Novice Steel Dilemma

D

Dashdaddy

Joined
Aug 26, 2019
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I am new to knives, as this Summer makes a year. Coming from a heavy background in luxury watches, I would rather spend big with quality, than have innumerable budget items that I would eventually sell. I applied this thinking to knives, skipping many beginner/budget steels, and jumped straight into premium steels and premium scales. Out of my collection of six, I have a few Spydercos with s90v steel and a Native 5 with s110v steel. I have heard how much of a devil that these steels are to sharpen, and I only have a Sharpmaker. In some ways I think my aforementioned philosophy backfired on me. Did I bite off more than I could chew? Since I'm a beginner, should I sell the s90v and s110v steels and focus more on friendlier (but still premium) steels such as s30v, m390, and 20cv? Thanks in advance for your help.
 
If you like the knives you have, keep them.

I would suggest picking up one or two cheaper models with non premium steels that are easy to sharpen to learn on.

Think of it kind of like learning to drive stick. You could trade in your Lambo for a Vette, but it'd probably be wiser to pick up a little Honda Civic to learn the ins and outs and not have the fear of screwing something up. Once you know what you're doing you'll be prepared to move up to the good stuff.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
If you like the knives you have, keep them.

I would suggest picking up one or two cheaper models with non premium steels that are easy to sharpen to learn on.

Think of it kind of like learning to drive stick. You could trade in your Lambo for a Vette, but it'd probably be wiser to pick up a little Honda Civic to learn the ins and outs and not have the fear of screwing something up. Once you know what you're doing you'll be prepared to move up to the good stuff.
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Good idea. I do have a few old budget knives that I could practice on. That given, is s90v and s110v even doable on a Sharpmaker?
 
Dashdaddy said:
Good idea. I do have a few old budget knives that I could practice on. That given, is s90v and s110v even doable on a Sharpmaker?
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I'm still a novice myself, but I would think just about any steel is doable on the Sharpmaker. Just wait till you feel comfortable with the budget knives.

I would invest (now or eventually) in the diamond rods for when you need to reprofile. Also the ultra-fine once you get good to put a keen edge on.

Poke around the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment forum as that is the place where most of the sharpening threads are located. Don't be afraid to ask questions either.
https://bladeforums.com/forums/maintenance-tinkering-embellishment.794/

Are you familiar with the "Sharpie method"?
 
I don't have experience with the Sharpmaker. So long as it has diamond surfaces of the appropriate grits, I imagine you'd be okay. People who own that system could tell you better.

As far as general sharpening, I think it makes sense to learn on a less expensive knife. There is a school of thought that you should learn to sharpen with what you plan to sharpen. However, I think it's worth using an easier steel to master the fundamentals. Get yourself a budget knife in 12C27 or another less challenging steel and go to town. Have fun with it.

As far as luxury versus budget, this is an interesting time to be getting into knives. There has been a real Renaissance in budget knives over the last couple of years. Brands like Civivi, Bestech, and Kizer are doing exciting things under a hundred bucks. You can get a really nice EDC knife without breaking the bank . That alone can have value even if your budget is large. For instance, I don't worry so much about wear and tear on a $50 knife. The fact that it can be really nice, arguably on par with knives costing more than twice that much in years past, is amazing.
 
Dont sell anything!

Focus on acquiring the correct abrasives if you haven't already. Use Diamond or CBN on whatever sharpening platform you're comfortable with.

High wear resistant steels are only "more difficult" to sharpen because they take longer to sharpen. Diamond and CBN cut the carbides correctly and dramatically reduce the time needed to sharpen.

I strongly recommend getting into the world of freehand sharpening. Get a disposable knife for practice and use your existing sharpening system as a safety net as needed.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
I'm still a novice myself, but I would think just about any steel is doable on the Sharpmaker. Just wait till you feel comfortable with the budget knives.

I would invest (now or eventually) in the diamond rods for when you need to reprofile. Also the ultra-fine once you get good to put a keen edge on.

Poke around the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment forum as that is the place where most of the sharpening threads are located. Don't be afraid to ask questions either.
https://bladeforums.com/forums/maintenance-tinkering-embellishment.794/

Are you familiar with the "Sharpie method"?
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Thanks for your response. Yes, I am familiar with using a Sharpie to mark the edge.
 
SubMicron said:
Dont sell anything!

Focus on acquiring the correct abrasives if you haven't already. Use Diamond or CBN on whatever sharpening platform you're comfortable with.

