The Sharpening Thread

[pitt bull]

I got it sharp! Thank you everybody. Len you are the man thanks for going the extra mile and having the patience to get me through this. I see alot of Busse Knives in my future. Thanks again.

 

[Lennox]

You're welcome bro, glad i could be of assistance.

 

[Rob_Mob]

Well I pulled the trigger on the DMT XX course for reprofiling, DMT DuoSharp Red/Blue, DMT Fine Steeling Rod, and a 1 x 30 Harbor Freight Belt Grinder. All this in addition to the Spyderco SharpMaker -- I should find one system that works well for me. Each system has it's challenges and learning curve. I'm excited.

 

[Tim709]

Lennox,

Thanks for starting this thread, there is a lot of great info here.

I use a 1-30 belt grinder and paper wheels to sharpen. I use the belt grinder to convex grind with coarse belts, and sharpen with finer belts. I use the paper wheel to remove the burr, it acts as a power strop from what I understand anyways. I like this setup because I can sharpen a knife, or lots of knives quickly. I try and gets lots of practice by sharpening all of the knives in the kitchen regularly, and I'm always offering to sharpen knives, axes, whatever for relatives and friends. I'm far from an expert, but getting better. The belt grinder works up a burr fast, which is great, but It can remove too much metal fast too, which can cause problems. I find that I often take too much metal away from the blade just in front of the riccasso, and blades that should have a straight edge end up with a slight recurve. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but all my knives are users, so I'm more focused on getting a functional edge. I would prefer not to mess em up, but it happens sometimes.

I have used the sharpie trick before, but I would coat the edge, running the marker along the entire edge. I tried using the lines perpendicular to the edge, like in the pic in your first post, and it was a huge help. I found it much easier to see what I was doing.

I have messed around with cheap diamond stones, and sandpaper with a mousepad, but I find my current method to be the best with regards to being efficient. Sometimes I use a strop (I bought the bark river one with black and green compound) &/or a sharpening steel too.

Thanks again for posting all this great stuff.

Tim

 

[Rob_Mob]

Yea I must agree. Lennox you're help on this thread has been very valuable. I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you!

 

[duramax]

Lennox, first wanted to say thank you and to all who posted info thanks. This thread is full of great info

Well to update, I purchased a sharpmaker with the optional ultra fine triangle rods. I also just ordered strops from Flexxx strops, I went with the Jumbo and Tyrant. These will be my first strops and first attempt at stropping.
My first Busse I will attempt to sharpen will be a AMSCG, it's brand new. It's only cut some boxes and minor stuff, but it came kinda lacking the edge my other Busse's arrived with. I've tried the sharpmaker using the ultra fine rods, it seemed to help a little. Is this INFI that tuff that I need to do more strokes, I'm at about 40 per side. Should I work the blade reverse by dragging the blade up the rods, not down ? Just think I need a little guidance and practice, I've always had great results sharpening other knives.
Next on the list is to order some sharpening stones and possibly an Edge pro or EzeSharp.

Thanks again !

 

[Lennox]

Lennox,

Thanks for starting this thread, there is a lot of great info here.

I use a 1-30 belt grinder and paper wheels to sharpen. I use the belt grinder to convex grind with coarse belts, and sharpen with finer belts. I use the paper wheel to remove the burr, it acts as a power strop from what I understand anyways. I like this setup because I can sharpen a knife, or lots of knives quickly. I try and gets lots of practice by sharpening all of the knives in the kitchen regularly, and I'm always offering to sharpen knives, axes, whatever for relatives and friends. I'm far from an expert, but getting better. The belt grinder works up a burr fast, which is great, but It can remove too much metal fast too, which can cause problems. I find that I often take too much metal away from the blade just in front of the riccasso, and blades that should have a straight edge end up with a slight recurve. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but all my knives are users, so I'm more focused on getting a functional edge. I would prefer not to mess em up, but it happens sometimes.

I have used the sharpie trick before, but I would coat the edge, running the marker along the entire edge. I tried using the lines perpendicular to the edge, like in the pic in your first post, and it was a huge help. I found it much easier to see what I was doing.

I have messed around with cheap diamond stones, and sandpaper with a mousepad, but I find my current method to be the best with regards to being efficient. Sometimes I use a strop (I bought the bark river one with black and green compound) &/or a sharpening steel too.

Thanks again for posting all this great stuff.

