Okapi Sharpening Help!!

M

Mitch Taldison

Joined
Jan 26, 2019
Messages
87
Guys I have a new Okapi ratchet knife and it came as sharp as a dollar store butter knife.

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So I took my Spyderco sharpmaker and tried re-working the edge with the diamond coated rods @ the standard 40 degree bevel. Did about 50 strokes per side. Didn’t seem to sharpen much so I switched over to the 30 degree side and did maybe 30 strokes per side, then went back to 40 degree and did about another 50 strokes per side all with the diamond coated rods.

Well I then went to the brown medium stones and after a while on those at 40 degrees, I went to test the knife on a thin cardboard TV dinner box and it cut WORSE than a dollar store butter knife!! :eek:

Needless to say, I’m doing SOMETHING wrong!! Guys please help me get this African wretch to a passable edge!! Thanks in advance, Mitch
 
Hi,
If 50 strokes doesn't get to the edge, do 50 more strokes,
then check if you have an edge
repeat

If you paint your edge with marker you can observe your progress

Do it in 1-3min sessions, scrubbing passes (up down up down) on stone flats only, 2-4 passes per second is comfortable

No point in moving on from coarse stones until they do the job

If you want faster results increase the angle by putting something underneath the corner of sharpmaker.

Remember touch diamond stones lightly with your knife

For more detailed/advanced sharpmaker debugging steps see Sharpening Curriculum / Trouble sharpening super blue - Spyderco Forums

Efficient grinding reprofiling with sharpmaker 1-3 minutes * 10 steps = 10-30 minutes total to drop angle from 20 degrees per side to 15 degrees in half degree steps , Reprofiling/Sharpening CPM 3V? - Page 2 - Spyderco Forums
 
You can not sharpen Okapi new out of box with sharpmaker.These thives come without edge out of factory and have to be thinned out behind the edge and reground to be efficient cutters and for you to be able to touch them up on sharpmaker.You can do that on rough sil carbide or diamond stone,or belt sander.I did mine on beltsander and now it is hair whittling sharp and excellent cutter although edge holding could be better but its easy to touch it up or strop it.Id put it flat to stone first to thin it out ,then make secondary edge and sharpen it.Opinel is much better choice than Okapi for same price,or cold steel kudu,but nevertheless theyre ok knives once you regrind,light to carry and good for edc.
 
Ps,reprofiling with sharpmaker is waste of time,and btw stone produces much better and longer lasting edge than sm,sharpmaker is good for quick touchups or to take a burr off stone sharpened blade with light touches,but edge off stone is way better.
 
Okay so I did the sharpie trick and put it all over the edge and ran it over the diamond rod for several hundred passes per side.

The sharpie is staying put, this thing LITERALLY has a butter knife edge. So I’ve heard of people putting sandpaper around the Sharpmaker rods... what grit(s) and what type of sandpaper should I use for this?
 
At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I just gotta say if you’re going to ignore what people are telling about not being able to profile the knife on that type of sharpener, why ask more questions if you’re going to ignore it anyways?
 
sickpuppy1 said:
At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I just gotta say if you’re going to ignore what people are telling about not being able to profile the knife on that type of sharpener, why ask more questions if you’re going to ignore it anyways?
Click to expand...

I’d prefer not to have to buy a bunch of stones If I can use coarse sandpaper on what I already have, as I’ve read people doing. You footing the bill buddy?? Didn’t think so!!
 
Yeah, you’re right buddy. I bought the right sharpener in the first place. But I also buy knives with an edge on them too, buddy. I’n Outa here and will leave you alone.
 
Mitch Taldison said:
Okay so I did the sharpie trick and put it all over the edge and ran it over the diamond rod for several hundred passes per side.

The sharpie is staying put, this thing LITERALLY has a butter knife edge. So I’ve heard of people putting sandpaper around the Sharpmaker rods... what grit(s) and what type of sandpaper should I use for this?
Click to expand...

