Show your sharpening skills ... what's the craziest blade you dared touching?

My Umnumzaan and Insingo.

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Those are some very nice edges. I ha e to say, if aesthetics are important to you, you can't do better than the edge pro. I wish I could get my edges that thin and uniform free handed.
 
Holy smokes! You guys have some amazing edges. My blade looks sick in comparison. I thoght i was doing OK with a Lansky, but after looking at your shots and comparing my new Insingo to the other CRK I just sharpened, I realize I need to step it up.

I'm investing in an Edge Pro. After reading all the positive comments here and watching a youtube video, I'm pretty optimistic it is worth the money. Not so sure about it's worth relative to the backlash I'll get when the wife sees the bill though...

I realize hand sharpening is probably more satisfying once you get it right, but I'm going to opt for the easy way out.

I also realize the easiest thing is to send it back to CRK, but I'm paranoid it'll get lost somehow. I'm oddly sentimental about the knife I took on every Boy Scout trip I took with my son and backpacking and kayaking trip I took with my daughter.
 
SPL77 said:
I'm oddly sentimental about the knife I took on every Boy Scout trip I took with my son and backpacking and kayaking trip I took with my daughter.
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Not odd at all, but reassuringly normal. :)
 
It's hard to get a good pic on my cell indoors but it's a nice polish. Stupid sharp. Though I am worried it's too shallow an angle, even for S30V.

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And no, that's not a wire edge just a bad pic. Weird looks so much better in real life
 
crbauhs said:
It's hard to get a good pic on my cell indoors but it's a nice polish. Stupid sharp. Though I am worried it's too shallow an angle, even for S30V.

20130306141537.jpg


And no, that's not a wire edge just a bad pic. Weird looks so much better in real life
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What deg bevels you running on that?
 
masterserg said:
I can put a very sharp edge with the sharpmaker but I can't make it look pretty or perfectly even (that's just my lack of skill with it). I must admit, I never tried free hand sharpening.
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When I use my sharpmaker, I don't do the 10 strokes per side with the dark, then the 10 with the white and presto, its sharp.....lol.

I use the brown stones to get the edge to where I want it and reasonably sharp. Then I go to the white ones to finish it off. If I want a mirror edge, I then go to the Ultra Fine stones, which I rarely do. To me, the mirror edge is just pretty, thats it. Doesn't mean the blade is any sharper.

Like I said in my original post though, I have used the Original Crock Sticks by Case, Smith's, and various others for 25 years. I still use them sometimes as certain sets have just the right angle for a certain knife. For instance, I have one marked, " Works Great For CRK Shadow III ". When I saw the sharpmaker, I did not buy it at first as my existing sets worked just fine. Then after awhile, I looked into it more and thought I would try it as it had the rougher stones and then the white, which I was used too, plus with the option of the Ultra Fine, which I bought. Plus, it would allow me to sharpen other items more easily like scissors and such.....It was an adjustment going from the round rods of the Case Crock Sticks, to the flat ones of the sharpmaker. But it was a very quick learning curve and I like the sharpmaker much better because it doesnt round the points as its near impossible to stop at the bottom of the stroke on the round rods. With the sharpmaker, you can stop at the bottom, and have much more control I feel.

The ONE thing I WISH Spyderco would come out with, would be a sharpmaker with rods about 2-3" longer for sharpening much larger knives.
 
crbauhs said:
It's hard to get a good pic on my cell indoors but it's a nice polish. Stupid sharp. Though I am worried it's too shallow an angle, even for S30V.

20130306141537.jpg


And no, that's not a wire edge just a bad pic. Weird looks so much better in real life
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It is likely I've taken my Umnumzaan (in S30V) to a lower angle than what appears to be on your Sebenza. It's been totally fine so far. I'm sure that the edge will hold up fine.

