Sharpening my Emerson cqc-14, HELP!

I

illuminator_-_

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Nov 25, 2010
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Hi everyone!
I am new to the forums and I can use all the help that I can get. My gf got me an emerson cqc-14 last year for my birthday and I have been abusing it quiet a bit. Now, when it comes to sharpening, I am a complete amateur. I purchased the Lansky Professional Sharpening kit for about $29.99 (I am tight on budget). It comes with a 120,280,600, and 1000 grit coarse stones. I mistakenly believed that the "conventional v-grind" was referring to the actual edge grind and not the bevel....being the idiot that I am, I began sharpening with an equal number of passes on both sides starting with the 120 grit and working my way up to 1000 grit. Another thing that I failed to realize was that the factory sharpening angle was around 25 degrees (I think) and I was working at 20 degrees.

The blade is REALLY REALLY dull and I do not know how to fix this. I started to sharpen the ground side with 20+ passes (and 1 pass on the back to tame the burr). Even after stropping it still isn't anywhere near being sharp (I can use most of my body weight on the blade and not have it cut me...)

Here are the specs of the knife:
http://www.emersonknives.com/ekCQC14.php
Its 154cm steel, do I need Diamond hones? Are the coarse ones not up to the task? Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you soooooooo much guys and gals and I look forward to hearing from you!
 
You probably made one heck of a burr on it being that you were sharpening one side on the edge and the shoulder of the other side. Quick and easy would be to use a sharpie and get it hitting on the front side at the edge and use the same angle on the back side.
 
If hand-sharpening does get the edge the way you like it, you could send it in to Emerson Knives and have them re-sharpen your blade for a fee.
 
"You probably made one heck of a burr on it being that you were sharpening one side on the edge and the shoulder of the other side. Quick and easy would be to use a sharpie and get it hitting on the front side at the edge and use the same angle on the back side."

So would I still use the same number of passes with the coarse stone on the front and back or should i just find the angle with a sharpie and then just stick to the front and only touch the back to "tame" the burr?

@mr-winkie01
I am really tight on a budget and I can't fork up the $30 dollars (i think its around that) to send it in and what not...but I might have to if I can't resolve this sometime down the road.
 
Tag, for when I screw up my new commander, and need to resharpen it (I am good with stones, but I have no idea how to sharpen an emmerson)
 
The 154CM is a little on the softer side on these knives, makes it easier to sharpen. Keep sharpening the one side with the bevel on it until you can feel a burr on the opposite side. Make sure you go through all the grits and equal number of passes with each one. The higher the grit, the less pressure you will apply. Flip the knife over and use the 1000 to knock the bur off.
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if you were using the 20 degree setting, you were only hitting the shoulder, ie, where the secondary grind meets the primary grind. you weren't coming near the edge anywhere near enough to affect the edge.

however, when you were making passes on the "chisel" side, you were in fact removing metal at the edge. so you may have created a small bevel and a burr on the other side.

it feels dull because:
a: you did almost nothing to the actual edge, or...
b: you now have a bevel that is 25 on one side, and 20 on the other, but didn't remove enough metal to create a useable edge, or...
c: by creating two different bevel angles, there is a burr on the 25 degree side.

the fix should be pretty easy. simply start over and match the angle of the edge on the side where you can see the edge grind. eventually a burr will develop on the chisel side, and you only need a couple passes to knock it off. it should be visible, but if not just run your finger or fingernail perpendicular relative to the edge down each side, since it may actually bend back and forth over each side. if it catches, the burr is still there. a chef steel is also very good for taking off a burr.
 
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