Sharpening D2

yotehunter422

yotehunter422

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Messages
183
This is the first time I've had to sharpen my RAT3 since I got it 3 months ago. First I roughed it up a little on my Cabela's diamond stone then I went to the Lansky Ceramic rods. I have the one with the pre-drilled holes that set the rods at pre-determined angles; crock box I think it's called. Anyways I first tried the coarse rods on the more open angle and the fine rods on the smaller angle and this usually works well for my other knives, however this D2 proved difficult. I stropped endlessly on my Jemco strop on the leather and on the underside strap. Still nothing. I finally tried coarse rods on the small angle holes and then stropping to no avail. What's the trick to D2?
 
Whatever sharpening 'system' you choose to use, diamond will get the 'grunt work' done quicker. Especially with D2. I'm sure others will chime in here too, but at a minimum, start with Coarse/XC diamond to completely establish a fresh bevel. Then, and only then, move on to ceramics or other finishing stones.
 
Same "trick" as any other knife. Use the coarsest grit sharpener until a burr is raised, then move to a finer grit. If you strop before a proper burr is raised, you're just wasting time and effort.
 
try a piece of fine sandpaper over the stone after you work up a burr with the coarse stone and then strop as usual or finish up with the ceramic rods.
 
richard j said:
try a piece of fine sandpaper over the stone after you work up a burr with the coarse stone and then strop as usual or finish up with the ceramic rods.
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It's funny you should say that. My paper wheels did a quick job of raising a burr on my Dozier D2 knife and polished it to a hair whittling edge. I think diamonds are overrated.
 
Stropping on bare leather will have little to no effect on D2, its a very tough steel to sharpen by hand and one that will laugh at softer abrasives.

Go back to your diamond stone and sharpen to the best of your abilities. D2 is a steel that will get very sharp with coarse grits so you should be at least shaving sharp or close. Ceramics are not my first choice for D2 but will work, using the lightest pressure you can apply a microbevel to the edge. The ceramics are going to cause burring issues but with light enough pressure you should be able too work through it. If not get some diamond compound for your strop.





Diamonds are only overrated to those that don't know how to use them.
 
Noctis3880, the paper wheels put a quick edge on any steel no matter how hard it is. i told yotehunter422 to try the sandpaper trick since the paper is cheap and worth a try but the wheels do work much better like you said compared to the diamond stones or spray which you did try. i made a knife from d2 for a member that i put a half convex edge on. it took me quite some time to work up a burr on the belt sander but the paper buffing wheel had it beyond scary sharp in seconds. i lightly touched the edge and it cut me bad before i knew it.

you dont want to take your edge too fine or the first time you use it the edge will be rolled over. i have been sharpening knives for 37 years and i used to put the nice pretty edges on that would whittle a whittled hair. my buddys started complaining that the edges like that went dull faster than a slightly rougher edge which i put on with a single ceramic stick. i have diamond wheels that are super fine and the only knife i used them on was a boker ceramic which i'm still playing with. the paper wheels would be a good choice and will sharpen any knife you have in minutes without spending over $100.
 
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Yote asked for advice on how to get his knife sharp not on what tool you think he should buy.

I see were still putting down diamond products and their abilities... I guess in the same right I could say the paper wheels are inferior to diamond products but it would be wrong to put down something I've never used......

Wait... you say your edges are hair whittling sharp then you say its not good to have a edge that sharp? I'm confused :confused::confused:
 
there is a difference in how i finish an edge. i can work up a burr on a 180 grit belt and get it shaving sharp by finishing it off on the paper buffing wheel. i can work up a burr on the same knife with a 400 grit belt and then work my way up to a 9 micron belt and finish it off on the paper buffing wheel. that edge wont last as long as the 180 grit edge will. the finest grit i will use is a worn 400 grit.
 
Powered sharpening and hand sharpening are two different ball games. Abrasives moving at speed have a different effect and your right using more of them does little to improve the edge. With hand sharpening though its not the same story. I can get a hair splitting edge with a 80 grit belt and a leather belt but that's not even comparable to a hand sharpened edge to 1 micron or less, that's straight razor sharpness with knife edge thickness. And no, edges do not dull faster when they are sharper.


The finest grit you use is a worn 400, so that's like 600 and then you finish on a compound that probably ends up breaking down to the ranges of 8k-12k. Using such a compound at high speed IS making your edge that fine, its no longer a 180 or worn 400 edge its a 8k-12k edge.That's the advantage of power sharpening equipment, you don't need to use so many grits for the same "effect" because of the speed the abrasive is working at.

