Sharpening equipment

[agile_1]

I had my eye on the KME system while I was trying to decide what system I wanted to add to my sharpening capabilities. The lansky IMO pretty much sucks for large, or large flat ground blades.

I got the Edge Pro because I know me. I am ambidextrous so switching hands was no problem. And I am accident prone! So having a blade clamped the way the KME does would mean a trip to the hospital for me. LOL

And trust me, I know most factory knives are sharpened by some belt or grinder system by hand. And it truly does AMAZE me that people people can do that for 8 hours a day and turn out sharp knives. I've bought MANY production knives that were shaving sharp out of the box, but not perfect. As a matter of fact, I got three new knives in the mail today. All of them are shaving sharp. The one I am most impressed by is the ESEE IZULA 2. Super sharp and by my eye near perfectly even and centered. I also got a ZT0560, Again very sharp and pretty well centered. The third is DPx Gear HEST II Assault. It's shaving sharp, but I am going to end up spending some quality time centering it. (my first experience with sleipnel at that.)

I am the same as some of your friends. I want perfect, I've got the angle cube and I make guides out of phenolic resin sheet so my tracking is perfect. I am a machinist by trade. I live by fixtures, guides and vises.

Trying not to be too long winded here, But I buy from many MANY different manufacturers. They are all guilty. Sharp, but not perfect.

Maybe you should change your forum name to "Blame it on OCD"! Just kidding, but in a good way. Nothing wrong with striving for that "perfect" blade sharpening job. I see that your vocation requires perfection, so it is only right that you carry that over to your hobby. I too, strive for perfection, but only as far as my finances and my skill set allows. My perfection is improving with each sharpening job, as that is my hobby. Collecting knives is just a necessary part of that hobby.

I agree with you about the job the MFGS do with their sharpening jobs. Some are fair, some are good, and some, .....give you a challenge to try to salvage as much steel as you can without grinding away 10 years worth of metal to get it sharp and even. All part of the fun of this hobby. Great post, and have a blessed day.

Blessings,

Omar

Thanks for the input folks. I myself have seen a lot of variation in factory sharpness. From downright not sharp to pretty darn sharp - by my standard anyway.

As I said, I am sticking with the Gatco until I can get more consistent with it. but I am going to Harbor Freight this week to pick up a small belt sander for the rough stuff.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Here's a pic p of my sharpenin' rig:

 

[blame it on god]

@OHALLUM: "blame it on OCD" LOL!

If you only knew how far the OCD went. I bought a pretty nice ultrasonic jewelry cleaner just for cleaning my pocket knives! Warm/hot water and Dawn dish washing liquid. It does wonders for cleaning out the crap that builds up in folders.

Then I flush them with hot water, blow them out with compressed air. Then flush them with Benchmade blue lube cleanser, then blow that out. Then give them a light spraying of marine tuf glide and wipe them down with the tuf cloth. Let them dry and lube key points with either blue lube or tri-flow.

I "baby" them, but I use them. Some see more pocket time than others. But I do try to use them all.

 

[OHALLUM]

I understand "baby"! I have one that I managed to get really sharp, much sharper than the others. I don't even use or carry it for fear I won't be able to repeat what I did the first time. I use it to show off to my friends how sharp I can get a knife. After showing it off by effortlessly push cutting phone book paper like slicing butter with a hot wire, I strop it after they leave and before I put it up. Pretty silly, but that is me. Good to know that I am not the only one "possessed" with this obsession.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[blame it on god]

Practice, practice, practice and then do it more! Certain steels are also easier to get hair spitting sharp. Not easy to re-profile, because of their wear resistance, But once you get down to the final grits and deburring they will push cut through toilet paper. D2, powdered steels and the super steels are just amazing.

And then there are those steels that just shouldn't be brought below 30 degrees per side. (still shaving sharp BTW) The main thing is getting rid of the wire edge that just keeps rolling over.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Practice, practice, practice and then do it more! Certain steels are also easier to get hair spitting sharp. Not easy to re-profile, because of their wear resistance, But once you get down to the final grits and deburring they will push cut through toilet paper. D2, powdered steels and the super steels are just amazing.

And then there are those steels that just shouldn't be brought below 30 degrees per side. (still shaving sharp BTW) The main thing is getting rid of the wire edge that just keeps rolling over.

All true but again, unless ya know what sharp is, all the practice in the world ain't gonna help.

Once ya know what it is, muscle memory will kick in with practice and then maintainin' the correct angle becomes a no brainer. Also remember that diamond hones require less force to remove metal, most people tend to over sharpen.

 

[agile_1]

I bought a pretty nice ultrasonic jewelry cleaner just for cleaning my pocket knives! Warm/hot water and Dawn dish washing liquid. It does wonders for cleaning out the crap that builds up in folders.

