or the opposite way the sharpmaker is designed to sharpen.
i use the stones freehand. holding the knife in my left hand edge away from me, i use the angled portion of the stones and slide the stone away from me. you may have to play a little with the angle of the stone to find the correct one. then strop the flat side on the flat portion of the stone to remove burrs and excess steel. finish on a leather strop if you have one.
i have found this keeps my knives more than sharp enough for every daym use. if they became really dull i would send them in.
i use the stones freehand. holding the knife in my left hand edge away from me, i use the angled portion of the stones and slide the stone away from me. you may have to play a little with the angle of the stone to find the correct one. then strop the flat side on the flat portion of the stone to remove burrs and excess steel. finish on a leather strop if you have one.
i have found this keeps my knives more than sharp enough for every daym use. if they became really dull i would send them in.
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2005
- Messages
- 19,834
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
- Messages
- 118
Well I believe they lowered the angles on the edges recently and so my 05 cqc-8 sharpens perfectly on the 40* angles on the sharpmaker. Just sharpen the left side like you would a normal knife on the sharpmaker and then take a stone in hand and swipe it across the back VERY lightly like 3 times cut the burr off. Using this method I have been able to push cut newspaper at a 90* angle :thumbup: .