Tips for a new EDC knife owner

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Sep 20, 2015
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Hi guys, I really apologize as I know there are a lot of threads on sharpening setups so you guys might be tired of seeing this.

This is my first post so I thought I'd share a little about my first knife. I always thought a knife was just a knife and it's used to cut things, I owned a cheap pocket knife when I was young, but I never payed attention to it. It wasn't until I started carrying a flashlight everyday and finding myself using the S*** out of it that I decided I wanted a knife, I work in a restaurant and I'm constantly cutting cardboard boxes into sections or opening giant bags of sugar, flour, rice, etc.

I started looking for a cheap knife I could use, but being into firearms for years, I couldn't settle for something that works, I needed something perfect for my needs. I started looking into knives and noticed there was much more to it than I ever expected, different types of steels, razor sharp edges, edge retention, durability, in other words I found the beauty of what goes into knives which is awesome but also bad because now I have another interest that is going to blow a hole in my wallet.:dejection:

Anyways, I know this is real long and unnecessary but I picked up a Spyderco Dragonfly2 (VG-10) for my first edc knife and I couldn't be more happy, My favorite thing about it is, it just disappears in my pocket. Every little inch or ounce I can shed makes the biggest difference in my EDC gear. I've had the little dragonfly for 3 weeks now and the blade isn't as sharp as it use to be. I am looking into my first sharpening setup to get a working, sharper than factory blade. Doesn't have to be ultra sharp where it can shave someone's eyebrows off just by pointing the knife at them but I'd like it to be sharp enough to easily slice through notebook paper or receipt paper. I would like to keep it as basic and efficient as possible, not having a bunch of sharpening tools laying around and will be practicing on two cheap knives before working on my precious dragonfly.

The setup I'm thinking of getting is the smith's 4 inch diamond stone 325/750 grit along with a DMT 1k diamond stone.
Would you guys recommend a different setup or adding another finer stone to this setup?
Also should I add a strop and if so, would it be better to finish with a finer stone than 1k before stropping?

If you guys are still here, Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I really appreciate any help given.:D
 
I would recommend getting a Spyderco sharpmaker along with ultra fine rods. The sharpmaker is a great system for beginners wanting to easily to keep their knives sharp, however the stones are not that aggressive so if your edge is really messed up it will take a lot of patience. If you regularly touch up the edge then it is not a problem.
 
Doesn't have to be ultra sharp where it can shave someone's eyebrows off just by pointing the knife at them

This cracked me up because its semi true if we could only get it that sharp!

I am just a beginner into all of this and the best videos i have found that worked best for me to sharpen my knives is this guy. https://youtu.be/I-POg4dG784 DeadboxHero refereed me to him and it was great. I know you were asking just of what set up but its nice to know how to start as well! best of luck!
 
I'd recommend a strop. Using one properly means that you remove less material from your knife, and you don't have to do a full sharpening as often.
 
I would recommend getting a Spyderco sharpmaker along with ultra fine rods. The sharpmaker is a great system for beginners wanting to easily to keep their knives sharp, however the stones are not that aggressive so if your edge is really messed up it will take a lot of patience. If you regularly touch up the edge then it is not a problem.

Thanks for the input Wraith, I've heard great things about the spyderco sharpmaker but it is a bit out of my budget adding two ultra fine rods and I'd like to practice free handing just for the experience.
 
This cracked me up because its semi true if we could only get it that sharp!

I am just a beginner into all of this and the best videos i have found that worked best for me to sharpen my knives is this guy. https://youtu.be/I-POg4dG784 DeadboxHero refereed me to him and it was great. I know you were asking just of what set up but its nice to know how to start as well! best of luck!

Haha I'll admit I cracked myself up when I posted that, thanks for the video it makes me want to get my setup already and practice, just wondering, what setup are you currently using and how's it going for you. Thanks
 
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I'd recommend a strop. Using one properly means that you remove less material from your knife, and you don't have to do a full sharpening as often.

