Sharpening the CPM 154CM Buck 110 (from BassPro)

rhino

rhino

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Dec 30, 2000
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Okay . . . I took the plunge and now I have a BassPro 110 with a CMP 154CM blade. That's the good news!

When it arrived, it was pretty darned sharp! It would push cut paper and pop arm hair nicely. Unfortunately, as with many factory knives, the edge was too smooth to bite well when I tried to slice something, especially fibrous materials. Naturally I took a very fine (worn out) diamond rod, roughened the edge bit, and then all was well in Denmark.

Here's where the tail goes awry . . .

At some point, my compulsive nature took over. I was looking at the bevel of the edge and noticed it was a bit thicker than I like and that it was a bit uneven (comparing the angle of each side). So . . . I did a bit of reprofiling to get the edge really thin (like I have on all of my other Bucks).

That went fine ... took some time even with diamonds, but it went fine. Once I got both sides to meet in the middle with the new bevels, I used a finer grit to smooth things a bit, and then the old worn-out rod I use for touch-ups. On my other knives, this usually produces a hair-popping edge that slices like crazy. Sometimes I can even get it to "tree top" arm hair, which is tough to do without stropping, etc.

Anyway . . . this time it isn't working so well. I get a decent edge, but it's not as scary sharp as I'd like it to be. Is there something about the CPM 154CM that is fundamentally different from BG-42, CMP S30V, or even 420HC in terms of sharpening? I would expect the regularity of the composition due to the CPM process to make a very thin, very sharp edge easy to form and maintain, but I'm not getting it.

Is this a steel that needs to be stropped or buffed?

Maybe I'm just having a bad day?
 
I found Buck's CPM-154 on my BassPro 110 to be very easy to sharpen... I use DMT bench hones. I thinned the edge a few degrees back a bit, too, using an ancient Buckmaster angle guide to keep the angle consistent. I think a consistent angle is the key to a scary sharp edge. I started with a DMT ultra-coarse to re-profile the edge, then finished on red and then green. It's past scary sharp now. Great steel IMHO.
 
My BassPro 110 has become my EDC. CPM-154 seems to support a thin edge. I've used mine hard on both fresh (peeling bark) and seasoned old wood (an old maple chair I was refinishing), cane, cordage, without seeing any chipping or rolling. I think the hard coating on the sides helps it slip through soft material -- with a fresh edge, mine just glides through tomatoes. Make sure you get a good burr on the coarser hone before going to the finer grades -- that seems to do the trick.
 
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Ed and Rhino, I like mine as well and it got real nice and sharp after stropping . That may be my favorite steel all things considered . ie. ease of grinding, mirror polishing, sharpening, edge retention, toughness, (no chipping) heat treating and cost . DM
 
Sharpening is such an art, and little things can make a big difference, but one thing to keep in mind is that every CPM-154 (or any type of steel) knife is not identical steel.

I've had some knives that were just kind of tough to sharpen and there was no good explanation.
 
Okay ... I think I have it licked. I was being a little too cautious when establishing a microbevel (or actually the finishing of my faux convexing). I used a little more pressure and now it's . . . good. Really good. I now have a nice grabby slicing edge that will also pop arm air fairly easily. I did some testing just shaving very thin strips from unsupported pages of magazines (lots of clay content) and it just kept going, and going, and going without any noticeable change in how it was cutting the paper.

Me likey.

The CPM 154CM is going to take over in the house for a while. The action is still a little gritty even though I've used a lube that should clean it and make it pretty slippery (Kellube 12). A few hunder opening/closings should help that overy time.
 
No stropping ...

I used three diamond-impregnated rods. I used a fairly new Gatco to reprofile, then I used a mostly worn-out EZ Lap and finally an almost completely worn-out EZ Lap. I have no idea how to quantify the grit on the worn-out rods, but they feel smooth to the touch. They still remove metal, but not very aggressively. With very light pressure, I can get about the same effect as using a steel. A little more, and I can remove some metal.
 
Rhino, sounds like you need the dish soap and hot water treatment to get the grit out. Just dry it out real good and use your favorite lube.
 
edbeau said:
Rhino, sounds like you need the dish soap and hot water treatment to get the grit out. Just dry it out real good and use your favorite lube.
Click to expand...

Good point! I think I'll do it somewhere where they have compressed air to blow crap and water out of there too.

Thanks!
 
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