One of the great things about low angle bevels is that they are much much easier to sharpen when the start to dull--provided they are properly apexed.
 
masterserg said:
I can put a very sharp edge with the sharpmaker but I can't make it look pretty or perfectly even (that's just my lack of skill with it). I must admit, I never tried free hand sharpening.
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While not a Sebenza, here's a picture from a few years ago that a friend took of a Sage 2 I did by hand:

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It is quite satisfying to get mirror edged results entirely by hand. It is easier, in my opinion, than doing it with a system since the slight natural convex you end up putting on the knife makes it easier to remove any artifacts left over from lower grit stones. On the other hand, it will be very hard to get that perfectly flat and even bevel that a jig system can get you; if you are after the sharpest possible edge, I would stay with a jig system. Which isn't to say that freehand sharpeners can't get hair whittling sharpness - I can attest to that - it's just that a perfectly flat plane will always be sharper than a convex of the same angle.

Another thing to note is that it takes a lot of practice to do a good job freehanding--I'd suggest practicing on cheap knives before you start on your good ones. Rounding the tip, inconsistent angles, or scratching the blade are very likely until you get good at it.
 
rg02 said:
What deg bevels you running on that?
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I have no clue. Whatever angle my hand tells me feels right. I do all my edges free hand. Waterstones, spyderco benchstones, and lots of stropping.
 
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Cynic2701 said:
It is likely I've taken my Umnumzaan (in S30V) to a lower angle than what appears to be on your Sebenza. It's been totally fine so far. I'm sure that the edge will hold up fine.

One of the great things about low angle bevels is that they are much much easier to sharpen when the start to dull--provided they are properly apexed.
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I hope you are right. I did get some micro chipping/rolling while using it during my move. It didn't like super tight heavy duty black zip ties.
 
crbauhs said:
I hope you are right. I did get some micro chipping/rolling while using it during my move. It didn't like super tight heavy duty black zip ties.
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Throw a slightly higher angle microbevel on it and that should fix any microchipping/rolling issues. I cut a few slivers of metal off of a pair of tongs with my Umnumzaan to prove a point about differences in metal hardness (and how even a much thinner piece of steel can cut a thicker piece) and didn't end up with any more than a big roll (which was an easy fix) and one small chip.
 
Cynic2701 said:
Throw a slightly higher angle microbevel on it and that should fix any microchipping/rolling issues. I cut a few slivers of metal off of a pair of tongs with my Umnumzaan to prove a point about differences in metal hardness (and how even a much thinner piece of steel can cut a thicker piece) and didn't end up with any more than a big roll (which was an easy fix) and one small chip.
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I've thought about it but micro bevels... Meh. I've contemplated it. Never been a fan of them.
 
Been holding off on posting here since until today I have not sharpened a CRK.

I have had my wicked edge for 12 days now and let me tell you, the first blade I sharpened was a polished edge and would whittle hairs. It only gets better from there. Edit: No prior sharpening experience at all.

Started with an opinel #8 and slowly moved my way up into my quality blades. Started doing my benchmades, my spydercos, and then my spartan enyo last night.

Had the day off and told myself I am ready to do the umnumzaan.

Well here it is!

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masterserg said:
I can see a mirror there ... very nice! Love that bark by the way!



You are probably not spending enough time with the lower grit stones. The first stone (for example 50, 80 or 100 if you are re-profiling) is the most critical step and you must make sure you reach the edge and form a burr to each side (you should feel it with your finger on the opposite side). After this, it is all refining, honing and polishing. If you didn't reach the edge, you will just be polishing the bevel without sharpening. Also, once you got that burr, don't apply a lot of pressure ... just glide and let the weight of the stones do all the work. Get a cheap knife that you won't be afraid of damaging and just have at it. All trial and error ... at first (on the cheapos) remove more metal on purpose to make sure you get to the edge ... once you learn the technique, you'll be able to adjust as needed and remove as little metal as possible.

It takes time though ... that ladder sebbie took me around 4 hours or so.

Feel free to PM'me and I'll give you some pointers.
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That is some of the best practical advice I read on how to sharpen on the WE. I'm still learning. Thanks for the tips.
 
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