Sharpening problem

barrabas74

barrabas74

Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
8,167
I own a small leather inlay sebenza and the problem is the tip of my blade from a little above the sweep to the tip will not get as sharp as the rest of the blade. I use a spyderco system and no matter how I work it the damned tip area doesnt get razor sharp, and thats the part of the blade I tend ot use the most so I woul damn well like it to be, my other knives do not have this problem any suggestions?
 
I used to have this problem. The edge angle gets more obtuse as it nears the tip. Not lifting the butt of the knife as you near the tip on the sharpmaker will also sharpen it at an incorrect angle. The best way to fix it in my opinion is to buy an edge pro. You can put a consistant angle on the whole edge and just touch it up on the sharpmaker whenever it needs sharpening. Your edge from tip to heel will be sharp!
 
thanks yeah the tip edge does look thicker or more obtuse I mean I get the rest of the blade insanley sharp but I cant get the tip that way, so I guess I'll buy an edgepro to solve the problem
 
Good luck and hope you like yours. Mine was easily the best knife related non-knife purchase I've ever made. :)
 
Or you can reprofile the tip down a bit to match the the rest.
 
guy g said:
Or you can reprofile the tip down a bit to match the the rest.
Click to expand...

You could do that too. I tried it before I got the edge pro and ended up scratching up the blade. I dont have much freehand sharpening experience but found holding a consistent angle for the curve from belly to tip to be quite difficult. Its a cheaper alternative, that's for sure.
 
I've had a couple of knives that I knicked down the shoulder a bit with the 30 deg angle on my Sharpmaker. The diamonds make it go faster with less strokes and less chance for me to screw up.
 
Having just got a Sebenza, I'm a little nervous about sharpening it myself. I mean I don't just drop $430 whenever I feel like it, and the thought of ****ing up my blade by shapening it wrong gives me cold sweats.
 
My large regular Seb had the same edge issue. I actually used my Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 to work off the shoulders 15 degrees, then finished up at 20 degrees (per side). It actually took me a long time, and I was also very nervous about sharpening my $350 blade and possibly screwing it up. But I kept at it bit by bit, to avoid removing too much metal all at once. I felt there wasn't too much hurry, easy does it. It's very sharp now, and I actually did more sharpening from the upsweep to the tip at first to even the edge out. The edge bevels are still convex, though, but I'll use it until it needs sharpening again and then continue the process. I'm hoping to eventually get the very edge bevels to be flat so it will act sharper and be easier to touch up without the rigamarole of working off the convex shoulders.
Great knife!!
Jim
 
I've had the same problem with other knives, as well as the Sebenza. The Sharpmaker can round off the tip if you pull the blade off the end too hard, scraping the tip against the edge of the rod. Easier to get the tip right with the flatrs of the rods.

What I generally do is let the Sharpmaker do its work up to the last 1/4" and then remove one rod and do the very tip manually. It's not hard to learn, just start gently and built up a slight amount of pressure and speed as you get used to the motion.

Do not panic about messing up your knife. The blade is tough enough to be somewhat forgiving, and if you do overdo it, you can always send it in for Chris to repair!
 
The Sebenza is a good example of why it pays to learn freehand sharpening. You can sharpen the point and keep the edge convex if you sharpen freehand on a benchstone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top