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Quick blade maintenance.

C

cpro48609

Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Messages
2
Hello all,

New to the forum. I have a small collection of folders and I just added a Benchmade 470-1 carbon fiber Osbourne which i'm really starting to like. I've been bitten by the sharpening gadget bug too lol. I've purchased way to many different sharpeners over the years. Nothing too grand lately just a ken onion work sharp system. I was eyeing the wicked edge which looks cool, but embarrassed to say I purchased an Edgepro Apex long ago thats been in storage ever since. I looked for it the other day but can't find it yet lol. It'll feel like Christmas when I do.

Question is what is the best way to maintain a good edge after your knife is sharpened to your satisfaction? I just use it really for general daily tasks. Opening letters, the occasional box, plastic packaging, etc. Some other stuff as needed but nothing crazy or damaging. Given this, should I just strop the blade every week or so? Use a kitchen steel? I really don't know what the best 'quick maintenance' method is so I'm hoping this forum can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance,

Terry
 
I strop my work knife every day. It gets a good workout during my eight hour shift opening 50 pound paper type bags of materials for paper coating and cutting/prepping rolls of paper for coating.
I use black and green compound just to "freshen" up the knife. I usually give it a good sharpening every couple of weeks using my Lansky system followed by stropping of course.
 
Stropping compound over a hard backing is the easiest way to keep an edge clean. Compound on a sheet of paper wrapped around the coarse side of a bench stone, compound on balsa. Something hard enough to let the compound remove steel without rounding the edge (too much). Backhoning on the softer grades of waterstone is real effective too though technically a little more demanding.

This kind of maintenance is what led me to make the sharpening block linked through my signature.
 
A kitchen steel is good for simple carbon steel but might actually be bad for harder stuff. A ceramic rod? (for portability)
 
Another stropper here. I strop my knives on green compound leather and then plain smooth leather often. Keeps them sharp in between sharpenings without unnecessary metal removal.
 
For daily edge renewal this compact little tool is hard to beat. The angle is adjustable from 14 to 40 degrees inclusive, in increments of 1 degree and so will match the cutting edge of most any sharp edged tool.
DSC02296-001.JPG
 
I use paper wheels to reprofile to 30 inclusive. After reprofiling, I touch up on the spyderco double stuff, creating a micro bevel. A strop with AlOx helps along the way as well.
 
I guess I'm just comfortable with stones, but I keep a 8000 in my bathroom and a 8000 at work, i polish daily for about 1 minute each knife (work), and pocket knives I polish about once a week. Takes about 30 seconds for touch ups.

I noticed with daily polishing, it never dulls and I don't have to remove much steel from the blade.
I have a yanagi that's about 5 years old but about as long and wide as a new one, yet it's used nearly daily all day and night.
I almost don't even want to go lower grit...
 
abey67 said:
Sharpmake and a strop is all you need.
Click to expand...

I am fairly new to the knife world. Got my first legitimate folder 2 years ago and haven't stopped. Accumulated all kinds of knives from sprint run spydercos to a Sebenza 21. I use my folders for light to medium tasks, such as opening packaging, cutting down thick cardboard, food prep, outdoors use, etc. Sharpmaker and strop never failed me. Invest in diamond stones and ultra fine stones paired with a strop and you are set.
 
You can use the 6000 grit belt on the ken onion...maybe 4 passes on each side med speed or slower, alternating strokes
 
I use stropping every two or three days. I knife doesn't get a lot of work every day. Because my job is animal control shelter manager. I am mostly in the office.

Roger
 
For a fast and easy edge touchup I use my Sharpmaker. Here is a great video by Sal Glasser, the Spyderco Big Cheese, about what was Spyderco's first product, the Sharpmaker. This is four part video set which I encourage you to watch.

I don't strop, just a couple of passes on the very fine ceramic rods does the trick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB0r6GvESGg
 
I would second that the Spyderco Sharpmaker is hard to beat in easy edge maintenance, pretty portable, easy setup, perfect angle control every time no matter where on the blade you need the touchup and no funny clamps etc. Even the extra fine stones though will leave a burr, a tiny one but it is there, even after the lightest strokes.

For convex edges, my favourites, I like stropping on hard backing and I so for scandi grinds as well.
 
I see all these different ideas going around and I had a question pertaining to this.

I was at a sporting good store something with fish in the name and the guy who was behind the counter where they sell the knives said don't use a machine. What is everyones take on this? He said something to the effect don't use it on a Benchmade. I asked because of the heat and the reply back was "Yes". Now my take on this is that a machine should not generate that much heat in the steel to change the property of the steel.
 
wfs29223 said:
I see all these different ideas going around and I had a question pertaining to this.

I was at a sporting good store something with fish in the name and the guy who was behind the counter where they sell the knives said don't use a machine. What is everyones take on this? He said something to the effect don't use it on a Benchmade. I asked because of the heat and the reply back was "Yes". Now my take on this is that a machine should not generate that much heat in the steel to change the property of the steel.
Click to expand...

You can use a belt sander and get as good an edge (working edge) as a stone, IF you know what you are doing. A lot quicker and easier to screw up on powered machines.

If you go too slow on your passes or don't cool down blade between passes, you could screw up the temper. So it's not really the machine generating the heat, it is more the human operating the machine that can change the temper.
 
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