What are you guys using for a sharpening setup for a Case Peanut?

Chizzholm

Chizzholm

Joined
Mar 17, 2016
Messages
78
Hey guys! First time poster here, long time lurker.. I made the mistake of reading though the Cult of the peanut thread over the past few days and.... there is a yellow peanut on its way to my door step :)

This will be my first traditonal knife, I've been collecting modern folders (mainly spydercos) for years and I'm really looking forward in carrying the peanut, developing some patina and character!

Now, I've always used my Lansky system for my knives and currently it's my only means of sharpening at the moment - I feel that the peanut will be too small to effectively sharpen with this system and I'm looking to reach out to the peanut lovers of this forum and ask;

What do you ladies and gentlemen use to sharpen your peanuts or small traditonal folders?


- Ryan
 
I sharpen all my small traditional blades using the KO work sharp. I start with 800 grit and the slowest setting so I don't take off much metal and then go straight to Stropping after working up a burr on both sides. I tried various other methods but have found this one to work the best for me.
 
Freehand on stones. There are three reasons this is great for traditional knives:

1. Traditionals typically come in simple steels (1095, 420HC, Etc.) that respond fast/well to sharpening stones.
2. Traditional knives are not just about cutting. The attitude they exude begs for the gritty whispers of a Norton Stone and the smell of 3-in-1 Oil.
3. You may spend hours sharpening a ZDP-189 Spyderco and bemoan a scratch on the blade... A traditional blade loves scratches and if you don't like them they will soon fade into the patina anyway.
 
Spyderco Sharpmaker, leather strop with green compound. Mine was pretty sharp from the factory and didn't need much work as I recall. I haven't done anything with it that has required me to resharpen it. I use oil bench stones freehand - Norton combo India and natural Arkansas stones with my traditionals if they need any major work, but the Sharpmaker does fine for finishing and touchups.
 
Nothing more than a 400-600 grit pocket stone on one hand and the peanut on the other, maybe 5-10 passes once a week (of course depending on your uses) with very little pressure to reduce burr and stropping on plain leather is all that is needed.
 
I like the freehand stone idea for the little peanut. You will struggle with the Lansky because of the small size of the blade it wont hold on and also move around and change the angle.
 
I use a Sharpmaker for resharpening, and a coffee mug or strop for quick touch ups.


Sent from (redacted)
 
A Fine diamond hone in a credit card size works fast on the small & thin blades of a Peanut, even for rebevelling or major edge repairs. And an EF can easily handle other regular touch-ups in as little as 5-10 passes. I sometimes use an oilstone (SiC, AlOx or Arkansas) to touch it up, if those are at hand. But I've always got my C/F/EF DMT credit card hones in my wallet, if I'm away from the rest of the gear.


David
 
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I have had a Case Peanut since 2010. I sharpened it on a Sharpmaker once when I first got it. I have only ever stropped it on the back of a belt...no compound or anything...since. It still push cuts phone book paper, which is how I measure "sharp enough."
 
Chizzholm said:
I'm gunna need to invest in a sharp maker I think!
Click to expand...

Im enjoy mine(edit) I also enjoy the work sharp field sharpener. I use it most of the time. Works great on my Lick creek so I dont see why it wouldnt on a peanut.

Sorry OP. I was thinking of the work sharp.
 
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Lately I have mostly used the diamond side of the Fallkniven DC4 for my knives, including the peanut size Old Timer Minuteman. Hone in left hand, knife in right hand. This gives me a nice toothy edge that can still easily push cut receipt paper.
 
I have a sharpmaker, but don't use it as intended. I just free-hand holding the ceramics in one hand and the blade in the other. I learned on a tiny diamond steel from EZ-Lap, and this translated well into using the ceramic rods from Spyderco's system. For me this makes it much easier to match the factory angles, which can vary knife to knife, and many times, vary on the same blade.

Only thing lacking in my system is a courser grit Diamond rod for removing metal fast. Should really remedy that...
 
I've found that thin small blades can be a pain to sharpen on the sharpmaker rods and require two hands, one on the handle, and a fingertip on the blade tip to get an even stroke. Since learning freehand on dmt diamond stones I've barely touched the sharpmaker.
 
Freehand on a translucent Arkansas stone if it's in bad shape, otherwise just a green compound loaded strop. This is what I do for all of my traditional knives for maintenance. I have some more coarse stones for major reprofiling ~ keeping up the edge just takes a few licks on the strop every couple days, and all the knives stay crazy sharp. Sharpening freehand is a really good skill to develop, and traditionals are the best place to learn IMHO.

I did use a Lansky with diamond stones on my yellow peanut when I first got it - it was barely ground on one side and I needed to remove a ton of metal. it worked OK, no real problems but if you put a low angle on it the stone might dig into the clamp a little bit...
 
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