Usually the sandpaper is used if all you have is the standard med/fine stones that come with the Sharpmaker. Since you already have and used the diamond stones, you might not find the sandpaper to be of much use... unless you got some that was really coarse... like 120 or more coarse, and the type for metal (usually at an auto parts store) works best. (Then you might run the risk of scratching the blade if that matters).

You can get a fairly inexpensive coarse stone at a hardware store or online... a coarse AO or SiC stone would help. Even if you leaned it against the Sharpmaker stone to maintain the angle... you would have the advantage of more surface area, which might speed up the process. Or (better idea), you can lay it down and sharpen at an angle lower than the Sharpmaker angle, then use the Sharpmaker once you know it's reaching the apex.... (basically what lonestar1979 said).
 
cbwx34 said:
Usually the sandpaper is used if all you have is the standard med/fine stones that come with the Sharpmaker. Since you already have and used the diamond stones, you might not find the sandpaper to be of much use... unless you got some that was really coarse... like 120 or more coarse, and the type for metal (usually at an auto parts store) works best. (Then you might run the risk of scratching the blade if that matters).

You can get a fairly inexpensive coarse stone at a hardware store or online... a coarse AO or SiC stone would help. Even if you leaned it against the Sharpmaker stone to maintain the angle... you would have the advantage of more surface area, which might speed up the process. Or (better idea), you can lay it down and sharpen at an angle lower than the Sharpmaker angle, then use the Sharpmaker once you know it's reaching the apex.... (basically what lonestar1979 said).
Click to expand...

I see, that seems like a good idea, using the Sharpmaker as a rest to maintain the angle. I’ll order a coarse stone then!

Recommendations for a coarse stone that will lay on a Sharpmaker are greatly appreciated!
 
Mitch Taldison said:
Okay so I did the sharpie trick and put it all over the edge and ran it over the diamond rod for several hundred passes per side.

The sharpie is staying put, this thing LITERALLY has a butter knife edge. So I’ve heard of people putting sandpaper around the Sharpmaker rods... what grit(s) and what type of sandpaper should I use for this?
Click to expand...
Hi,

No color removed at all?
Butter knife edge, how many millimeters is that ?
Its not too hard to eyeball a half or a third of a mm with a simple ruler.

So you did one 3 minutes session on 20 degree setting ?
Did you use lube (water)?

I suggest you shim the sharpmaker to about a 45 degree (raise by ~3.5inch or ~9cm)
and give it one 3min session
and see how much progress you make,
you'll be surprised
 
Norton economy sil carbide stones can be bought at home hardware for cheap,use that to thin it out and reprofile,then sharpmaker to get a micro bevel on it.Grind on stone untill you get the burr on both sides.I thinned mine a lot on belt sander,then polished the sides on waterstones and strop and sharpened it on sil carbide medium,cuts like crazy now,their out of factory edge sucks as theres no edge at all lol.Have another okapi,keychain knife,similar thing,have to put it on beltsander,its sharpened on sharpmaker,it cuts paper,but the bevel is simply too thick almost equal at top and bottom lol.once you regrind them theyre ok knives,i order them online so couldnt see them in person,but some of them are better than others,have other one nib that has decent edge and better quality overall.
 
These knives as they come out of box are too thick behind the edge and dont have actual edge on it lol.Even if you got the edge on it now,my sugestion is to thin the primary grind on stone too,then it will be much better cutter.
 
Thanks, all. It does not appear the edge is so sharp as I first imagined it was. I’m going to buy a coarse stone and try and thin it, as others have suggested. Kind of a pain in the neck, these are $15 so the same price as an Opinel (which comes wickedly sharp) yet has a butter knive’s edge?? Hrrrmmmm.....
 
On the plus side, you'd be the only one around with a folding pocket butter knife....If the need arises...
One never knows when the call for buttered toast can hit....
 
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