Sharpening help needed!

fatheadhill

fatheadhill

Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Messages
1,180
A couple weeks ago I picked up a Boker Exskelibur I. Love the knife but I don't know what the deal is but I just can't seem to get it sharp. :grumpy::confused::grumpy:

I've got quite a few knives, pretty much all of which I've been able to get shaving sharp. I've got everything from an RC-6 to a Case Sod Buster Jr. sitting here that I've sharpened well enough to pop hairs, so I don't know what I could be doing wrong.

I've got a Lansky and DMT(the kinds w/ the guide rods) and a Sharpmaker that I usually use since I'm terrible at free-hand sharpening. I tried just the Sharpmaker by itself and tried using one of the diamond things from the DMT and holding it against the Sharpmaker rods to get the same angle.., neither of which worked. I even did the sharpie trick and it came off with the normal number of passes on the Sharpmaker but the knife still doesn't seem sharp, cuts paper roughly, and definitely won't pop hairs.

I don't know what the problem is but I thought I'd see what advice or help ya'll could offer. Thanks in advance!
 
Well ive been sharpening knives for a long time but really got into it about 8 months ago. I just ordered a tormek machine and they are about a grand with all the bells and whistles you need. Here is your dilema I just finished sharpening 50 yes 50 custom knives from one person . they were from d2 ,01, 1095, 440c, ats34, cpm154 all I can say is this is the knife was poorly heat treated then poor steel youll never get a great edge like a great steel with a good heat treat. Im guessing you have a poor steel that is poorly heat treated. The tool steels I have sharpened are not as nice to sharpen as stainless. All you could do is try to change the angle from what ever it is to say less than 20 degree s around 17 would be good on a small folder. Just remmber the thinner or smaller the degree the sharper the blade can get or so is the theory . Hope I helped.
 
THG said:
Do you know if you have a burr?
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not that I've felt but to be quite honest I can't say I've ever really felt a burr when using the sharpmaker. I know in theory you should develop a bur as you sharpen but I didn't know if this would be effected by going back and forth between the two rods or not.

Should I sharpen on one side only until a burr is felt? And if so should I count the number of passes and do the same number on the opposite side?
 
I just did a free hand on my Spyderco Paramilitary with D2 steel. I went for a full reprofile, I am braver than I am smart. I have to say, that I spent more than 3x the amount of time on the left side than the right. I had a couple of flat spots on the blade so I kept going til I got all to one bevel. If you do not have a magnifying glass, you cannot see that small line of ink left. I also like to rotate the knife edge slowly so the lighting glints the primary bevel, as well as that darn one that needs to be removed. I hope that helps. If you had soft steel on a bad heat treat, I assume you would get a bevel quite fast. Oh, btw, I can pop hairs with my para. I do not have a symetrical bevel on both sides, but I do not really care, sharpness is more important to me.
 
No use guessing about the steel. I looked for the knife as sold by a reliable dealer and read that it is 440C and hollow-ground. That should be easy, especially for someone with good equipment and some experience.

Sharpness isn't a function of the angle of the edge bevel as much as it is the consistency of that bevel meeting all along the edge. Is there a possibility that the bevels on each side aren't meeting completely, that there is a flat ridge at the very edge?

There is an easy way to tell if you have a burr. Strop the edge strongly (along a pants leg will work) first on one side, then the other. Now run your thumb along the edge, brushing it along the edge, moving outward. Do this on both sides. If there is a burr, you will feel it, most likely opposite the second side you stropped.

Before you give up on the knife, I suggest a good stropping anyway. This might be the one step that will get the edge properly aligned and polished.
 
fatheadhill said:
not that I've felt but to be quite honest I can't say I've ever really felt a burr when using the sharpmaker. I know in theory you should develop a bur as you sharpen but I didn't know if this would be effected by going back and forth between the two rods or not.

Should I sharpen on one side only until a burr is felt? And if so should I count the number of passes and do the same number on the opposite side?
Click to expand...

A burr is easier seen that felt, in my experience. Hold the knife in bright light (sunlight, preferably), and rotate the blade around. If you see any type of "highlighting" along the edge, then you've got a burr.

Also, if you run the back of your finger nail along the bevel (almost parallel with the bevel) and it takes off more nail on one side than the other, then you've got a burr.

Sharpen until you have a burr and then focus on removing it (by doing one pass per side thereafter). Counting passes doesn't mean anything to me anymore; I used to do it when I started out sharpening, but I haven't done it in years. I just do what I need to do to get the job done.
 
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