Sharpening help for CPM 154 Indian River Jack?

[OneStarLeather]

I just got an Indian River Jack from KnivesShipFree - made by Queen in CPM 154. Love the knife, but i want it SHARP!

It came with a pretty bad edge. I've tried sharpening it with Bark River black and green compound and get nowhere.

I have a 1000 grit and 3000 grit Japanese wet stones I use on my kitchen knives - should I take them to this little pocket knife?

I've heard that Bark River white compound cuts these super steels better, can anyone validate that?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
keegan

 

[Jason B.]

CPM 154 is not so much in the super steel class that it needs special sharpening equipment. This steel really likes a coarse edge though, I use a Fine India stone or Coarse DMT followed by green compound on a wooden strop to sharpen my knives with this steel. Your 1k stone would be a good stopping point too.

Any bar type compound in green, white, black, or pink will do best with lower alloy steels (including 154cm and CPM154). Mainly steels with vanadium will be the steels that cause noticeable issue when using inadequate abrasives. For such steels a diamond or CBN compound should be used.