Noob, Help with Microtech Socom Elite Sharpening/tips

N

Nick055

Joined
Nov 15, 2012
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3
Hey All, first post here, and relatively new to knives.

I'm hoping to learn some more about my knife, and general knife tips. I appreciate your time reading this, and I apologize for my lack of experience ahead of time, so bear with me here.
Alright, to the details. (Skip to the bottom to get to the questions if you want)

I bought a Microtech Socom Elite 2012 model a few months ago and I love it. Right out of the box it was absurdly sharp, like a scalpel. After normal use, it lost this edge and I attempted sharpening this knife by myself. I have a couple stones, I start off with a rough grit water stone, switch to a diamond stone, back to the flip side of the water stone for a fine grit, then an ultra fine oil stone.

However, the blade of this knife has a weird curve to it, and is tapered and does not lay flat on the stone (is this right term?). I screwed up my first couple times trying to sharpen it and put scrathes on the blade... stupid me. I had it sharpened by a local who used a grind wheel, i was satifyed and he did a nice job. Fast forward a couple months, After getting a little more acquainted with sharpening I could resharpen the blade a little bit, but not nearly as sharp as it was out of the box.

What angle should I sharpen the knife at, what angle did it come at out of the box? How can i effectively sharpen a knife with this blade design? Do i have sufficent stones? And finally should I buy a strop?! Thanks guys
Nick
 
The factory angle may no longer be relevant. It's not easy to maintain a consistent angle while using power tools, and the blade bevel angle may now be slightly off from the factory.

Sharpen it at the bevel angle it has now. Work your way down through your stones, and then, yes, buy a strop, and the appropriate polishing compound. Work the polishing compound into the strop, and don't be shy at first, because the leather is going to absorb the compound.

Strop the blade on both sides, at a slightly greater (closer to straight up and down) angle than the one you used on the stones. This will break off the tiny lip of metal left at your edge by the stones, giving you a truly sharp edge.

Some people will tell you to get a Sharpmaker or some such gizmo that holds a consistent bevel angle for you. Don't listen to them. This is like buying a car that drives itself. When we allow machines to perform all of the tasks that used to require thought and skill, we will no longer be needed by those machines.
 
I totally agree with you, and appreciate the help. The skill of being able to sharpen the knife yourself is what makes collecting and using so fun to me. I'm not one to take the easy way out. Question, what do you mean by the appropriate polishing compound. I have a satin polished blade. What strop do you suggest. And also, bevel is the angle of the actual sharp part of the blade correct? How am I able to tell the angle of the bevel; by sight? or a trick. Thank you.
 
Yes to the strop once you get a keen edge all you will do do is strop it as need to keep it sharp. One Key tip is to use a Sharpi marker or what ever they are and mark the blade at the bevel so you know that you are getting proper contact with your stones and repeate as needed until you get a feel for the angle you are sharping at. As for the angle of the edge I like a 30 degree inclusive for my EDC that means you sharpen the blade at 15 degrees on each side. Surf around the you tube lots of vids posted on the subject that you might find help full. When you look for a strop you want a rigged type made from wood with leather affixed to it and use compounds for stropping or Flitz works well. I use Stropman strops the 4 sided ones they are great and made in the US.

Stropping compounds:

Black= Coarse Used for D burning edges as you sharpen
White= Medium compound Good place to start for edge maintenance stropping finer then the black
Green= The best all around compound for fine stropping will start to polish the edges ( If you get just one strop this is the best all around to use)
Red= Finer than green but I never see much of a difference in the 2 I do not use it too often

(Note you do not want to mix the compounds on the leather unless you clean the old compound off first)

Diamond Sprays are expensive and realy only needed if you want to achieve the ultimate edge they come in ranges from 10 micron all the way down to .128 micron
 
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I agree. Stropping is the most important part of having a sharp knife. I strop with .5 micron diamond spray on a kangaroo leather edge pro plate. I try to do it everyday when I dump my pockets before bed and I usually only have to take my blade to UF spyderco stone once a month and a complete sharpening every 6 months and that's mostly s30v blades. Your microtech s35vn probably holds an edge longer and would most likely strop up better as well. Stay on top of that and you could in theory keep for edge sharp "indefinitely" under normal usage. For a person newer to knives and a less experienced sharpener you should pick up the stropman hd compact with white and green compound. That'll be a great place to start


As far as more information on sharpening, how to, products, and demonstrations YouTube user jdavis882 thought me everything I know. Great videos
 
Sezman716 said:
I agree. Stropping is the most important part of having a sharp knife. I strop with .5 micron diamond spray on a kangaroo leather edge pro plate. I try to do it everyday when I dump my pockets before bed and I usually only have to take my blade to UF spyderco stone once a month and a complete sharpening every 6 months and that's mostly s30v blades. Your microtech s35vn probably holds an edge longer and would most likely strop up better as well. Stay on top of that and you could in theory keep for edge sharp "indefinitely" under normal usage. For a person newer to knives and a less experienced sharpener you should pick up the stropman hd compact with white and green compound. That'll be a great place to start


As far as more information on sharpening, how to, products, and demonstrations YouTube user jdavis882 thought me everything I know. Great videos
Click to expand...

Thats funny jdavis is actually who got me into the socom elite, and so far has taught me most of what I know. He never responds to my mail though :( hahah. Thanks for the tips.
 
Yeah, the 'Tube is probably your best bet, although the tip about using a Sharpie to color the edge bevel is a good one.

Sharpening and stropping are "show and tell" skills, and if you can find videos, you will learn much more there.
 
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