hey guys, I recently picked up an Endura 4 as an upgrade to my G10 cara cara and I'm having some difficulty getting it as sharp as my other spyderco knives. I sharpened it at 20 degrees per side on medium/fine and it will shave but its far from the hair popping spyderco goodness I've grown accustomed to. I love the knife and all around its a big step up from the cara cara, but its been a while since I've carried a knife that wouldn't push cut newsprint. With a little work even the cara cara could accomplish that. Is the edge geometry on the endura more obtuse than the cara cara or something of that nature? any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.
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Sharpening an Endura
- Thread starter Sevorius
- Start date
yes it is the VG-10 model. on closer inspection it appears that the cara cara has a hollow saber grind vs the flat saber grind on the endura, giving the cara cara a thinner edge that glides through paper more effortlessly. I'm beginning to think its simply an issue of edge thickness, seeing as the endura 4's were designed to be tough durable work knives rather than thin slicers. I'll have to consider getting the G10 endura with the full flat grind 
. How does VG-10 hold up at 15 degrees per side? I suppose I could go that route if it will hold an edge well.
. How does VG-10 hold up at 15 degrees per side? I suppose I could go that route if it will hold an edge well.
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Iv thinned out a few VG-10 blades and they hold up pretty well.
In fact all my Spydercos are rebeveled to some degree.
I tend to put a really thin sharp edge on my smaller blades and keep a more robust edge on the larger knives.
Convexing the edge is also a good option, Iv got a convexed ZDP D4 that cuts like an absolute deamon:thumbup:
In fact all my Spydercos are rebeveled to some degree.
I tend to put a really thin sharp edge on my smaller blades and keep a more robust edge on the larger knives.
Convexing the edge is also a good option, Iv got a convexed ZDP D4 that cuts like an absolute deamon
:thumbup:
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even with the full flat grind endura i had to thin out the edge a little and convexed it at the same time. perfect now. -CB
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Sevorius
The VG-10 can handle a 30 degree bevel (15 each side) with no problem. As others have mentioned, using a Sharpie marker to ensure you're sharpening right to the edge can help. I also use a strop (wood backed leather with Veritas chromium oxide honing compound) to finish the edge. Finally, I use a 15 power lighted magnifier to check the edge and make sure the wire edge is completely removed.
Hope this helps a little! Enjoy the E4
The VG-10 can handle a 30 degree bevel (15 each side) with no problem. As others have mentioned, using a Sharpie marker to ensure you're sharpening right to the edge can help. I also use a strop (wood backed leather with Veritas chromium oxide honing compound) to finish the edge. Finally, I use a 15 power lighted magnifier to check the edge and make sure the wire edge is completely removed.
Hope this helps a little! Enjoy the E4
thanks for the replies guys. I'm gonna go over it again to make sure I hit the edge well. I'll be sure to raise a good burr this time, I had thought the factory angle was 20 but it seems it was a bit more obtuse than that. I'd like to keep it at 20 degrees as that has always been the ideal balance of performance/durability for me, for some reason I've always been uncomfortable going down to 15, not sure why but maybe its because I'm pretty hard on my knives. I'd rather use the hell out of a knife and resharpen it than baby the edge
The other thing you could do is send it out to Tom Krein for one of his full flat grinds. I just recently did this with a D4W and it came out really nice! Tom does a fantastic job and he's quick too.
I've thought about getting one specifically for that purpose just not for EDC. I've never handled a Tom Krein ground knife, but from the pictures they look insanely sharp but somewhat fragile compared to factory grinds
Sevorius, if you live in the US I can mail you a reground Spyderco to try out if you'd like.
In my experience VG10 does just fine at 15 degrees per side. I usually go much lower, but after a point you do have to start watching what you cut and how you cut it, or chipping will be possible. Usually avoidable with microbevels in my experience. Still, most people would be surprised how thin you can go and get away with it. My Endura that I edc is the ZDP version, and I sharpened it flat to the saber grind to make it like a scandi style knife with no secondary bevel. Then I put a tiny microbevel on it that's barely visible. I spent about half an hour carving different pieces of wood with it this evening and it worked great. No chipping, even with me twist prying chunks of wood off. I also have a Caly Jr. in ZDP that's so thin the secondary bevel goes past the ZDP / 420J2 "hamon" line, and it can slice thick plastic, multi-layer cardboard and carve hard wood all day.
Regardless the factory edge on the Endura, thick as it is, should still get sharp enough to push cut newsprint. I'd suggest inspecting the edge or using the sharpie trick someone mentioned to make sure you're grinding the edge in the right spot. I'd also double check for any detectable bur towards the last few strokes, and make sure you're using very light pressure to finish the sharpening.
In my experience VG10 does just fine at 15 degrees per side. I usually go much lower, but after a point you do have to start watching what you cut and how you cut it, or chipping will be possible. Usually avoidable with microbevels in my experience. Still, most people would be surprised how thin you can go and get away with it. My Endura that I edc is the ZDP version, and I sharpened it flat to the saber grind to make it like a scandi style knife with no secondary bevel. Then I put a tiny microbevel on it that's barely visible. I spent about half an hour carving different pieces of wood with it this evening and it worked great. No chipping, even with me twist prying chunks of wood off. I also have a Caly Jr. in ZDP that's so thin the secondary bevel goes past the ZDP / 420J2 "hamon" line, and it can slice thick plastic, multi-layer cardboard and carve hard wood all day.
Regardless the factory edge on the Endura, thick as it is, should still get sharp enough to push cut newsprint. I'd suggest inspecting the edge or using the sharpie trick someone mentioned to make sure you're grinding the edge in the right spot. I'd also double check for any detectable bur towards the last few strokes, and make sure you're using very light pressure to finish the sharpening.