Sharpmaker advice?

[krazichinaman]

I can not seem to get my MOD CQD Mark II PS (154CM) sharpened on my sharpmaker. I've used my sharpmaker to get all my other knives(Bm 556, BM 558, Spyderco Native, Kbars ETC) shaving sharp without effort, but for some reason this MOD will not get sharp.

I've gone the route the DVD suggested doing all 4 steps @ the 40 degree setting, with no results so I went to the 30 degree like the book stated. Than back to the 40 degree. Again, nothing. The best I can get it to is to beable to slice paper. It wont shave, but when I strop it, it can barely shave, for a few strokes than it goes back to dull.

I even attmepted to use the Diamond and the Ultra fine rods with the above steps with no luck. This is starting to really bother me because this MOD cost me a pretty penny, but I can not even get it shaving sharp. The last thing I want to do is to toss this fine knife into a drawer since it wont get sharp.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting to think that maybe I should try to send it to the people at EdgePro to see what their system can do for it. I'm also considering in sending this knife back to MOD to have them take care of it.

If there is anyone that is local to the Seattle/Tacoma area in Washingtion, that think they could give this blade a sucessful makeover, please let me know.

 

[808jimmy]

I bet you are hitting on the edge shoulder, use a black marker on the edge and it will tell you where the stone are grinding on.

Another tips is make sure the sharpmaker is sitting level on the table, you might be getting 19/21deg or 18/22deg if it is not level.

Clean and rotate the rod frequently, some people use gun solvent or wd40, I just use water and a rag.

FYI, my brand new leek G10 have a factory edge 22deg on the left and 18deg on the right side, took me 4 hrs to get left side back to 20deg and 10 min on the right side, but it is still uneven, the diamond rod should be here today and I will be rebevel 15/15deg.

 

[M Wadel]

Clean and rotate the rod frequently, some people use gun solvent or wd40, I just use water and a rag.

FYI, my brand new leek G10 have a factory edge 22deg on the left and 18deg on the right side, took me 4 hrs to get left side back to 20deg and 10 min on the right side, but it is still uneven, the diamond rod should be here today and I will be rebevel 15/15deg.

hmm aint that a b!tch, uneven grinds..

to speed things up when reprofiling you need to lay the rods on a table or something and put some force into it.



back to topic: well i dont know really but the last passes should be featherlight otherwise it will only get worse. however 154 cm is a steel that i cant get really really sharp either, but s30v no problem, dont know why.. however s30v doesnt really like the SM imo.

 

[smegs]

hmm aint that a b!tch, uneven grinds..

to speed things up when reprofiling you need to lay the rods on a table or something and put some force into it.



back to topic: well i dont know really but the last passes should be featherlight otherwise it will only get worse. however 154 cm is a steel that i cant get really really sharp either, but s30v no problem, dont know why.. however s30v doesnt really like the SM imo.

I avoid CM154 and ATS34 like the plague. For me they've been a pain in the ass to sharpen, especially when I've thinned them out. I almost always wind up puttin a steep microbevel back on them and call it quits. If someone gives me one of those two steels to sharpen, they get a 25 degree angle per side, no ifs ands or buts.

 

[krazichinaman]

I bet you are hitting on the edge shoulder, use a black marker on the edge and it will tell you where the stone are grinding on.

Another tips is make sure the sharpmaker is sitting level on the table, you might be getting 19/21deg or 18/22deg if it is not level.

Clean and rotate the rod frequently, some people use gun solvent or wd40, I just use water and a rag.

FYI, my brand new leek G10 have a factory edge 22deg on the left and 18deg on the right side, took me 4 hrs to get left side back to 20deg and 10 min on the right side, but it is still uneven, the diamond rod should be here today and I will be rebevel 15/15deg.

The rods have been cleaned with Comment and a scotch brite pad. They've also been cleaned with Hopps #9 as well. When I sharpen it, I place it on my computer desk which is leveled. Also, I've been using the sharpie trick with the original post, all with still no luck.

When I first got the MOD, it was sharp, but over time it got dull. I use to use the Smith Sharpening set to put its edge back on which did work fine. Eventually, I got the sharpmaker which made things much sharper than the smith so thats why I ditched the smith set. (I tried the lanksy set and I didn't like it).

