ruining the factory edge

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nephildevil

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Anybody on here who is also extremely carefull the first few days/weeks with new knives, because they don't want to ruin the shavin edge that they "might" not be able to return once it is gone?

I am using/learning how to sharpen with sandpaper,i get knives razor sharp, but there is razor sharp and razor sharp :p. i still doubt it ever be so succesfull as some factory edges.

I intend to buy a spyderco sharpmaker too, sometime in the future. If that thing can get an edge as sharp as a new spiderco, it is worth considering.
 
practice, practice, practice. After you take a Spyderco down to 16 degrees inclusive or similar and give it a hair whittling sharp polish you'll start to wonder how you ever used those thick factory grinds.

First thing I do when I know a knife is a keeper is sharpen it. Spyderco does have wonderful factory sharpness (My Stretch 2 was particularly impressive) but I'd be missing out on some wonderful cutting ability if I left my UKPK at the factory edge angle.
 
I rarely find a factory edge to my liking. They are usually....not always...but usually either not sharp enough or set at too great an angle. The first thing I do is take it down to 15 degrees per side on diamond stones and finish up on the Sharpmaker.
 
I doubt you will get them as sharp with sandpaper. You will get it sharp and the edge a bit rounded. That makes an edge more solid.

To make it short: I give nothing about the factory edge. All of my blades came out better after some resharpenings.

A ceramic stick is a nice feature to prolong the time between two resharpenings and ceramic can add a nice bite on edges. But that all is not enough for a SM to me. I sold mine but would consider the white rods every time.
 
i do use a honing steel alot, but before i actually try resharpening a knife with sandpaper or a stone it takes a while.
 
If you cannot or do not sharpen by hand, get a good sharpening jig.

I have had great success with a DMT Aligner Jig.
It brings the bevel to razor sharp.
 
Lycosa said:
I finally sharpen like the Pro's---Belt sander and buffer!!
Click to expand...

The only way to do it! I've become a true believer in a belt sander for sharpening - it's so much easier, faster, and gives a fantastic edge! :thumbup:
And the buffer shines things up real nice!
 
I really do not feel the knife is mine until I sharpen it.So while a sharp edge from the factory is nice I care more about how easy it is to sharpen and how it holds an edge than how sharp it is when I buy it.
 
The first thing I do when I get a new knife is give it a good sharpening. I get the edge angle and geometry where I want it, then give it a fine polish so that it will shave hair with only the slightest touch. I've never been impressed with factory edges and if you know what you are doing you can do far better. Right now I like using DMT duo stones and follow up with a strop with Flitz rubbed in. Sharpening by hand on a flat stone takes some practice so that you get a consistant sharpening angle each time you make a pass, in addition you have to learn how to adjust as you move on curved parts of the blade. Then of course there are recurved edges and serrated edges which are even more difficult. If you do it right with a fine polish your edge will last much longer with use than a factory edge will last.
 
Learn how to sharpen and soon you'll be regarding factory edges with scorn. :p

Let’s see if we can find the right forum …
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Factory edges are put on by factories :) which is to say they are put on using processes optimized for speed. I don't trust the strength of factory edges since hurried processes can induce strain related weaknesses in the fine edge. The edges are never sharp enough for me either. The first thing I do with knives is to reprofile and resharpen them to a more acute angle.
 
Jeff Clark said:
Factory edges are put on by factories :) which is to say they are put on using processes optimized for speed. I don't trust the strength of factory edges since hurried processes can induce strain related weaknesses in the fine edge. The edges are never sharp enough for me either. The first thing I do with knives is to reprofile and resharpen them to a more acute angle.
Click to expand...

+1 on that response.

First thing I do with a new blade is get rid of the factory edge as I do not trust it and usually do not like it. I place little emphasis on Out Of The Box sharpness when evaluating a knife.
 
Vivi said:
practice, practice, practice. After you take a Spyderco down to 16 degrees inclusive...
Click to expand...

Vivi---That's 8° per side. I suspect that would make a weak general-purpose edge. What do you use such an edge for?
 
I almost never like the factory edges . I prefer a convex edge, honed, and polished. A lot of the seem sharp out of the box. but its a wire edge that`s usally dull within a few days.
 
There are usin' knives and there are collection knives. Things I collect never get touched, while knives I plan on using always get retouched. Only in very few cases of Scandi knives and Custom knives have I not gotten a new knife that didn't need some sort of touch-up.
 
I just got two BRKT knives (Aurora and Canadian Camp) and the first thing I did was sharpenning the Aurora (sandpaper and then stropping) because it wasn't sharp at all. The Canadian Camp was ok so I just stropped it a little bit.
Don't worry about sharpenning knives, even if they are new... you will probably (with time) get better edges than the factory ones.

Mikel
 
I never worry about "ruining" a factory edge when I get a new knife because the edge is already ruined. I always sharpen a new knife before I carry it because I have never bought a knife that was sharp, out of the box. At least not sharp enough to suit me.
 
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