Just was wondering about a few things. Should different types of steels be sharpened at different angles? I have some s30v and ATS 34 folders. Since they are made of such strong steels, can they be sharpened at 30 deg on my SharpMaker instead of 40 without fear of loosing the edge faster? Is there a general rule of thumb for sharpening different steels? Now, after using the Sharpmaker, when stropping, what is the technique? Won't a strop convex the edge? I am gathering from my searching that stropping is the best thing to do when finishing off most edges (v grind, convex) but what about sharpening a Mora? That's a scandi grind, right? Just got one and hit it with the strop to polish the edge a bit. It's sharper now, but when it needs sharpened again, I might take a stone to it and take it back to the proper edge. Can you use sandpaper on a flat surface to do the scandi's? Sorry for the bombardment of random thoughts. My mind is about ready to lock up after reading so much about sharpening knives now. I need a bit of help. Thanks
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Some general sharpening and stropping questions
- Thread starter WillieD
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
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- 6,117
I sharpen almost all steels to well below 30 degrees. The problem with ATS 34 is not strength, but grain size. ATS 34 has such a rough consistency that it is hard to put on a final edge below 30 degrees unless you use diamond hones.
So if I go with some diamond spray on a leather strop would I be able to finish off ATS 34 at a 30 degree? Getting back to the Mora sharpening. If I use sandpaper, I am assuming I would want to use it on a solid surface instead of the mousepad technique, right? Also, would I push the blade edge first over the paper like using a bench stone, or trail the edge like stropping on sandpaper. Thanks