Sharpening Bohler N695 steel of Eickhorn KM2000

[ronie1988]

Hi, I have been using my KM2000 knife with Bohler N695 steel. I want to get it shaving sharp. Please recommend me a sharpening stone with grit value and methods for it.

 

[A.L.]

I recently got myself Spyderco ceramic whet stones and got good edge on böhler n690 with medium and fine.. if freehand sharpening is the thing for you.

 

[ronie1988]

I recently got myself Spyderco ceramic whet stones and got good edge on böhler n690 with medium and fine.. if freehand sharpening is the thing for you.

Bohler N695 in my Eickhorn KM2000 is very hard and coarse grained. Dont know if I would get razor edge in this Stainless steel or not..... Suggest a grit value for fine sharpening of the edge.

 

[A.L.]

I have no idea really. I would try with some general grit at first.. maybe 800-1000?
Coarse grain sounds odd. If the steel is good quality, the knife should sharpen like any other with any grit even though sharpening times may vary depending on steel.
I am no expert, I sharpen more with heart than brains (trying and seeing).

 

[BadFrog]

I use both grits on the 40 degree setting on a Spyderco Sharpmaker followed by a brief stropping. Gives a hair-flinging edge on a Scandi blade

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

Hi, I have been using my KM2000 knife with Bohler N695 steel. I want to get it shaving sharp. Please recommend me a sharpening stone with grit value and methods for it.

With skill just about any sharpening stone or system will work. Check youtube for stone reviews and technique. It's not rocket science but does require a basic understanding of the process and some practice.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

N695 is essentially equivalent to 440C. Nothing special in terms of requirements for stones used. Any stone type beyond natural (Arkansas) stones will work, such as aluminum oxide, SiC or diamond/cbn, etc. If the steel is actually 'coarse grained' as described earlier, a cleaner-cutting abrasive like SiC or diamond/cbn will help cut the steel better, without just chipping out the grains under pressure.

Shaving sharpness will be more about decent edge geometry, with inclusive angles at/below 30° inclusive making the biggest impact. If the edge is pretty thick or wide in angle, a coarse stone capable of thinning it quickly would be useful, such as in SiC or diamond. Once it's thinned out, it should be simple to refine to as high-grit finish as desired, using AlOx, SiC, diamond or whatever.

440C-equivalent steel should also polish very well, using aluminum oxide compounds on something like a hard-backed denim strop. At decent edge geometry, this is also a great way to bring up true shaving sharpness on steels like these.