Any other people have any idea what else I could be doing wrong? I even tried using the mirror behind the sharpmaker to ensure my strokes are straight.

 

[smegs]

Finish up with a few light strokes at a slightly higher angle. If this doesn't work go even higher to dull the edge and cut any burr and start over.

 

[krazichinaman]

Finish up with a few light strokes at a slightly higher angle. If this doesn't work go even higher to dull the edge and cut any burr and start over.

The sharpmaker only has 2 set spots. 40(20 per side) and 30 (15 perside). If im sharpening on the 40, you suggest that I should do a few lite final strokes on the 30?

 

[matt321]

I have had this happen to me before. (A knife that will not sharpen on the SM even when the correct, conventional methods are used.)

Another version of this is when you discover a knife that sharpened easily on the SM in the past and suddenly it won't do it again. Another example is a knife that sharpens easily on the SM except for one small portion of the edge which stays dull no matter how long you work it.

For your case, here is what I would do. Lean a coarse bench stone or DMT hone against one of the SM rods to set the angle and work the edge continuously on that one side until a prominent bur can be easily detected along the full length. Then switch to the other side and repeat. Then repeat with very light strokes to remove the burr, Then set the coarse stone aside and use the SM in the conventional manner.

If that approach fails. I would be confident enough that the blade was faulty to justify returning it to the maker.

The burr based method is good for this situation because it is proof positive that you have worked the bevel to the very edge. In my opinion the sharpie marker method is slightly less reliable. Using a coarse stone (like 120 grit) helps cuz it will make a nice crumbly burr that is easy to detect and remove. Also, if there is a small patch of bad steel along the edge, the coarse stone may be enough to remove it. The SM diamonds are 400 grit. That might be sufficient but I would use something coarser if I had it. A 10 dollar SiC stone from Home Depot would be good too.

 

[StretchNM]

I LOVE my 154CM as I can get it very sharp.

Maybe you should re-bevel the edge to 12-1/2 degrees. If you place a 1/4" thick piece of wood under one end of the Sharpmaker, you'll get approx 12.5 deg (as long as the stones are in the 15deg holes). You can check it with a protractor and remember where the block has to be to be right. However, I wouldn;t try to re-bevel with a Sharpmaker stone. Wrap it with 220 or 320 wet/dry (get ready to use a few strips), dampen it with water, and grind it down to 12.5. Count your strokes and do the same on the other side. Alternate back and forth until you get both sides done. If you use 220 grit, then I would follow with 400 grit before moving to the sharpmaker stones. With 320, though it will take a little longer to grind it all the way to 12.5, you go straight to the stones at 15 deg.

Then use the medium and white rods at 15 degrees. On your final passes, veeery light passes, angle the knife just a tad past 15 degrees.

This works well on my one 154CM knife...a BM Nimravus. And I have no problems getting it "razor" sharp...shaving sharp (though not "hair popping" sharp).

Good luck

 

[krazichinaman]

Hmm, thanks for the advice! Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

 

[Rozen]

I have the Benchmade 425 Gravitator. It is also made from 154cm.
It was not very sharp when it was new, and I can't make it "shaving sharp" till now...

 

[Steven Andrews]

The Graviators that I have seen (drop point versions) had steep bevels - the fourty degree setting of the Sharpmaker didn't touch the edge.

 

[smegs]

The sharpmaker only has 2 set spots. 40(20 per side) and 30 (15 perside). If im sharpening on the 40, you suggest that I should do a few lite final strokes on the 30?

Tilt the spine of the knife towards the other stone. Keeping the blade straight on the 20 degree setting will give you a 20 degree edge. While using the left hand rod, tilt the spine of the knife a little more towards the right hand rod. With a few light strokes with just the weight of the blade will usually eliminate any burr or wire edge. Do the opposite for the other side. A few finish swipes at 20 degrees to finish up. This has worked for me when all else failed. Sometimes I'll even tilt the knife so it an an angle that matches the other rod. That blunts the knife but there's no wire or burr left and I'll start over with very light strokes.