Sharp Question

I've noticed slightly different angles as well, so I usually just eye it on my Lansky to which is closest and sharpen. I try and stay with the factory edge as much as possible. I also Strop very often or touch up on a ceramic rod when I'm not at home. I try to avoid sharpening a ton.
 
Sharpmaker is what is used when I owned Emerson's. If I remember correctly I done 6-10 strokes on the edge and then laid the knife almost flat and done 1-2 strokes on the other side. I would repeat until sharp and progress through the the rods and then strop.
 
So far I used sharp maker and the marker on the edge. Worked well for me. I have some shaptons but I'm skeptical about being able to get the recurve.

Have the strops and CBN emulsion
 

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Lycosa said:
Thanks for the pix, John.
Don't you all just love a sharp knife?
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Absolutely, I used to be afraid to sharpen a good quality knife (scared I might ruin the blade LOL) but after I got the hang of it I actually enjoy doing it.

~John
 
I actually messed some up.
I needed more practice on junkers before I moved up.
 
Yeah practicing on junkers first is always a safe bet, I did that also.

I have both a Wicked Edge Pro with extra stones & the leather strops, & the Ken Onion Worksharp with the blade grinding attachment & belts up to & including a leather belt..

I do occasional sharpening for a local gun/knife shop to make a few bucks. That shop is kinda funny. I had never heard of the shop until last year even though it has been around here for years. My son (who is a college football coach after playing FB himself for 4 years in college) was working a temp summer job last year mainly to help out a family friend who had a death in her family.

My son (now 26 years old) has a half dozen Emersons. I bought him a CQC-11 a few years ago & that hooked him on Emersons. While he was working the temp job, he came home one day & said that he worked with a black dude that had an awesome knife collection. He had something like 20 Emersons in the collection but had never really gotten the hang of sharpening.

My son showed him the mirror edge on his commander & the guy said "OMG that's awesome, can you sharpen mine like that??" He told him that he didn't sharpen it, that I did & then the guy asked "do you think your dad would sharpen a couple knives for me??" I told my kid to bring a few home with him & I would knock them out for free.

He stopped at my house after work & left me a Patriot & a very pretty rosewood Sebenza. I did them up nice for him & he was ecstatic with the result. When I met the dude in person 3 weeks later, he was a GREAT GUY. He is 6'7" tall with multiple tattoos & dread locks half the way down his back. I am maybe 5'6" tall, so the 2 of us look kinda funny together LOL.

Well it turned out that this guy was best friends with the owner of the knife/gun shop & he showed him the new edges on those two knives. The owner was impressed with the edges also & called me up to bs a little. It turned out the guy had never really gotten the hang of sharpening a knife either & asked me if I would do some side work for him.

I said sure as long as he didn't overwhelm me with work. I also told him not to bring me a $5000 custom knife as I didn't want to be responsible for something like that. He has been sending me work ever since & that whole thing has worked out great for both of us.

I sharpen freehand now with the Worksharp & the blade grinding attachment. I can get a blade just as sharp with that as I can with the WickedEdge & it is 100 times faster. I very rarely use the WickedEdge anymore.


~John
 
Yeah I do love a sharp knife! It sucks if they're not wicked sharp; that edge looks wicked John, I have always been curious about that sharpener but never got one; I guess there is something like a ritual when sharpening by hand; but seeing the results is another matter, nice. And that's a cool story btw.
 
I free hand mine on a DMT 600 "stone" and get an edge as good as factory.
 
Lycosa said:
Thank you, Dale.
Do you prefer the zero grind?
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It depends on what I'm gonna be doing. I use the zero grind 7A at work in the warehouse. I'm kinda careful about cutting with it, but the only thing I try to avoid is having to twist the blade to get the edge in a cutting position. Lateral stress on the edge is my only real concern. The knives are so sharp that they'll easily cut straight down, even through very tough synthetic material like thick zip ties. I don't have any worries there. I try not to use them to cut tight pallet strapping where I have to slide the blade flat under a strap and then twist the blade up to cut the strap.

I have found that the edges are tougher than I thought they'd be. I haven't damaged an edge yet and the sharpness has held up pretty well so far. Emerson's 154CM may not be a class with M4 or M390, but it gives a good account of itself for edge holding and toughness the way he does the HT, even with a zero grind.
 
I have good results from the Spyderco Sharpmaker with mine but honestly I would rather have the Lansky system because some of the Emerson edges don't sharpen at the straight up and down but rather at an angle. It does give a good mirror finish when it's done and is very sharp but I would rather use the Lansky because it can hold that angle that I want and I don't have to worry if I am holding the "tilt" the whole time. I find the Spyderco better for V-ground knives. Those I can get to a super razor edge
 
Not sure if this is the subject anymore but I strop more than anything and have pretty good results. The Emerson grind is a little difficult at first to strop for a right-hander but once it's learned it does a pretty good job for maintenance.

I've never gotten an Emerson B back to factory sharpness though. That requires a trip back home.
 
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