Sharpener for ESEE?

T

torchrider

Joined
Jul 27, 2010
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OK, I now have an RC-3 and Izula. How do you recommend sharpening them? I was thinking of getting a couple of stones and learn how to do it that way. If you recommend that course of action, can you recommend some stones to get (brand/grit)? If you recommend another sharpening method, please let me know.

Dave
 
Spyderco Sharpmaker is the easiest. If you want to learn freehand I recommend Norton India Stones. I use this one "ICS8 Combination Fine-Coarse India Stone" here http://www.nortonstones.com/benchstones.aspx I truly think more people would sharpen free hand if they started with a Norton stone. I always finish and touch up with the Sharpmaker these days though.
 
I definitely recommend learning to sharpen on a stone as it's a fantastic skill to have, just remember it takes time to learn. Start off by practicing with a beater knife or less expensive one, then move up. If i were you i would also pick up some ceramic rods just for touch ups.
 
I have been using the hunter honer with great sucess, not much skill required and fits in a pocket for field touch ups
 
I use a DMT diafold fine/xfine for touchups and have a 10" oilbath tristone for major repairs.
 
DMT benchstones and a leather strop with compound. Razor edge in minutes. You can also reprofile any knife steel out there really quick.
 
I use a sharpmaker and it works pretty well, but I want to learn free hand sharpening. I have a dmt duofold on order and figure its a nice cheap way to learn to freehand sharpen my izula :)
 
I have an old 8" soft Arkansas stone when I need to do a big repair. Otherwise, I use the Sharpmaker (diamond through ultra fine) for most sharpening and touch ups. Has worked well on my Izula. If I drag a hair just right, it'll whittle.

If you have the money, a full set of DMT bench stones and a strop would be hard to beat.
 
Diamonds are my first suggestion because they are extremely effective and don't dish or wear out like other sharpening mediums.

The stones you choose is very important for the steels you sharpen, as different abrasives will have different effect on different steels. Diamonds and ceramics though very effective with nearly any steel don't do the best with carbon steels.

Sandpaper on glass, norton Sic or india stones, water stones, or natural stones all seem to provide a better finish and edge to carbon steels.

To get your feet wet I would second the norton suggestion or go with sandpaper on glass.
 
I'll be the first to recommend a good field stone aswell. The fallkniven DC4: It has a rough (gold) diamond side and smooth black ceramic side. It's too small (1in X 4in) to do any serious repair on a blade or to reprofile, but for edge maintenance and touch-ups while away from home it is just perfect. Comes in a snazzy little leather pouch too!

They are around $28 canadian (i'm sure you could find it cheaper though)

+1 on learning to freehand aswell, I've never used an "easy" sharpen system and taught myself stone sharpening through trial and error with some crappy knives for practice
 
I use a Fallkniven DC3 for in the field. It is smaller than the dc4 (another good choice) but is great as a touch up sharpener. Two small tacks in the pouch allow you to secure it to a log and get a better even result. Otherwise, at home it is three bench stones of 600/1200/2000 grit. Get a very good edge with those.
 
I would recommend either the Sharpmaker or the Lansky Diamond System. I've used both and they'll get your blades razor sharp every time.
 
always wanted to try the DMT sharpening system, always heard good things about it. How's it compare to the lansky system?
 
A+++ on the Spyderco Sharpmaker! I've used several others including the Smith's Diamond Sharpening System, and I found the best success with the Sharpmaker. I'm not going to beat a dead horse as there is a wealth of good reviews on the product on Blade Forums and all over Youtube, but it has my vote!

PS you even get a video with it, how can you mess that up? LOL
 
messer454 said:
Spyderco Sharpmaker is the easiest. If you want to learn freehand I recommend Norton India Stones. I use this one "ICS8 Combination Fine-Coarse India Stone" here http://www.nortonstones.com/benchstones.aspx I truly think more people would sharpen free hand if they started with a Norton stone. I always finish and touch up with the Sharpmaker these days though.
Click to expand...
I have been using Nortons combination stones for over 30+ years. My 1st one (the one I first got good results from) I still have, and after 30 years still looks like new. I threw out all of the pited, scooped out arkansas junk, and never had much luck with diamond stones. I'm still stickin with my nortons. Their Tri stone in fantastic for swords.!! enjoy. edgy :thumbup:
 
Starting out with this much cardboard
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and ending with this much left
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The izula was pretty darn dull. I spent about 10 minutes with the sharpmaker Medium => Fine => Extra Fine and ended back up with these results.
22f64e78.jpg

36447f6c.jpg


I am a firm believer in the Spyderco system. I've used the lansky and Smith guided systems with sub-par results. Others have had great results, to each their own. I also use an Edge Pro Apex 3 kit for any big job (reprofiling or getting out chips) but strickly use the Sharpmaker for everything else.

Good luck with finding the system that is right for you. It is always good to know how to sharpen freehand but I could never keep a stead enough hand doing it to get consistent results.
 
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