Tim

Thanks bro i'm glad you like the thread, i know very well the problem you are encountering when working on a belt grinder, what you are probably doing wrong is that you are reducing your pressure against the belt when you get close to the choil or just before the blade transitions from a straight edge to a curve towards the tip of your blade, try to start with the tip of your knife (might be smart to figure out angle of attack and pressure without the belt moving) then keep the pressure the same all the way to the choil (this is how i do it).

Yea I must agree. Lennox you're help on this thread has been very valuable. I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you!

Your welcome bro.

Lennox, first wanted to say thank you and to all who posted info thanks. This thread is full of great info

Well to update, I purchased a sharpmaker with the optional ultra fine triangle rods. I also just ordered strops from Flexxx strops, I went with the Jumbo and Tyrant. These will be my first strops and first attempt at stropping.
My first Busse I will attempt to sharpen will be a AMSCG, it's brand new. It's only cut some boxes and minor stuff, but it came kinda lacking the edge my other Busse's arrived with. I've tried the sharpmaker using the ultra fine rods, it seemed to help a little. Is this INFI that tuff that I need to do more strokes, I'm at about 40 per side. Should I work the blade reverse by dragging the blade up the rods, not down ? Just think I need a little guidance and practice, I've always had great results sharpening other knives.
Next on the list is to order some sharpening stones and possibly an Edge pro or EzeSharp.

Thanks again !

Hmmm i have a set of UF rods for the sharpmaker and they are great for polishing the edge and straightening out the apex much in the same way as a strop so working away from the edge will work just fine, when using the Spyderco ceramics the medium (grey) sticks are more than fine enough to make your blade able to shave, i would categorize the steps like this:

Step 1 Medium : sharp enough to shave and cut paper
Step 2 Fine : scary hair popping sharp
Step 3 Ultra fine : sharp enough to cut yourself just by thinking about it.

I use all the spyderco ceramics free hand but i will be getting a base soon so i can make a video for you guys. Just remember if you don't get a good edge with the medium sticks you will be struggling to make it better with the fine ones, of course if your knife is pretty sharp and just needs a touch up the fine sticks will serve you just fine.

Stay tuned i will soon be making a huge update to the thread with free hand, Sharpmaker and worksharp content and shortly after that i will be getting around to belt grinders.

Len

 

[chiral.grolim]

Well to update, I purchased a sharpmaker with the optional ultra fine triangle rods. I also just ordered strops from Flexxx strops, I went with the Jumbo and Tyrant. These will be my first strops and first attempt at stropping.
My first Busse I will attempt to sharpen will be a AMSCG, it's brand new. It's only cut some boxes and minor stuff, but it came kinda lacking the edge my other Busse's arrived with. I've tried the sharpmaker using the ultra fine rods, it seemed to help a little. Is this INFI that tuff that I need to do more strokes, I'm at about 40 per side. Should I work the blade reverse by dragging the blade up the rods, not down ? Just think I need a little guidance and practice, I've always had great results sharpening other knives.
Next on the list is to order some sharpening stones and possibly an Edge pro or EzeSharp.

Have you painted the edge with Red sharpie to see where you're actually hitting the bevel? If you aren't removing 'paint' from the very apex, then you won't notice any change in edge-sharpness until you move enough metal to reach the apex, and UF rods don't remove all that much metal with each pass (not to mention you'll load them up pretty quickly and need to wash them clean again to keep them cutting).
In general, a coarse hone removes more metal per pass (cutting deeper scratches) and loads up more slowly. A fine hone removes less metal by cutting scratches less deep (or rather, removing the ridges left by the coarse hone). But in either case, they only remove metal where they actually make contact A lot of bussekin are rather obtuse at the apex, so if you are sharpening at a more acute angle of incidence, you are missing the apex entirely and only removing metal from the edge shoulders. The sharpie-trick will help you figure that out. Once you're hitting the apex at the angle you want, INFI is easy to touch-up :thumbup: But you might prefer a less fine finish for the aggression the 'teeth' provide. Have fun!

 

[duramax]

Thanks for the advice, Lennox and chiral.grolim.

Ok I'll take both of your advice and put it to use later tonight hopefully I'll keep you posted :thumbup:

Just wanted to add, ordered my strops today from Flexxx Strop. Paul at Flexxx Strop got right back to me, providing me some info and advice. Really nice guy to deal with, super easy to order and fast replies :thumbup:

Thanks again !!!!