Sharpening To A Razor Edge ... No Problem !

[Mark W Douglas]

While on vacation last week I decided to sharpen a few of my knives. I have been reading different posts off and on now for a while regarding sharpening. I have never really had a problem myself with sharpening.

I sharpened my MPF1-Ti for the first time and also sharpened my Military CPM-440V, Gunsite Folder with AUS-8, and my ATS-34 bladed Stryker.

All I used was: The Spyderco Sharpmaker and a leather strap with jewelers rouge.

To got a shaving sharp edge on my Stryker and Gunsite Folder. I started off with the medium stone from the Sharpmaker then went to the fine stone. There were no burrs or flip flopping of the edge. When I got done using the Spyderco Sharpmaker, these two knives were shaving sharp. Nothing else needed to be done. Was fairly simple to do which made sharpening these knives actually enjoyable.

When it came time to sharpen the MPF1-Ti and the Military with the CPM-440V, these were a little tougher to get the razor edge on them. I used the same process with the Spyderco Sharpmaker but couldn't quite get the shaving sharp edge on them. So, I then proceeded to use the leather strap with the jewelers rouge rubbed on it after using the sharpmaker. That did it! Got the burrs off with NO flip flopping of the edge either. Razor sharp indeed. Besides having no hair left on my one arm now, I managed to cut my arm with out even feeling it or knowing it.

THAT is what I call sharp! The MPF with the ti blade, got that sharp with out a problem. Again, the leather strap with jewelers rouge made it possible.

I use the leather with the rouge on it to sharpen my leather carving tools as well, works real nicely!

Mark

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" Knife Collectors Are Sharp People -- Most of the time, that is! "

 

[Corduroy]

Cool! My confession is that I'm a real dope at hand sharpening. I can use a set of crocksticks (and love 'em!) but beyond that I'm a danger to myself and others. My sharpening method:

Put 220 grit belt on baby 1"x42" grinder and attach platen with angle guide. Tape blade to avoid scratching. Have at it!

Then 600 grit slack-belt or against the platen (according to whim and blade shape) followed by a slack-belting with a power strop and liberally applied rouge.

Of course, if the knife isn't dull as barstock I may skip the first step, but each step is really brief and very little material is actually removed unless I'm aiming to take a nick out. The final edge is mirror-polished and cuts like a scalpel, though for outdoorsy knives I'm leaning towards staying at a slightly "toothier" 600 grit edge.

My method for serrations? Put in box, mail to Colorado.

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-Corduroy
(Why else would a bear want a pocket?)

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Congrats! seems like you got the edge you wanted.

I also think the strop is a good tool. It's pretty easy to get a knife really really sharp using one. The reason I don't use one more often is because the strop leaves a polished edge, and a stropped edge is typically notoriously bad at many kinds of slicing jobs. Scary sharp at shaving, though!

I've been sometimes stropping my "gentleman's scalpel" Calypso Jr., I've often been leaving other knives at the equivalent of the Spyderco dark brown sticks. At that coarseness, it won't shave like a stropped edge, but you can still get it to shave pretty nicely at that grit, and it'll slice aggressively.

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com

 

[Jackal]

Getting a "razor" edge is easy. Just go down to Front Street and have Ed Jones hit it on a paper laminate wheel. It only takes 15 secs. and it's free too!!!

-AR

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- Intelligent men, unfortunately, learn from fools, more often than fools learn from intelligent men.

 

[phone_archer]

If there are any Canadians on this forum, you can use a product from Lee Valley Tools (I don't know if they have any american outlets). It is a green bar of honing compound (0.5 microns grit size), they also have various leather strops. The stuff lasts forever and I get a scary sharp edge on my knives with it. Joe, I find the razor edge slices through almost anything (but hey I always have the serrations on my 50/50 Endura if the going gets tough).
Just curious, how many forumites warn people about the sharpness of their blades if they letting someone else use them? I now do this religiously. It seems most non-knife enthusiasts are use to using knives about as sharp as a butter knives and after having a couple of friends slice themselves pretty badly- I now warn everyone.

 

[Cougar Allen]

I've tried rouge but I prefer tripoli compound. It's coarser than rouge, works faster, and doesn't have that maddening tendency to clump up and scratch that rouge has.

I always strop even when I want a coarse edge. Try using a coarse stone or file and then finishing with just a few swipes on a strop, with or without tripoli. A few swipes won't polish the edge but it improves it, removing that tiny residual burr.

-Cougar Allen :{)

P.S. Stropping is the secret to sharpening hard-to-sharpen junky stainless steels, the kind that often have "surgical stainless" stamped on the blade. You can get a razor edge on just about anything that way, even silver and copper. Trying to finish some of those cheap stainless knives with a stone can be like trying to sharpen Silly Putty; all you can do is push the burr back and forth from one side to the other.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Cougar --

I typically do the same thing. A few quick swipes -- even if it's just on my jeans -- even for coarse edges, just to make sure the burr is gone. A proper stropping is reserved for edges I want polished.

Joe