Touching Up New Benchmades

cziv

cziv

Joined
Nov 24, 2005
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I have a couple of questions.

I have two new Benchmades that have never been used more that cutting an envelope.

1. 710 D2

2. 940 S30V

First question: Out of the box (I hear) they're ground at 44* inclusive. If I never use them on much besides some paper, string, and an occasional priority mail carton, would simply stropping them on my leather strop with that green BR compound be enough to keep them sharp?

Second question: If I put a 30 degree back bevel on them with a Sharpmaker using diamond rods right through ultrafine and then wanted to put a 40 degree microbevel over top of that. Would I do the microbevel with the course rods to ultrafine or do I need to use the diamond rods first?

Thanks :)
 
1st: probably, if they were sharp to start with and you're only using the blades for light tasks, then routine stropping or passes on the ultra-fine will be enough to maintain the edge.

2nd: I'd use the fine and ultra-fine for the microbevel, no need for the coarser stones.
 
Thanks Kenix, I wondered why the last 940 I tried to microbevel was dull. I really ground a nice 30 degree on it, but put the microbevel on with diamond and course stones. Dulled it worse than it was before I tried to do it!!

I'm going to do my new 940 on the strop (if I ever use it, it's a backup) and my 710 is getting the treatment as you've instructed. :thumbup:
 
Run a straight 15 on both blades and skip the microbevel, factory bevels are lucky to be at the same angle on both sides so whenever you hear X brand sharpens at X degree that's nothing more than a guess to make the masses happy.
 
Run a straight 15 on both blades and skip the microbevel, factory bevels are lucky to be at the same angle on both sides so whenever you hear X brand sharpens at X degree that's nothing more than a guess to make the masses happy.
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Well my 710 is on the table with the Sharpie right now.

My new back-up 940, I'm going to just strop if I use it at all. I like having it because I really like it.

I passed a 940 Osborne D2 limited edition with serial numbers for the same money because I like the look of the S30V grind better.

It polishes up like a mirror with a lot of stropping which I can't achieve on BM D2.

You know knifenut I never did get my 1st 940 S30V where it could pop hair. Yeah I could scrape my arm really hard and get an odd hair occasionally.

I have every rod in the SharpMaker arsenal and can't figure out whay I can't get the darn thing to shave at 30 degrees and tons of stropping.

The new, blunt looking 940 shaves though, so it must be something I'm doing wrong.
 
Could it be that you're using too much pressure? For all the sharpmaker stones I use a very light touch. That goes doubly for the fine and ultra fine rods. When you get to the white stones, imagine that you are gently teasing the blade to sharpness, not attacking it with dignified retribution. That was my biggest mistake when I first got the Sharpmaker.
 
Could it be that you're using too much pressure?
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This could be. I noticed tonight with the 710 anyway that it actually felt sharpest after the flats of the diamond rods.

I think it's really sharp (just at the verge of shaving) so I'll re-try the whites tomorrow. Thanks! :)
 
Well, I worked on the BM710 D2 again today, only using the flats of the Sharpmaker Rods.

It's getting sharper very slowly.

With Sharpmaker diamond rods, I'm trying to get a 15* & 15* - 30* inclusive bevel. I think the reason why it's not getting sharp enough to really pop hair is that I don't have the full 30* re-profile completed yet, since it gets better each time.

I've read that it takes a long time - up to 12 hours of stroking on a Sharpie to get it re-profiled and I'm only about 1/2 way there from the very obtuse factory grind I got it with.

This is a 30* inclusive grind on the BM710BK: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=719045&page=2

I'm about 1/2 way that deep on my edge's grind depth. Better just keep stroking ay?
 
I reprofiled my 940 to around 15 degrees.... inclusive. Before it was like yours and very dull. Now it cuts amazing with no resistance.
 
It takes forever and a day to reprofile a 710 D2 on a Sharpmaker. I did with mine. When I started I got so frustrated with it I almost quit. Then I just decided to work on it a few minutes every night until I was there. After what seemed like months I finally made it. But was never happy with the results. My axis spring broke and I had to send my knife back to Benchmade for repair. They just sent me a new knife...and yes a new factory ground blade. I decide I wasnt going to do it again. I had a friend reprofile it on his Edge Pro........much better results.
 
I am having pretty much the same issue. I have a new benchmade D2 mini griptilian and the thing isnt shaving sharp from the factory. I've probably done 400 passes on the sharpmaker, and it still isnt even close to shaving, or even paper cutting sharp.


-Freq
 
cziv said:
....I think the reason why it's not getting sharp enough to really pop hair is that I don't have the full 30* re-profile completed yet, since it gets better each time.... :thumbup:



I hear you on those 22 degree bevels and first thought it was impossible to get this expensive knife hair poppin sharp. I've got a 940 in s30v as well and found it very difficult to get it hair poppin sharp at 1st because I was lacking a proper coarse stone for reprofiling (it wasn't even hair poppin sharp when I 1st got it). I bought the extra extra coarse DMT and got it reprofiled to 15 degrees in minutes (and can feel a noticeable burr easily) as opposed to hours with a coase arkansas stone that I had at 1st. If you get the EEC make sure to control your pressure because it's a metal eating machine :).
Click to expand...
 
I have had numerous BM's, but none of them were made of D2. I had no problem re-profiling. But, I got a new 710 D2 and I am not even bothering with a new profile on this blade. I just touch it up every week or so (which is probably more than I need to) and it takes a few strokes on each side on a medium diamond smith stone to get hair shaving sharp.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Run a straight 15 on both blades and skip the microbevel, factory bevels are lucky to be at the same angle on both sides so whenever you hear X brand sharpens at X degree that's nothing more than a guess to make the masses happy.
Click to expand...

Exactly. All of my Benchmades are re-bevelled to 15 per side as soon as they come out of the box. And they work! :thumbup:
 
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