I have a Case Stockman #52075. The clip point blade will not take a hair shaving edge. I reprofiled it at 15 deg on a Spyderco 204 using diamond sleeves and followed up with gray and white stones. The edge angle has been checked with a magig marker. It will not grab a fingernail at all along the straight portion of the blade. The belly and tip will just grab. I tried finishing at 20 deg. and it improved slightly but not much. I used an Apex Edge pro on it also without much change. Both these systems have worked fine for me in the past. It seems very difficult to get a burr also. Steeling seems to improve it also, but I would expect the stones to get to shaving sharp by themselves. Any suggestions?
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Tough to sharpen Case
- Thread starter basalt
- Start date
Cliff Stamp
BANNED
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- Oct 5, 1998
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- 17,562
When you say you have checked the edge with a magic marker what exactly do you mean? The easiest way is to outline the edge with a marker and then grind on one side until all the marker is no longer visible along the entire edge. There will now be just a tiny bit of the unsharpened edge left which you can't see, so you remark the edge and continue again until a burr has formed.
Depending on the aggression of the hones this should happen very quickly just a few strokes. Clean the hones if they are loaded to speed the process up. When the edge has developed a burr along the entire length then you mark the other side of the blade and repeat. Only when a full burr has been obtained on both sides do you then switch to finer stones. Even on the coarse hone finish, the edge that has developed a burr will catch on your fingernail, slice paper etc. .
You can also just alternate strokes and work on both sides at the same time, and stop when the blade catches your finger nail along the entire length and then proceed to the finer stones and repeat. This will keep the bevel inline with the center of the blade, but takes more judgement than the above one side at a time method.
There of course could be problems with the steel which is causing it to crumble or fracture, if you can check it under magnification you can see if this is the problem or not.
-Cliff
Depending on the aggression of the hones this should happen very quickly just a few strokes. Clean the hones if they are loaded to speed the process up. When the edge has developed a burr along the entire length then you mark the other side of the blade and repeat. Only when a full burr has been obtained on both sides do you then switch to finer stones. Even on the coarse hone finish, the edge that has developed a burr will catch on your fingernail, slice paper etc. .
You can also just alternate strokes and work on both sides at the same time, and stop when the blade catches your finger nail along the entire length and then proceed to the finer stones and repeat. This will keep the bevel inline with the center of the blade, but takes more judgement than the above one side at a time method.
There of course could be problems with the steel which is causing it to crumble or fracture, if you can check it under magnification you can see if this is the problem or not.
-Cliff
Cliff,
I was marking the edge on both sides and grinding it of to keep the bevel centered. Once I got to the 15 deg I was shooting for I tried to develop a burr on one side with the gray rod of the 204. It did not seem to want to develop a good uniform burr. Very gentle steeling would get parts of the blade sharp.
I looked at it with a 10X loop. As you suggest, the edge may be breaking down. It appears a lot rougher than my kitchen knives which are maintained on the 204"s gray rod to shaving sharp.
I was marking the edge on both sides and grinding it of to keep the bevel centered. Once I got to the 15 deg I was shooting for I tried to develop a burr on one side with the gray rod of the 204. It did not seem to want to develop a good uniform burr. Very gentle steeling would get parts of the blade sharp.
I looked at it with a 10X loop. As you suggest, the edge may be breaking down. It appears a lot rougher than my kitchen knives which are maintained on the 204"s gray rod to shaving sharp.
Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
That shows the problem right away. Scratch patterns by a particular abrasive should be very uniform . There will be some minor changes from one steel to the next, but only small. Experience is key here in knowing what to expect. A real problem is large irregularites in the scratch pattern. This shows that the steel can't hold the edge and is just breaking part. The only thing you can try is going to a softer hone at a higher angle.
-Cliff
-Cliff
- Joined
- Oct 4, 1998
- Messages
- 4,131
Cliff has this one pegged. On modern Case knives (non Case Classics)15 degrees just is not a viable angle; increase it to about 19 or 20 and you will have better results. At least that has been my experience.
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2000
- Messages
- 555
Doesn't this imply that Case uses inferior steel? These knives are highly regarded as collecting knives, with a higher price tag than other slip joints. This is strange indeed. QC problem?