Hey philbird, I like the idea of finishing with a strop and do plan on adding it to my setup though it's probably not necessary for now if I'm on a budget? Correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said though, I do want to get a strop but I'd like to know if stropping after a 1k stone will be sufficient or should I look into adding a finer stone into my setup before stropping, also which compound should I be looking to get if I only wanted to have one laying around.
 
Thanks for the input Wraith, I've heard great things about the spyderco sharpmaker but it is a bit out of my budget adding two ultra fine rods and I'd like to practice free handing just for the experience.

No problem, I prefer to free hand too, but when I was starting it was nice to have some guides. Otherwise, like Philbird said, stropping is a great, cheap and easy way to maintain your knives.
 
For you what you describe (cutting a lot of cardboard and heavy paper bags), I would recommend a Sharpmaker, as others have said here, with the addition of the diamond rods. You mentioned that the Sharpmaker is out of your budget and that you want to learn freehand sharpening -- and I am a huge proponent of freehand sharpening -- but cutting boxes and sugar bags on a daily basis is punishing on an edge. After a hard day of work, you are going to want to have a quick, easy solution. As for the cost, it's a bit of money, but "buy once, cry once," as they say. You can forego the UF rods to save money, in my opinion, since you will definitely want the diamond (or CBN) rods.

A propos the Sharpmaker, I would use the diamond rods (or CBN rods) to reprofile to true 30° (and then go up the grit progression from medium to fine rods that come with the system) and then add, as a final step, a 40° microbevel with the fine rods. When the Dragonfly is no longer cutting as efficiently as you want it to, just touch up your 40° microbevel with a few swipes on the fine stones. If the edge gets very dull, then maybe medium followed by fine. That should be very satisfactory for your situation, I think, and will only take a few minutes.

I made a video a while back on how to reprofile with the Sharpmaker diamond rods, which might be helpful if you want to go that route:

[youtube]ywogvxTQGXk[/youtube]
 
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Good advice from Magnanimous_G. Forget the ultra fine rods. I find myself using just the medium rods for sharpenining my work knives as the toothy edge works better and lasts longer. Get the cbn rods to more quickly sharpen a really dull edge, then finish with the medium rods. Use a strop every couple of days to keep you edge sharp longer. The cost of the Sharpmaker is a bargain.
 
Have you had any experience free hand sharpening? i tried for a start and spend hours getting nowhere, just couldn't get a feel for the apex and guess i was working on flattening out the bevel with the occasional loose swipe knocking down the edge. when i seriously got into knives i picked up a gatco system (like the lansky) after a while (and very sharp results) i watched some videos about the sharpmaker and picked one up with the uf rods. about the same time i was watching some free hand vids on you tube and played round with an old Norton which was my fathers. now i start with the Norton coarse, the flip it, Norton fine, then free hand on spyderco UF then strop.5-10 minutes if the knife was pretty beaten up. Work knives once a week i freehand on the UF rods and strop. Almost any sharpening gear is useful, my two cents would be for a start coarser grits are more rewarding.
 
Sharpmaker, smooth steel, 2 strops (1 with compound, 1 without). That setup is foolproof, cheap, and will maintain nearly ANY knife.

If you want to get more involved, there's a wide world of sharpening gear out there. (And I've tried a lot if it) However, if you just want to be able to sharpen your knife and prolong your edge between sharpenings, it's really all you need.
 
I'd like to recommend freehand sharpening (I used to hate people making this recommendation). It'll take some time to get the hang of it, but it'll serve you better in the long run, I believe. A good way to get started is with Murray Carter's instructional videos (blade sharpening fundamentals). They really helped getting me started. Just skip the thinning step (laying the blade flat on the stone) for the Dragonfly for now. You could get by with just a #1000 water stone for a good while and strop on paper for the last step. You have to be prepared that you'll end up with uneven bevel lines at first, but if it's a knife you use every day you'll appreciate having it sharp and knowing that you could put an edge as sharp back on it when it starts to dull.
 
i agree, get the sharpmaker ..its agreat and easy system to use,,also get a strop ..cant go wrong with this basic system .
 
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