Sharpening a CRKT M16?

[ChaosKitten]

I've seen a lot of recommendations for the Spyderco Sharpmaker as a great sharpening tool, but is it the right tool for the job of touching up the chisel ground edge on my CRKT M16? I'm not certain what the angle on the factory edge for my M16 is, but I would doubt that it is the same as the fixed angles on the Sharpmaker. Should I really be concerned about keeping the factory angle?

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[Johan]

ChaosKitten, the best way to sharpen a chisel grind is on a bench stone, simply follow the existing angle. The new Sharpmaker 204 allows you to put the rods together flat and creates a ceramic benchstone so you can use the Sharpmaker. You are correct though that the pre-set angles (15 and 20 degrees) are not correct for chisel grinds (25 to 30 degrees is the norm). While I believe that bench stones are best, you can sharpen chisel grinds on the Lansky style sharpners, although I find it very tedious. It can also be done on an Apex sharpener (which is fairly easy but the system is not cheap!). Remember the key to sharpening a chisel grind is to sharpen one side only and then GENTLY remove the burr fromthe opposite edge. A couple of light strokes at about 1 or 2 degrees will do the job. Hope this helps.

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