Sharpening an Emerson Prod. Knife

[longbow]

Well I guess I will post this little discertation on sharpening my CQC7A, Commander, and Mach1. When I rec. the knives I was not to enamoured with the edges. Not what I would call sharp out of the box, with the Commander being the best of the 3 but still not really hair shaving sharp. My bitching about QC issues aside I can see how these knives tend to grow on people.

Here is what I do to make these edges perform. I am not saying this is the only way to get them sharp but it is what I do and all 3 knives now pop hair on both sides of the blade. The equipment I am using for getting them thus is a Lansky Diamond hone set. I use tape along the spine of the knife so as not to mark the finish. The CQC and the Mach are SF, and the Commander is Black Ti or whatever the finish is. First off because the grind seems to be so steep towards the back of the blade near the pivot and shallower towards the point end I have reprofiled the CQC and the Mach1 with the extra course hone. I also use the thumb screw type of screw device to lock the blades in. This is important I believe. The reason being is that the knurled thumb clamp with the plastic screw cap just doesn't give enough of a cantel to the edge. It will bottom out when screwed down tightly before the correct angle is attained.

I then start with the hones set at 30 deg and use the extra coarse first. Keep it oiled very well when doing this. Messy but it can't be helped. Start from the choil and work towards the front. This will take a while but keep at it and be careful not to run up over the edge. You will see the edge starting to become a very coarse type of sharp. I was never really able to develop a true burr along the edge on the back side but this seems to be of no concern. You will see a true meaty type of an edge develop and almost serrated looking. Stay with the extra coarse here. Flip the knife over and hit the back side of the V with the same hone at 30 deg's still. Only a couple of times though. Then use the very bottom angle of 17 deg and go over the back several times and then hit it again a couple of times at 30. Repeat this sequence several times with the extra coarse hone on both the front and back while using successively lighter pressure each time. You will be able to feel the edge develop a very good bity edge.

Repeat the same process with the coarse, and the med. Now the edge should be pretty darn grabby and sharp. What I do next I think is key. I have small hand held stones that I use for the final step. ONe is a med and one is a fine. Run the edge up and down hone has you would noramly sharpen a knife but have a steeper and more acute angle, ie 30 deg. Do this litely and voila a scary sharp edge that shaves hair but has a real bite to it. You must keep the stones oiled as well or you will get a drag on the knife and for some reason they won't come out as well if you stall the knife on the stone doing this final step. You coudl probably strop the edge here too but I don't have one. A pain in the ass to do but the reward is an extremely sharp and biting edge that just seems to cut and is rugged as all hell. It also seems to straighten the uneveness to the edge out using the Lansky. Makes it all equal up and down the edge. Looks stock too. The Commander I have was the best as for an equal edge all the way up and down the knife as therefore seemed to be the easiest to sharpen. Anyways now if I can only figure out how the keep my Commander's blade from hitting the liners? Hope all this helps some one out as I did find it very frustrating that they weren't sharp out of the box as what I thought they should be. Keep'em sharp and Happy New Year.

 

[blade man]

i use a spyderco sharpmaker, set the stones at 40 degrees, and angle the knife a little. kind of a pain, but it works for me. besides, chisel ground edges never feel as sharp as a double ground blade, and they don't shave as well. my .02

 

[SIFU1A]

on my chisel grinds, i freehand go away from the edge on a norton fine india stone untill i get a burr, then use a steel to strop the burr, then use a spydie ultra fine ceramic to polish it out untill its razor sharp, works on my knives (BM 975SBT, CQC7, and commander, though the commander takes a little diff procedure)

sifu

 

[davesprtgds]

I use a Kalamazoo slack belt grinder with an aftermarket angle clamp attached to the platen.I usually use a 220 grit belt.Sometimes it is necessary to use a coarser belt on things like a bayonet or similarly ground edge.For shears,scissors and like delicate edges I use either a 15 or 30 micron belt.After I determine what angle to use ,set the angle adjuster,select the proper belt,and finally turn on the machine.If something like this strikes your fancy,check out the knife-makers suppliers like Koval's or Jantz's supply.This takes a LOT of practice and is VERY dangerous!Nothing like rotating equipment spinning at 3200 rpm and a sharp edge being grabbed and flung at the operator.As for the coup de gras,I use an 8 inch spiral wound buffing wheel on a Baldor buffer.I touch a cake of white jeweler's rouge to it every now and then.Too much rouge and you get a mirror polish.Too little and you don't take off the wire edge.This for academic purposes only.It does not constitute an endorsement for the novice or non-skilled person(s).Big Wave Dave OUT

 

[Emerson Guy]

I used to use a sharp maker but i couldn't get my mach1 or commander sharp at all. Got an edgepro apex and it's truely a Godsend. I dare anyone who claims "chisel ginds don't shave or feel sharp" co come run any of my chisel ground knives down there arm. I ended up buying a "diamond rod" to sharpen the commander and still can't get satisfactory results. I think it's getting sent back to EKI to be resharpened and taken out of my EDC rotation