sharpening

I just got my first RAT Izula this afternoon and it's sharp but not that sharp.

I bent a piece of copy paper with my first try and then got a slice and a snag on my next try. It won't shave a hair.

Maybe I'm expecting too much?

What I have is a Spyderco Sharpmaker (and diamond rods too) and a good strop loaded with that green Bark River stuff.

I was wondering what angle to use on the Sharpmaker, if any, to get it really sharp? I do my Benchmades with a pencil underneath it for about 22.5 - 25 degree first, then I do a 30 degree bevel second and then a 40 degree last. Finally, I strop them and they turn out very very sharp.

BTW, I use every rod, edges and flats. Diamond down to fine ceramic before stropping.

I have no idea what the Izula is profiled at from the factory or if my system will work on getting it shaving sharp.

Any advice/comments are welcome! :)
 
This thread has helped me more than any other thread here so far. Thanks for all the great information.
 
Just finished the Izula and it's Razorrr Sharp!

The powder coat was a tad eneven. I took my sharpie and marked the edge - the angle was 15 on one side and 20 on the other. No big deal..

I ground her down to 15 and 15 then put on a 40 degree micro-bevel.

Finally, stropped it really well and now it has a nice "micro-convex" edge. Grabbed a sheet of copy paper and shaved a dozen little curly-q slivers off with no sweat.

In the future it should only take a little touch up at most if the edge retention is 1/2 what I've heard it is. I love this little knife already!

Thanks for the help gang! :)
 
On most of my knives, I create a convex edge. I use a leather pad with a couple of grades of sandpaper to establish the edge. Then, I refresh the edge from time-to-time using three more pieces of leather charged with three different compounds. Obviously, the factory bevel is soon gone to bevel heaven.

For hawkbills and k'bits, I use the Sharpmaker.
 
I thought about that Willieboy. It took a lot of grinding even with the diamond Sharpmaker rods to get that one side profiled to match the other.

That coating is some tough stuff. I should have used sandpaper and a mouse pad, but the stuff came off. I blew it off the left rod since it turned into a fine powder until I hit the metal, then the rest was easy.

Oh well, it's done now anyway and will just need the ceramics and a strop in the future. Thank you though!
 
I don't really think I get a true convex edge right away but, over time, I believe that will be the result. Be that as it may, my knives are very, very sharp using this method.
 
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Agreed! :thumbup:

That's why I put a 40 degree micro-bevel on it before stropping. The 30 degree was unreal but felt fragile. After time, with use, the touch-ups and stropping the edge should blend the bevels into a nicely convexed edge.
 
I use my Lansky system. I can get my BK11 sharp enough to take hair off with the "fine" stone. I'm thinking about seeing what I can do with the "very fine" or "super sapphire" hones.
 
The Lansky is nice if you've got the patience to get everything clamped tight and keep pressure every moment in the right places. I dinged one of my favorite knives because of a boo-boo when I let the guide rod flop around in the slot.

That was a long time ago though. I like the Sharpmaker and freehand best now. No knock on Lansky though, I screwed up not the sharpener - they work!
 
I taught myself how to hand sharpen with stones when I was a kid. It's a skill that I highly recommend every knife nut learns. It really comes in handy when you have to sharpen a knife in the field. Once you have that skill, all you need is a simple two sided Smith's sharpener or even just a good two sided stone, and you can give your knife a good edge no matter where you are. It does take some time to learn, but it is very rewarding and worth the time. Once you get good at it, it almost becomes a hobby in itself. I sit on the couch and sharpen knives when I have nothing else to do. It's like playing solitaire.
 
I went to the hardware store and picked up a multi pack of wet/dry sandpaper and tried out the mousepad sharpening method with spectacluar results. Wow - talk about hair popping results.

It takes a steady hand. I tried first with an old knife that had decent steel so I didn't worry about messing it up too much and sprinkled water on the paper. It worked out great.

Odd thing was - after getting an awesome edge, I stropped it and the blade got dull? (well. duller than before stropping??)

What do you think happened?
 
cziv said:
I went to the hardware store and picked up a multi pack of wet/dry sandpaper and tried out the mousepad sharpening method with spectacluar results. Wow - talk about hair popping results.

It takes a steady hand. I tried first with an old knife that had decent steel so I didn't worry about messing it up too much and sprinkled water on the paper. It worked out great.

Odd thing was - after getting an awesome edge, I stropped it and the blade got dull? (well. duller than before stropping??)

What do you think happened?
Click to expand...

I don't think you stropped it enough or did it incorrectly. Stropping takes more passes than most people think. I usually strop my knife at least one hundred times on each side and then check to see how much work I still have to do. You have to be careful with strops. It's easy to do a bad angle or too much pressure and round the edge.
 
I started on stones, then got a Sharpmaker. I got a paper wheel system this summer and LOVE it. I dont recommend starting off with the wheels, but after you practice on junk knives, it takes no time at all to get a knife sharper than I can on any other system. All the info you need is on this forum under Maintenance of knives sub forum. look for the long thread titled paper wheels.
 
Thanks for the advice milani74,

Something kind of impersonal about using mechanical equipment to me. No doubt they're the "bomb" but I'm going to stick with stones and strops. :)
 
No problem. It is very impersonal but it has many benifits. It costs less than the sharpmaker, and saves you a lot of time.
Its not for everyone but it is a great tool.
 
cziv said:
I went to the hardware store and picked up a multi pack of wet/dry sandpaper and tried out the mousepad sharpening method with spectacluar results. Wow - talk about hair popping results.

It takes a steady hand. I tried first with an old knife that had decent steel so I didn't worry about messing it up too much and sprinkled water on the paper. It worked out great.

Odd thing was - after getting an awesome edge, I stropped it and the blade got dull? (well. duller than before stropping??)

What do you think happened?
Click to expand...

I think perhaps you stropped the teeth off the edge. I've done that two. On some knives, I leave the edge pretty course by not using the finer grade of sandpaper. The 400 and 600 grit wet/dry paper. I also use a piece of think leather (a weightlifters' belt,) rather than a mouse pad beneath the sandpaper.
 
I need to clarify.

I used a courser grit sand paper with water to get a sharp edge - I pushed the blade into the grit not stropping away from it.

The same thing on the finest grit (can't hardly feel any grit on the paper).

Still very sharp. Last I stropped on a block of wood with shaved suede (realy silky) and full of green compound.

On the leather strop, I pulled away but on the sandpaper I pushed the edge into the grit.
 
I'll suggest a DMT magna-guide quad kit. I'm picking this because of the diamond stones-they're pretty quick at reprofiling. You also get DMT's 8000 grit hone. Another thing about the magna-guide is that it uses the more compact and portable Diafold hones.

Knifenut1013 is great with DMTs. There's lots of pics floating around in the Maintenance forum of knives sharpened on his Aligner that're whittling hairs into fuzz sticks.
 
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