High wear resistant steels are only "more difficult" to sharpen because they take longer to sharpen. Diamond and CBN cut the carbides correctly and dramatically reduce the time needed to sharpen.

I strongly recommend getting into the world of freehand sharpening. Get a disposable knife for practice and use your existing sharpening system as a safety net as needed.
Click to expand...
LOL, thanks for talking me off the ledge! I have always been intimidated with freehand sharpening, but with a cheaper like you suggested should give me confidence.
 
If you try the sharpmaker the way I suggested you are both free hand sharpening, and using a guide. It's worth looking at the post I linked to above if you haven't yet, if for nothing else than Jdavis' sharpmaker technique. It alone will save you a ton of time.
 
Hi D Dashdaddy

What I think you're really saying is you want sharp knives regardless of steel. That is awesome! As others have said, no don't sell what you have.

I don't have a Sharp Maker. Lot's of people love them, but I'm not a fan fixed angle devices like that.

My biased recommendation would be to skip buying any more knives and consider buying a KME, Edge Pro, etc. I have the KME and it is very effective and can handle all of what you mentioned.
 
Eli Chaps said:
Hi D Dashdaddy

What I think you're really saying is you want sharp knives regardless of steel. That is awesome! As others have said, no don't sell what you have.

I don't have a Sharp Maker. Lot's of people love them, but I'm not a fan fixed angle devices like that.

My biased recommendation would be to skip buying any more knives and consider buying a KME, Edge Pro, etc. I have the KME and it is very effective and can handle all of what you mentioned.
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Interesting that you mentioned the KME, because I originally thought about skipping the Shrpmaker and going for the KME. But since I wasn't reprofiling anything or wasn't doing anything heavy-duty, I decided on the SM.
 
Dashdaddy said:
Interesting that you mentioned the KME, because I originally thought about skipping the Shrpmaker and going for the KME. But since I wasn't reprofiling anything or wasn't doing anything heavy-duty, I decided on the SM.
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Once you start sharpening in earnest, you'll realize you are almost always re-profling the first few times. Not in the sense of intentionally changing angles, but in working out factory edges, which are notoriously bad.
 
In the time it takes to master a complex tool such as a guided sharpening system, a person could be well on the way to becoming good at freehand sharpening.
 
I
Eli Chaps said:
Once you start sharpening in earnest, you'll realize you are almost always re-profling the first few times. Not in the sense of intentionally changing angles, but in working out factory edges, which are notoriously bad.
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I think that's what has intimidated me the most. When I think of "reprofiling," I keep thinking that I'll change the factory edge into some deformity of a knife once done.
 
Dashdaddy said:
I

I think that's what has intimidated me the most. When I think of "reprofiling," I keep thinking that I'll change the factory edge into some deformity of a knife once done.
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You just start slow.

Pairing knives are great to learn on and can be had cheap.
 
It doesn't make much sense to buy a watch and not be able to tell time. Knives, like watches require more than the item itself to keep it reliable and working like it should. As already mentioned, visit the maintenance forum, don't rush into anything and see how other people keep'em sharp. IMO, the Sharpmaker will be used more because any other guided system takes some time to set up and be used. Love the KME, but I really don't break it out every time a edge needs a little sharpening. Only time it's used is when a ceramic rod and strop won't keep one shaving.
If you don't use your knives very hard, then the SM will work fine. It'll also help you learn some patience and get a feel for free hand sharpening. If you don't have a strop, look into getting one. Also look at tool steels, they are becoming more popular in folding knives.
 
Ajack60 said:
It doesn't make much sense to buy a watch and not be able to tell time. Knives, like watches require more than the item itself to keep it reliable and working like it should. As already mentioned, visit the maintenance forum, don't rush into anything and see how other people keep'em sharp. IMO, the Sharpmaker will be used more because any other guided system takes some time to set up and be used. Love the KME, but I really don't break it out every time a edge needs a little sharpening. Only time it's used is when a ceramic rod and strop won't keep one shaving.
If you don't use your knives very hard, then the SM will work fine. It'll also help you learn some patience and get a feel for free hand sharpening. If you don't have a strop, look into getting one. Also look at tool steels, they are becoming more popular in folding knives.
Click to expand...
To be honest, you're right, I don't use my knives hard in any way, not even cutting up cardboard. Then again, I haven't been carrying them long enough to know all the ways and reasons to use a knife.
 
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