Sharpening Spyderco's At 30° or 40°?

M

mathnerdm

Joined
May 2, 2012
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Hey I have a spyderco sharpmaker and I was just wanting to make sure ive been sharpening my spyderco blades properly. Ive been told to sharpen them at a 40° angle although there back bevel is 30°. Is that true? I know the back bevel is 30° but should the secondary bevel be 40°? And does it very on the steel cuz i know a steel like 8cr wouldnt hold an only 30° bevel. Thanks!

Heres a fail diagram of what I mean with terrible proportions lol...
---http://www.mediafire.com/?mo759aq57hdm5ts---
If you cant tell, which i dont expect you to, the top one is a 30 degree angle (15 and 15) sharpened using a 40 degree setting only contacting the lower part of bevel. While the bottom is the same degree as the bevel and it contacts the whole bevel. Which is the proper way?

EDIT: Oh and another question, should i strop the back bevel or the micro bevel on my spydercos?
 
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I can't see the picture in the link you listed, but from your description, it sounds like the top knife has what's called a microbevel at 40 degrees on a 30 degree back bevel. That's pretty normal for knives that are going to get a fair amount of use. The microbevel is easy to touch up at 40 degrees, gets razor sharp, and holds up pretty well (depending on the blade steel) because there's a good bit of steel backing up the microbevel. A blade without a microbevel like the 30 degree edge, gets very sharp as well, but the edge isn't quite as strong as an edge with a microbevel. In some uses, it could dull more quickly, or even roll a bit where it might not wth a microbevel.

I carry Spyderco folders almost exclusively these days and all my users have 40 degree microbevels on the factory back bevel (close to 30 degrees). They are all razor sharp, they are easy to maintain that way, and they hold up well. I have created and used more acute angles, but honestly, I don't like them as well. My knives have to cut a variety of materials; some hard, some soft, some natural, some man-made. They also have to take a bit of lateral stress on the blade's edge from time to time. I value toughness and versatility over extreme edge holding or sharpness and a 40 degree microbevel seems to work best for me on my folders.
 
+1 to the post above. I use the 30 degree to thin out the back bevel then 40 degree to create a microbevel for the cutting edge. If you are curious what part of the blade is having material removed, use the sharpie trick. Use a sharpie on both sides of the edge. Take a few strokes on the 30 degree setup and look to see where the sharpie has been removed. Do the same on the 40 degree setup. When you notice that there isn't any shrapie on the very edge you are indeed sharpening.
 
personally, I do this so I get 18
2012-06-22_07-51-49_54.jpg

gets ya that good amount sharper and it keeps it durable
 
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