Spyderco Military

R

realitycheck

Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
313
Hey guys I tried to search but couldnt find it.
I was wondering if STR can swap the clip to tip up on a spydie military?
If so anyone has this done can you please post pics of it, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks guys
 
The clip on the folder now curves the wrong way to just flip it from tip down right hand to tip up right hand carry. What I normally do is make a new clip however I have some other old Calypso Jr. and other clips similar to that one iwth the Spyderco emblem on them and I could very easily just use one of those for you rather than the one that came with it.

Your call, thanks for asking.

STR
 
Thanks for the reply STR, I will first get the knife then I will call you and talk to you about what you got at that time. It will be a little while before the wife lets me get that one. :)
But for me either clip would be fine, it doesn't have to have the spyderco logo. I mean it would now be a custom folder anyway, hehe.
 
Hey steve, I got the para on the way. Wifey got it for me for christmas. So I was thinking also, what do you in way of sharpening and reprofiling knives?
Usually all my knives so far have come with uneven edge angles. I was wondering if you could make them even and take the edge down to about 15 degrees on each side for me and sharpen it. How much you usually charge for this?
I usually do it myself but dont do a very good job and would love to have this one done by a pro. :)
 
I'm interested in this as well. I just got a paramilitary and the two things I didn't like were the horrible clip and the edge.
 
Reprofiles are $10 plus shipping. Wave type reprofiles and more are $30 plus shipping unless it involves more time than one hour.

I'd suggest that you use the S30V blade folders at the new angles Spyderco uses. The old ones had some chipping problems reported and I believe a large part of that was the steep angle making it thinner at the edge which weakened it. The carbides pulled out being that thin and left chips visible to the naked eye for some. Seen at the link and old para with old bevel, and a new para with the change. Note width diff of the bevel?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102861&d=1215989204

Now on to the uniform or even looks of the bevel. This is more related to the evenness of the primary grind than anything to do with the settings of the sharpener. I could set the Edge Pro at 15` and basically duplicate the factory look only more exaggerated at the new wider angle. On many knives the bevel may look thinner in some places than in others but this is not evidence that the setting of a sharpening device is responsible. Chances are it was set at the same angle and that is just the bevel look due to the thinness of the primary grind at that point on the blade. Many knives look thicker at the tip and if you check them out they usually are set up this way for a reason if they are tactical designs that you would pry with to some extent in the field so you end up with a wider looking bevel angle at the thicker part of the blade than at the thinner part. I hope you follow this because what I'm saying is that some blades come closer to an ideal identical grind on both sides. On these an angle setting will look uniform on both sides in the same places but not necessarily even all the way down if some part of the blade primary grind are thicker at the point right above the bevel than at other points.

Chances are I can do little to change the evenness of the folder look at the bevel guys. I could at best play with it and set it at 15 in the back and at 20 in the front to hopfully make it look the same overall.

Oh and if you are adamant about the 15` I'd strongly suggest a 20` secondary bevel be placed right behind that one to make it stronger. This will reduce the chip out problem you may face if you don't do that.

STR
 
I understand what your saying steve. Thanks so much for the help.
I dont have to have a fifteen degree angle. The reason I mentioned that is I use the sharpmaker to touch up my knives and alot of times the factory grind wont allow the sharpmaker to touch the very edge unless i angle the blade a little bit. So usually I bring them to fifteen on my course diamond stone. So I just want to be able to sharpen it with the sharpmaker. If I have to keep the factory edge and just angle the blade a little so it contact the sharpmaker stones I will.
So what do you suggest?

If nothing else I'll just pay you to put a razor sharp edge on it. :)
 
There is a 30` and a 40` on the SharpMaker so I'd suggest a 20` which should be what the factory edge is set at if I'm not mistaken.

STR
 
Yeah there is a 30 and 40 on the sharpmaker. I use the sharpie on my edge to see where the sharpmaker stones are hitting my edge and sometimes when I hold the edge straight up and down it just doesnt touch the edge. It hits the shoulder instead of the edge. This was where my question was coming from. So far I use my DMT stone and do a 15 primary bevel with 20 degreee micro bevel. But if you're saying it's not good for this blade steel then I can just stick with whatever it comes with.
 
I just think if you are going to want 15` with that steel that you are better off strengthening the edge by the secondary bevel. Others may agree, or disagree. Its just my opinion. Keep in mind that I'm reading into it a bit thinking that if your are picky enough to notice a bevel that looks other than even that in all likelihood you'll also notice any chips and dings, especially larger ones on the cutting edge. You will probably want those fixed and then you'll end up doing the secondary bevel to strengthen the edge anyway. Most of the ones I've already sharpened this way for members and non members with folder blades in this steel have been done after chipping occurred in the ones with steeper angles. I've had some mailed to me that had more like 12` angles and anything like a 10` or 12` angle on a thinner blade to begin with could be disastrous really and something that could lead to not just chip outs but fracturing. S30V is tough and strong but the larger carbide size combined with a weaker matrix from the steel being thinned down around them which is what holds them in place is a bad deal around the cutting edge. Its not just S30V that I've seen this with. Some folks have taken D2 blades down thinner than is normally seen. D2 is another with larger carbide size.

Some steels are stable when thin. 13C26, and a few others can be taken real thin with little problem for example but they have smaller carbide sizes surrounded by the steel matrix and are made to do that. Thats why 13C26 is a razor blade steel. It can take it but even it can experience easier edge rolling or chips the thinner they get also only its harder to do and when a carbide or several are dislodged in that steel vs when this happens in a larger carbide size, well, its not near as noticed by your eyes. You'd need a scope to see the evidence of it unlike S30V or D2 where the chips would be visible to the naked eye in most cases.

STR
 
Would it be better then to go with say a 18 degree primary angle and then a 20 degree secondary bevel. Would that be thick enough to keep from pulling the carbides out?
 
I don't think so personally. You'd want to space it out a bit more than 2` to make it worth the stone wear and it will not add much. A flat 18` bevel would be far better to me personally but 20` even more so for a knife already thinned down fairly well by the primary grind.

If the edge geometry is done right on S30V it is a very impressive performer. I've seen guys chop nails with them leaving very little tell tale signs of it so it can indeed be strong and tough, but anything thinned down that contains carbides that big gets easier and easier to chip the thinner it goes. Sal is about as good at testing as anyone in the industry. I figure what he is currently setting those blades at from the factory is optimum for what he deems a trouble free performance. I had zero problems with my new Para Military shown above with the new thicker angle. It still sliced and cut as effectively as the one to the left with the old angle but I had some minor chips with that one that I had to fix. I think everything has a point where it tips over the edge. Once you reach that critical mass point where it has gone too far you can't put it back when it comes to sharpening. You have to figure Sal did his homework on what is best here. I'd leave it and use it as is without change if it were me. Thats just my opinion though. I mean I'll let you pay me to do whatever if you want. It is yours but thats what I'd do personally.

STR
 
Thanks steve thats what I wanted to know. If it doesnt come super sharp i'll just let pay you to sharpen it at the factory angle. Thanks for your help and your advice. Not many people would be willing to give advice that takes potential money away from them. You doing so speaks volumes about your character. I feel good about sending my knife to you.
Chet
 
No worries man. If I was money hungry I'd still be in the dental business. This is for fun, or at least its supposed to be. :)

Thanks

STR
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top