ParaFrame

D

Dan Amos

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
67
Anyone besides me have trouble sharpening a Gerber ParaFrame?
Their site says it is 400 Series Stainless Steel.
I say it's a BEAR to try & get sharp.
Tried the SharpMaker, & The Warthog so far - No edge.
I have a set of crock sticks to try, then I gotta go to the Lansky & try something.
What a pain. Gerbers usually sharpen up fast & easy for me. Not this bugger.
It belongs to a friend. Bad thing is, I have one Just like it I'll eventually have to go thru this all over again with mine!
 
The cheap Gerbers really aren't very good knives. When the steel is so suspect that they simply call it 400 Series, how can you expect it to be anything approaching actual quality? I had a LST (a few actually, 2 had lock issues) that I couldn't get sharp either, and not for lack of ability. I think the problem was that the steel was so soft that it had a permanent burr that I couldn't get rid of. I could get the knife somewhat sharp if I used an extremely coarse stone (which made it more a saw than a knife), but trying to get a normal edge on it was futile.

The Paraframe is especially junky. It's a framelock, but the frame is weaker than most linerlocks. If you want to do your friend a real favor (and yourself), get him a Kabar Dozier folder for $20, or a Benchmade Red Class knive (like a Mini-Pika), or a Spyderco Byrd line. Far superior quality for marginally more money.
 
I don't think the Paraframe is worth your time trying to get sharp. Consider it an improvement over a restuarant knife, but that's about it. I found mine really stainless, so it either has huge amounts of chromium (I doubt), or very little carbon.
 
I also have a friend that had one of these, he gave it to me to try and sharpen and no go.I used most of the sharpening systems that you have described. He ended buying a sog flash which doesnt have the hardest steel but the damn thing will sharpen.
 
You can only take those so far and then you just have to accept it where it is. Basically like any of the '400' series, IE, 420J2, 425MOD, or "Surgical Stainless" blades they take a crappy edge to begin with and don't hold it for very long after that. They do resist rust well though. Most all the time anymore when I buy a blade out of any of these above mentioned steels I always make sure it is a combo edge at least and usually a fully serrated one because at least that way they do cut worth a darn. For that matter I usually get a combo edge in my blades when they are 420HC, 440A, B or C, 154CM or ATS34 also because these steels, though better than any of the above mentioned 400 series steels, still in my opinion take a crappy edge but at least they keep that crappy edge for a very long time once you get it there.
 
well it is my name sake but I also think it sucks, but it is a good first "real" knife and will not rust (but never be sharp eather) the only way I got mine to cut well was agresive reprofiling of the blade.
 
I had a Paraframe. I don't have it anymore. If you want a GOOD inexpensive knife, get a Spyderco Native at Walmart!

Ron
 
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