Sharpening trouble

Hitari0 · Mar 27, 2012

Hey Bladeforums,

I'm fairly new here (posting-wise, I've been reading for a while), and I've been having some trouble with sharpening my knives. So far I just have a Lansky (medium/fine rods), but I can get my knives fairly sharp with it (not shaving sharp though

) Anyways, I've had no trouble getting my Buck Vantage Pro sharp with it, but my Spyderco Sage refuses to get as sharp as it. At one point I tried sharpening the Sage at 50 inclusive before discovering that 40 inclusive would be better for my EDC. Then, after opening an extremely pesky package (oddly enough, a Kershaw catalog), I scratched up the blade (not a big deal) and dulled one section of the blade. Now when I try sharpening it at 40 inclusive, it doesn't seem to be sharpening the blade. I presume it may be hitting the shoulder or something, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, if you have any advice on using the crock stick set properly, it would be appreciated. I've also been considering buying a work sharp sharpener, so recommendations on that would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Sorry for putting it in the wrong section at first D:

jwolf90 · Mar 27, 2012

Get a sharpie and see where your hitting the edge U have to raise a burr on the opposite side your sharpening , use the sharpie to see and make sure your hitting the edge the angle shouldn't have that much with being able to get your knife feeling sharp meaning a knife with a obtuse bevel can still be sharp it just won't cut like one with a thin bevel. I consider myself a novice but I can sharpen my knives from butter knife dull to sharp, alot of good info can be found on these forums just try the search func and good luck

ChapmanPreferred · Mar 27, 2012

The fact that you started on a 50 degree inclusive angle tells me you need to "reprofile" back down to 40 (or below) for your sharpening efforts to be fruitful. The recommendation of using the Sharpie trick is a very good one. It will help you see your progress when you may not feel like you are making any progress. Keep coloring the edge (not after each stroke, but after you remove enough that you start to wonder how it's going you will have a new visual update) so you can keep seeing the progress.

You are going to be doing a lot of strokes, so mentally prepare yourself that you probably will not accomplish your goal in one sitting. Keep your rods clean as this will aid your efforts to remove material. If you feel the rod go "slick" you need to switch to a clean section. When all the sections are full, clean the rods and be done for the day. Go back to it the next day and do it again until you reach the edge on both sides of the cutting edge (both bevels).

Hitari0 · Mar 28, 2012

ChapmanPreferred said:
The fact that you started on a 50 degree inclusive angle tells me you need to "reprofile" back down to 40 (or below) for your sharpening efforts to be fruitful. The recommendation of using the Sharpie trick is a very good one. It will help you see your progress when you may not feel like you are making any progress. Keep coloring the edge (not after each stroke, but after you remove enough that you start to wonder how it's going you will have a new visual update) so you can keep seeing the progress.

You are going to be doing a lot of strokes, so mentally prepare yourself that you probably will not accomplish your goal in one sitting. Keep your rods clean as this will aid your efforts to remove material. If you feel the rod go "slick" you need to switch to a clean section. When all the sections are full, clean the rods and be done for the day. Go back to it the next day and do it again until you reach the edge on both sides of the cutting edge (both bevels).

All right, thanks for the help.

Kai Winters · Mar 28, 2012

Have you used "youtube" to search for Lansky? There are "many..." videos showing people using the Lansky system. Most are worth while but once you've watched some and started applying what you've seen you will become better with practice.
The Lansky site video is worthwhile too.

I'm a new user of Lansky and have become rather decent using it. I've applied what I have seen watching the videos and spending a lot of time practicing on my basic knives before moving up to my more favorite ones.

I have the Lansky Arkansas stone system. It works great on my "easier" to sharpen steels but it takes a ton of work for my Benchmade 585 mini barrage with 154cpm steel. But using the fine diamond stone first then the hard Arkansas to finish works great. I also use a home made strop to get my blades shaving sharp.

It takes time, practice and patience to achieve very sharp edges.

Obsessed with Edges · Mar 29, 2012

Kai,

If I'm not mistaken, he isn't using the Lansky guided system. He's using a 'Crock Stick' (or TurnBox) sharpener by Lansky.

Hitari0 · Mar 29, 2012

Obsessed with Edges said:
Kai,

If I'm not mistaken, he isn't using the Lansky guided system. He's using a 'Crock Stick' (or TurnBox) sharpener by Lansky.

This is indeed what I am using.

Honestly I'm probably not going to try to master the crock sticks (I just realized that this sounds a little ridiculous) and just gather some funds to purchase a better sharpener after a bit. I've been considering the Work Sharp due to its speed, efficiency, and less likelihood of me screwing up. Eventually I'd like to get my hands on a Wicked Edge or Edge Pro Apex, but those are fairly expensive for sharpening systems.

Kai Winters · Mar 29, 2012

Oops, However YouTube has too many videos on blade sharpening systems to shake stick or knife blade at. Also practice, practice, practice and you will develop the muscle memory for properly holding the knife blade for these type of sharpening systems.

Obsessed with Edges · Mar 29, 2012

Hitari0 said:
This is indeed what I am using.

Honestly I'm probably not going to try to master the crock sticks (I just realized that this sounds a little ridiculous) and just gather some funds to purchase a better sharpener after a bit. I've been considering the Work Sharp due to its speed, efficiency, and less likelihood of me screwing up. Eventually I'd like to get my hands on a Wicked Edge or Edge Pro Apex, but those are fairly expensive for sharpening systems.

I think, whichever system you decide to go with, it'll do you better than the crock sticks. They are great as general maintenance sharpeners, but are pretty abrasively-challenged for re-bevelling jobs. Very, very slow-going, and compounded by the loading up of the ceramic with the steel swarf (so they get exponentially slower, the further you go). Have to be pretty fastidious about keeping them clean, to stay effective.

You could accomplish the re-bevelling with a basic guided kit. Something like a DMT Aligner clamp, a Magna-Guide rod and a coarse/fine (blue/red) Dia-Fold hone. That would give you enough to put an excellent bevel on your blade, after which the general upkeep and maintenance could still be done very simply with your Crock Stick set. You could even just use the Aligner clamp with some wet/dry sandpaper on glass or other hard backing. That'd be even less expensive. You do have lots of good options, though, whichever you decide to use.