White rouge is also made from a softer abrasive so in truth harder/super steels will sharpen better and be sharper with a harder abrasive. Here is a very informative piece on abrasives

http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/buffing-material.htm
 
yotehunter422 said:
This is the first time I've had to sharpen my RAT3 since I got it 3 months ago. First I roughed it up a little on my Cabela's diamond stone then I went to the Lansky Ceramic rods. I have the one with the pre-drilled holes that set the rods at pre-determined angles; crock box I think it's called. Anyways I first tried the coarse rods on the more open angle and the fine rods on the smaller angle and this usually works well for my other knives, however this D2 proved difficult. I stropped endlessly on my Jemco strop on the leather and on the underside strap. Still nothing. I finally tried coarse rods on the small angle holes and then stropping to no avail. What's the trick to D2?
Click to expand...

Do you know how much of a jump in grit you're making from the diamond stone to the ceramic? If the diamond stone is pretty coarse, the ceramic might to too fine to effectively refine the edge from the diamond stone. Stropping would have the same problem doing much to a coarse edge from the diamond stone. With D2, the problem would be even worse since it's a very hard steel.

As for what method is better, that's pretty useless to you since you don't have a complete set of diamond stones in different grits or a set of paper sharpening wheels.

If you're in the market for something new, I personally recommend the paper wheel setup. That will work for any blade steel you come across and if I can learn to use it, anyone can. :) I say this purely based on the ease of use, time saved, and cost. For about $150 bucks, it will easily give you a hair popping edge on any knife in less than couple minutes each.

If you stick with diamond stones, it sounds like you'll need a few more to gap the grit steps and perhaps a few more strops.

Regardless of what you choose, there's no steel made today that can't be sharpened by either system. It comes down to experience and practice.
 
It seems like after getting a decent edge on the coarse rods moving on to the fine rods and strop seem to dull it out. My friend who was a butcher for almost 20 years made it shave with a sharpening steel. What's the deal with those?
 
yotehunter422 said:
This is the first time I've had to sharpen my RAT3 since I got it 3 months ago. First I roughed it up a little on my Cabela's diamond stone then I went to the Lansky Ceramic rods. I have the one with the pre-drilled holes that set the rods at pre-determined angles; crock box I think it's called. Anyways I first tried the coarse rods on the more open angle and the fine rods on the smaller angle and this usually works well for my other knives, however this D2 proved difficult. I stropped endlessly on my Jemco strop on the leather and on the underside strap. Still nothing. I finally tried coarse rods on the small angle holes and then stropping to no avail. What's the trick to D2?
Click to expand...

The last thing I have a need to do is butt in between two sharpening experts, but I'll still add my two cents.

Of what you posted above, I think the only thing you did wrong was you stopped using the diamond stone too soon.

Start over and use the diamond stone to actually put an edge on, not just roughen it up. Where you go from there will get me into that argument that I said I wanted to avoid. Personally, I like D2 blade a bit coarse and, having put an edge on with coarse diamond, I will refine it by using ceramic stones. I stop with a medium ceramic, about 600 grit stone and do not strop. What that is on the Lansky I do not know. But like I said, YMMV, once you get a basic edge on your diamond stone.
 
the steel your buddy used is for straightening out a bent edge on an already sharp knife.
have you checked out the paper wheel thread yet? they will put a shaving sharp edge on a d2 blade in no time. you have to practice for a short time on some cheap knives but once you learn how i'm sure you'll like them. did you read what noctis3880 posted above?
 
Yes I have checked out the paper wheel thread and although it is very appealing the noise of the motor will not sit will with fellow dwellers, so I must stick to quieter and less bulky means. If I had a shop or my own place by all means I'd try it.
 
the motor i use is actually pretty quiet compared to a high speed buffer. i have a portable setup that i carry in an old returnable beer bottle case which doubles as a table sometimes. if you sharpen a few knives, it wont take but a few minutes from start to finish.
 
With D2 you must remember that it has HUGE carbides formed in it and if sharpened at a very acute angle then the edge will chip because the carbides will either fall out while sharpening or fall out while using because there is not enough steel to hold the carbides in place. You need to use a larger angle for D2. On my benchmade D2 knife I needed to keep the angle at 20 degrees or higher or else my D2 would eventually chip and dull the edge quickly. I can still shave hair right off my arm no problem with 20 degrees, but I usually like to go 15 to 18 degrees on anything else.

Also, use DMT diamonds and step up by multiples of 2 for every stage. 100 grit to 200 grit, 200 to 400, 400 to 800.... etc... etc... this will be by far the most efficient way.
 
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