Sharpening my New Gerber Guardian

Gerberblades

Gerberblades

Joined
Dec 31, 2006
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I just got a new Gerber Guardian Back-up for Christmas and it does not sharpen very good. I have tried three different angles but none seemed to work. Right now i have a Lansky. It worked good on my XPG. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions?

Thanks.GB
 
I've found Gerber blades less than ideal for that keen edge. I'm not sure what they problem is other than soft steel, but on my Gerber multi-tool (it is almost 10 years old now...) as well as both my paraframe II and mini paraframe I just can't get a razor edge for the life of me. And I didn't have much trouble putting one on my Sahara Jr (AUS8) or my Ka-Bar (1095)...
 
I got a pretty good edge on the LMF but the Guardian was impossible to get an edge sharper than it came with. Got a Gerber knife with a flat handle that I don't know the model (?) I'll try to get a pic. It came out sharp, too.

Thanks.GB
 
You might try looking at the edge under a 3X or 5X magnifying lens to see if there are grind marks there. If there are, you maybe need to continue sharpening until you can see none. Only then will you really be able to judge how sharp you can get the knife.

I say this because the last Gerber I had such bad grind marks that the edge came apart in chunks as I sharpened it. Once I sharpened it until the grind marks were no longer seen, I could get a decent edge. It just did not stay sharp long during use because of the inferior steel/heat treat on that particular model (EZ-Out).

I have noticed on several other production knives that I got better edges once I have sharpened past the fine grind marks. (No edge crumbling on those. The grind marks were not that bad.)

Worth a try anyway.
 
I also have a Guardian. One of the old ones made in portland with a stamped blade. I have the same issue. I've put that blade on my Spyderco sharpmaker, but can never seem to get it as sharp as my other knives. Got a pretty insightful comment from a family member last week when discussing my issue. His point, "Razor sharp isn't as important based on the intended use of that knife. It still sticks!"
 
Thanks for your replies. I was trying to get a sharper edge than it came with. I used a coarse, medium and fine stone but it does not take an edge like my other knives. I read that Lansky is no good for 2 edge knives. It is hard to get the Guardian to stay in the blade holder.

GB
 
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