Trouble sharpening benchmade 154cm
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Has worked on this particular knife in the past? Or a different one?
Lots of possible things could be going on. Could use more detailed info. Benchmade factory edges have been known to be kind of 'thick' at times. If trying to keep the existing edge shaving-sharp, that could be an issue. The few Benchmades I've had always benefitted from quite a lot of thinning behind the edge, before sharpness came up to expectations.
I'd suggest not using extra pressure. That never goes well with a diamond hone, in the results or for the hone's sake.
With hard steels I have found that going light is better than applying extra force. Too much force pits the sharpener's diamonds against the blade's carbides in a battle to see which is fixed in their matrix better. Use a light touch and take additional strokes. Good things come with patience.
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I've found Benchmade's 154CM on one of my Grippies difficult to sharpen, using the same DMTs. Maybe it's the rather thick geometry. I have no problem at all with Benchmade's D2 (a Cabela's Grippie and a 710) or S30V (Mini-Rukus). Ditto for my sole Emerson. Just don't care for that steel. CPM-154 is another matter altogether (BassPro 110). No problem in getting hair-popping edge on that blade.
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Benchmade heat treats all their steels well,their 154cm is very good,thin out the edge,then form the burr and take it off.This steel by benchmade gets hair whittling easily and holds the edge well.
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The edges out of factory are too thick,this steel is easy to sharpen,especially on dmt.This 154cm is way better than stuff emerson puts out!
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With the Benchmade knives I've had, their thick factory edge geometry gets progressively harder to keep as sharp with subsequent resharpenings. It starts out OK when brand new; but the edge retreats up into thicker steel as the edge is resharpened a few times at the existing factory angle. So behind the edge bevels, it keeps getting thicker than it started out, which makes it even more challenging to keep it shaving, unless some of the steel behind the edge is thinned away. Always the same 'fix' for all of mine, which is to keep thinning it a bit more over time, behind the edge, each time I resharpen them. In other words, take the angle just a bit lower each time, taking some of the shoulder off the bevels in doing so. Eventually the sharpness starts coming back to what I like in an edge, done that way.
Part of the added difficulty in sharpening, as the edge retreats back toward thicker steel, is that the edge bevels get progressively wider in the thicker steel, even while maintaining the existing sharpening angle. A wider bevel, having greater surface area, will inherently take longer to grind to a full apex each time you do it. So it takes longer and longer and longer to get to the apex, each time you resharpen. This is also why it does no good to count passes or time the sharpening, based on what it took to 'get there' the last time. Just have to keep going until you make a burr again. Setting the edge bevels at a lower angle will also take more time, for the same reason (wider bevels, therefore larger surface area). BUT, in doing so, the sharpness will greatly improve as well. So it's worth thinning it out, in the long run.
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The other day I could not find the link for this.
Today I stumbled across it.
Please note the thickness of these blades (behind the edge etc). One of them is 54° (what would be the equivalent of 54 inclusive but this is a single bevel at 54).
My point is all of these blades are literally hair whittling sharp.
I agree thin behind the edge is nice for slicing but as far as SHARP at the edge.
Makes no difference.
Did you get a bur ?
Link>>>> to photo