Then I flush them with hot water, blow them out with compressed air. Then flush them with Benchmade blue lube cleanser, then blow that out. Then give them a light spraying of marine tuf glide and wipe them down with the tuf cloth. Let them dry and lube key points with either blue lube or tri-flow.

I "baby" them, but I use them. Some see more pocket time than others. But I do try to use them all.

Now that is just a good idea - don't see anything too OCD about it. Wait ... does that mean I am OCD as well? A nice little ultrasonic comes in handy for cleaning all kinds of things. Mind if I ask what brand/model?

I understand "baby"! I have one that I managed to get really sharp, much sharper than the others. I don't even use or carry it for fear I won't be able to repeat what I did the first time. I use it to show off to my friends how sharp I can get a knife. After showing it off by effortlessly push cutting phone book paper like slicing butter with a hot wire, I strop it after they leave and before I put it up. Pretty silly, but that is me. Good to know that I am not the only one "possessed" with this obsession.

Blessings, Omar

I am still looking to get a knife really sharp. I can manage improving on the factory edge but it takes a while getting there. I am never sure what angle to start at and just start right in with the coarse stones. Try to get it as even as possible then move on. Still trying to get the hang of when to switch stones.

Practice, practice, practice and then do it more! Certain steels are also easier to get hair spitting sharp. Not easy to re-profile, because of their wear resistance, But once you get down to the final grits and deburring they will push cut through toilet paper. D2, powdered steels and the super steels are just amazing.

And then there are those steels that just shouldn't be brought below 30 degrees per side. (still shaving sharp BTW) The main thing is getting rid of the wire edge that just keeps rolling over.

How do you make that decision? Any general rules? It would guess that a combination of blade profile and shape, steel hardness and toughness all figure into it.

All true but again, unless ya know what sharp is, all the practice in the world ain't gonna help.

Once ya know what it is, muscle memory will kick in with practice and then maintainin' the correct angle becomes a no brainer. Also remember that diamond hones require less force to remove metal, most people tend to over sharpen.

Good point. Just knowing what sharp is on a particular blade is a trick. I have some of the Gatco diamond hones in a shopping cart - just waiting for the next pay cycle to pull the trigger. I definitely use too much force. Usually start out with a light touch but somehow after a few strokes find myself spacing and putting more and more pressure on the stone.

 

[blame it on god]

Now that is just a good idea - don't see anything too OCD about it. Wait ... does that mean I am OCD as well? A nice little ultrasonic comes in handy for cleaning all kinds of things. Mind if I ask what brand/model?

It is a NEW Trent I got on Amazon. CD-7810(A) is the model # on the bottom. Pretty high rating, Decent price. But you'd be surprised what comes out of a "clean" knife". You can easily fit most pocket knives in it. The BM Contigo no problem. I have an oldie plastic handle 5" blade Cold Steal Voyager that does not sit all the way in.


How do you make that decision? Any general rules? It would guess that a combination of blade profile and shape, steel hardness and toughness all figure into it.

What was the factory anlge, Previous performance of the knife, Application of intended us. "Blade profile and shape have more to do with cutting performance than "sharpness". 15° per side is "SHARP!" but putting that on a 1/4 inch thick knife makes no sense.

Good point. Just knowing what sharp is on a particular blade is a trick. I have some of the Gatco diamond hones in a shopping cart - just waiting for the next pay cycle to pull the trigger. I definitely use too much force. Usually start out with a light touch but somehow after a few strokes find myself spacing and putting more and more pressure on the stone.

Answers should be red

 

[blame it on god]

All true but again, unless ya know what sharp is, all the practice in the world ain't gonna help.

Once ya know what it is, muscle memory will kick in with practice and then maintainin' the correct angle becomes a no brainer. Also remember that diamond hones require less force to remove metal, most people tend to over sharpen.

People end up dislodging the diamonds when pushed too hard. That and most diamond hones are MUCH more aggressive. 600grt diamond and 600grt stone result in much different finishes in my experience. Even with VERY well broken in diamond hones.

Now I mostly use diamond to flatten stone. Oh, And to rough re-profile knives. Why cup out a good stone?

 

[agile_1]

Just watched the Work Sharp videos. First time. This device looks like a guided belt sander. I like the idea of the guides but think that I can make some for a regular belt sander. I also can't see the Work Sharp being used to get a knife really sharp either. It could probably be used to get a blade 80-90% of there but then you would probably need to use some finishing stones and/or strops. I am sure someone around here has used one of these rigs. Any feedback?

Also - now that I see it I am motivated to make angle guides for my 1" belt sander (that I just got at Harbor Freight). Does anyone know of any open source plans or have any design ideas on how to build an angle guide?