serrated edge sharpening

T

Talley1013

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Oct 15, 2010
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What advice can you guys give me about sharpening serrations?

I have never been a fan of serrated blades but I have one in my multi-tool and it has come in handy a few times and I would like it to be sharp again. I used it to cut some woven plastic sheeting that was full of dirt and obviously it got super dull.

I bought a tapered diamond rod made for serrated edges but I'm not having much luck. I have no problem getting screaming sharp edges on plain blade knives and I know the fundamentals of sharpening but something just isn't clicking with the serrated blade. I ran the rod through the serrations until I had a burr then knocked the burr off the back side with my DMT fine stone. The blade is sharp by normal standards but certainly not as sharp as I would like it to be. What tricks do you guys use to sharpen you serrated knives?
 
Some tips:

With the diamond rod, make sure to keep pressure extremely light, as if brushing some dust from the edge. Diamond cuts very aggressively, so going about it gently makes a big difference. And for serrations, you won't likely need a very coarse diamond. Use something toward the finer end of the abrasive range.

After the diamond, I'd follow up with one or two grades of ceramic (med/fine or fine/xtra-fine). That does a better job cleaning up burrs (with an edge-leading stroke), and will polish the serrations somewhat. As with the diamond, light pressure is best.

Wet/dry sandpaper is a perfect tool for this job. Wrap some finer grit paper (600 to 2000 grit) around a rod, dowel or around the radiused (rounded) edge of a wooden block. Using the paper in a sequence (600/800/1000/1200/1500/2000) will further polish and refine the edge.

You can even strop the serrations, after the other sharpening stages. Any number of ways to do this, such as wrapping some thin leather around a dowel/rod, or around the rounded edge of a wooden block. Even paper will work, with compound or not (try some folded/rolled up newsprint). Try some polishing compound with your 'strop'. Something like Simichrome/Flitz works very well. You have many options here, too (diamond paste/spray, green compound, etc.).

I will re-emphasize LIGHT PRESSURE. Using a corner/rounded edge of a block, ceramic or diamond hone exerts a lot of pressure on a very small area. Too much pressure will roll/chip the edge on most any knife.
 
I get good results using the tapered diamond rod. Hold the knife in a (padded) vise if possible and use a Sharpie. A few light passes held almost flat to the backside for getting rid of most of the resulting burr. Strop on leather (per above post) or some compound on thin rope/cord pulled taught works well for a final touch. You can also strop on undressed hemp, jute, or manila rope/cord and it'll remove the burrs fairly well without the possibility of smoothing out the points. Serrations are the one area of sharpening where I don't sweat a burr or two.

HH
 
Thanks guys. I had a little bit of a breakthrough today! I am getting the serrations sharp like I want. It's like any other aspect of sharpening-you have to practice, have patience and use light pressure!
 
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