Stockman blade sharpening

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Mora2013

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Dec 1, 2013
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I picked up my first stockman design, Buck 373 with the clip, Spey, and sheepsfoot blades.

I've heard that some people sharpen the blades differently, one blade finer, one blade with coarse grit, for different applications.

So, which blades to sharpen fine, and which ones to sharpen coarse?
 
I carried a Case Medium Stockman for about nine months as my only knife.

I used to sharpen the blades as good as I can - razor sharp if possible. IMO it´s a fact that a blade gets duller during use, so why should I keep one of three blades not as sharp as I can? Personally, that makes no real sense for me - at least for EDC tasks.

For which purposes do you plan to use the knife for?
 
The angle on each blade is slightly different. I.e. the Spey blade has a finer edge than the sheepsfoot and the clip is in between. Don't know the exact angles but that the way they come.
 
Hey guys,
I think he's talking about edge finish, not sharpness.
This is what I do on my multiblades, although I don't really like the stockman pattern because of the proud sheepsfoot blade, usually the main/bigger blade is finish around 600 grit (fallkniven DC4 diamond side) + strop on bare leather(fallkniven DC4 sheath) because is a great compromise between slicing and push cutting abilities.
On the secondary blade I try to keep an all the way polish (to 8000 JapWS + strop with flexcut gold compound) because I use this blade for push cutting (plastic, whittling wood, etc)

On a dedicated whittling pattern I keep the two ssecondaries polished
I also have a D2 queen muskrat pattern that is my edge experimentation knife, because you have the same geometry on two blades in the same package. So I keep one 325DMT very coarse and the other 1200DMT + ceramic + strop and then cut the same stuff with both to compare, and yes I'm a kind of a sharpening knut :D

You can use the edge finish to enhance the properties of the different blades, for example the spey usually has a very fine grind and I like to pair that with a laser like polished edge for detailed cutting. But the best advice is try it yourself and see what you like

Mateo
P.S. congratulations on your fatherhood Andi:thumbup::thumbup:, I'm close too (April 13th) and very nervous but looking forward to it.
 
Humppa said:
I used to sharpen the blades as good as I can - razor sharp if possible. IMO it´s a fact that a blade gets duller during use, so why should I keep one of three blades not as sharp as I can? Personally, that makes no real sense for me - at least for EDC tasks.
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Me too.

- Christian
 
The only difference for me is the edge angle, not the sharpness. I sharpen freehand, so angles are not precise, but I try for 15° per side with the clip and spey/pen to improve slicing, but a more robust 20° per side with the sheepfoot for rougher work.
 
I usually go for a 20 degree edge bevel (40 inclusive) on the clip, and 15 (30 inclusive) on the sheepsfoot and spey. If the pattern has a pen instead of the spey, it gets a 20 degree bevel as well.

I don't generally vary the toothiness of the edges, though I can see how that might be useful depending on what you need the knife for.
 
I carried a Buck stockman for 25 years, and it was my real world everyday knife before I became afflicted with our disease. I did sharpen three different ways.

The main clip was sharp as a normal pocket knife. Hair shaving sharp. It was used for easy slicing and dicing, trout and bird use, food use while camping.

The sheep foot was sharpened well, but at a steeper angle for rougher use. It was my box cutter blade. Opening packages, stripping wire, sawing through dirty hemp rope or sisal twine.

The spey blade I actually had no use for, not being into 'mountain oysters'. So it was my catch hell blade. Semi dull for any scraping, probing, and city deeds.

Worked out pretty well. I figured with three different blades, it was like carrying three different knives in one package.

Uh-oh, have to careful here, might talk myself back into carrying a stockman again.
 
I freehand sharpen too and just get them all very sharp...I usually only resort to secondary blades when the main gets a little dull. Not really into dedicated use blades (it's a good idea though) because my stockman knives all see only light occasional use. My hard use stuff goes to an Alox SAK usually.
 
I just make them sharp. I might would think about a wider angle on the sheepsfoot just to make it stronger as I use it for harder/dirty tasks, but I haven't done it yet.
 
I put a 40° edge/30° backbevel on the main clip, and convexed the other two, with the sheepsfoot having an especially steep razor thin convex - these are very easy to keep sharp with the stropping compound I keep on the inner side of my wallet.
 
jc57 said:
I usually go for a 20 degree edge bevel (40 inclusive) on the clip, and 15 (30 inclusive) on the sheepsfoot and spey. If the pattern has a pen instead of the spey, it gets a 20 degree bevel as well.

I don't generally vary the toothiness of the edges, though I can see how that might be useful depending on what you need the knife for.
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These angles are about what I use.

That gives me a robust edge on the clip for heavy chores and a couple of nice slicing blades for precision work. The flatter the angle, the more steel there is supporting the cutting edge.
 
IN association with cowboys of my family and friends, and in association with farmers for 25 years a Stockman was usually sharpened thus: Clip, hair shaving sharp ; Sheepsfoot, wider angle for rough cutting but point very sharp; Spey, fine thin double hair shaving sharp, for doing work not only per its name but any sharp slicing needed like shaving a callus from the side of your big toe.

Always eat with the clip.....300
 
Good question. I don't have much to add. But I just wanted to say that it's a pleasure reading an intelligent conversation about something only fellow knife nuts would be discussing. Like what angle to sharpen which blades of the same knife :)

Always eat with the clip.....300
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I second this!
 
I do use the clip for food prep tasks on my Stockman pattern knives. Clip is general utility, spey/pen is, well, yet another blade for stuff. :)
 
I have more stockman knives than any other pattern. My two favorite are an Old Timer (80T, I think) and a Buck 301. I keep the Older timer sharpened the way 300Bucks describes, but the Buck the way Jack Knife describes. The spey blade on my 301 has always seemed funky, and very thick at the tip, so I don't keep it very sharp at all, and use it mostly for scraping. The Old Timer has a thin spey that is very sharp, and that I seldom use. So I think some of it depends on what you plan to do with your kniife, and some of it to do with the way the knife is built.

You picked a great pattern. If I could only have one knife, it would be a stockman.
 
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