Queen D2 steel, how do you sharpen yours?

Double Ott

Double Ott

Joined
Jan 3, 2011
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I have two Queen folders. Both have D2 steel blades. They both have the infamous toothy sharp, can't push cut a piece of copy papper edges on them. I played around for awhile with my Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker with one of them. It didn't do much for the edge.
I admit that I must not have been in the right frame of mind to tackle sharping D2 that day. I decided after little improvement on the edge to just put them aside for awhile.

Since then, I have acquired two small DMT diamond hones, a fine (600 Grit) and a very fine (1200 grit) which I haven't tried on them yet.

I'm just wondering what you guys use to put a sweet edge on your Queen D2 blades. I have read it takes some work, but the results are very satisfying. Any thoughts or help out there?

My Queens are the two on the bottom a gunstock and a stockman. They are finished nicely, to bad the edges suck big time.



Thanks, Tom
 
Diamond Stones to re-profile to the point I can use the Sharpmaker. Works pretty well for me. I have the same knives.
Nice knives you got there, by the way.
 
I use a belt sander and then maintain with leather hone and black compound.

Alternatively, Spyderco has diamond stones for the sharpmaker.
 
BTW, nice lineup of knives. I love stag! Oh who am I kidding, I love any of the natural materials!
 
If they need reprofiling, I use a belt sander to set the edge.
Then a 600 grit diamond bench stone, followed by a 1200 grit diamond hone and stropping.
 
I don't, because it never gets dull!




Lol, just joking, I use a norton pike stone. It is the fastest cutting stone I have ever owned and doesn't get smooth with use like diamond.
 
I use some DMT coarse paddles to get rid of the obtuse factory edge, then use either diamond or ceramic fine stones and end with a strop.
 
6 inch diamond bench stones to re-profile, then Aluminum Oxide stones to maintain.
 
WOW!! Thanks guys for all the help, advice and kind words. It is greatly appreciated. Now I know what to expect as I move forward. I have never used a belt on a V grind edge before. I always thought that it would convex the edge...Not that it is a bad thing, I have 60+ Bark Rivers that have a convex edge that I love.

Derrick, thank you for the nice words and letting me know about the diamond stones for the SharpMaker. That just might be the cats a$$ for a V ground edge.

My regards guys, Tom
 
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New bevels can be done quickly with a C/F diamond hone. That's my preference there, for D2. For all maintenance beyond that, I've come to like using hard-backed wet/dry sandpaper, used like a strop. This will gradually convex the bevels over time. I strop on either/both of 600-grit silicon carbide and green compound (both are powder, mixed w/mineral oil), used on balsa. I sometimes follow that with stropping on the sueded side of my leather belt, both with green compound and also bare. The belt serves as my on-the-spot touch-up tool, after using the knife.


David
 
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I just ordered a set of diamond stones for my SharpMaker from Derrick at KSF. I can use these on the Queen D2 and some Hess fixed blades that I have.

Your Order Contains...
Cart Items SKU Qty Item Price Item Total
Spyderco: Tri-Angle Stones - Pair of Diamond

spy204D_5778 1 $56.21 USD $56.21 USD

Thanks for the heads up Derrick, Tom
 
My biggest gripe about Queen D2 isn't the degree of sharpness as much as it is the oblique angle of the bevel.

Like several others, I use a Diamond DMT stone (Extra Coarse) for changing the edge bevel. Once the bevel is set to the correct angle, I use a Sharpmaker for final sharpening and for edge maintenance.

I've tried wrapping sandpaper around the Sharpmaker stones for changing edge angles. That works OK, too. I use 120-Grit Aluminum Oxide paper did well. (Garnet ain't going to work. Silicon Carbide paper would work.)
 
Tom, you know what is funny? I didn't even know we had those stones! :) Funny thing about having competent people who do their job well!
 
DMT Aligner from E course to E Fine
This is how I painlessly rebevel all my many Queen D2 knives
From obtuse to wonderfully acute
The Queen D2 holds a very good edge at a quite acute angle
 
I don't recommend the diamond stones for the Sharpmaker: they still take too long to reprofile, which seems is what you need to do to your knives. There are several methods that are more efficient, as already suggested by others. I use stones clipped to my Sharpmaker to set the edge angles (320 and 400 grit). D2 takes but a few minutes on those and the blade is sharp after the 400 grit. I have Mouldmaker, from Congress tools, which are very cheap. After sharpening on the stones, use the regular steps on the medium and fine stones on the Sharpmaker to refine the edge. After that, the Sharpmaker is enough to maintain the edge, and with occasional touch-ups you'll never have to resharpen it again.
 
D2 responds well to coarser hones, although it can take a polished edge. Dick Persons, a noted Yukon outfitter, always honed his D2 blades with the coarsest hone he had. They would snick through caribou knee joints like magic. I usually use a DMT coarse (blue) to create a burr, then red to take it off. The ultra-fine (green) hone doesn't seem to add much.
 
All but a couple of my Queen purchases have required blade reprofiles before sharpening.

For that, I use my Lansky setup. I go up to the polishing stone, then finish with a strop for the fine cutters. I have found that I also like D2's toothiness when I stop at 600 - 800 gr on the larger blades.

Unless I have done something that really taxed the cutting edge or have gone too long without a touchup, I don't think I have resharpened any of my Queen D2. A few passes on the strop loaded with some green compound brings the edges right back.

Robert

Robert
 
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