What is the best method of sharpening Becker's 1095 ?

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ZombaiO

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Sep 30, 2007
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How do you sharpen your Beckers ? I use DMT fine - extra fine - stropping - the knife gets shaving sharp.I strop it until there's no more "wired edge". But I find that the knife gets dull very easy (from shaving sharp to unable to cut paper) - just from batoning and wood carving.Is this normal for 1095 ? Perhaps I should sharpen it on DMT fine and then strop - without using the extra fine hone - maybe that will make a working edge,that will last longer :confused:
 
What angle are you using? Something like a 30 inclusive is a bit thin for a working edge.
 
I sharpen my BK-7 using the factory angle.It's definetely not on the thin side - something like 40 or 45 inclusive.
 
Well, really it is a two person job, although you can do it by yourself if you are pretty talented. For those in the know, you would either drive yourself (if you were really good) or just ride on the back of a motorcycle, and as you get up to decently high speeds on the highway (say around 70+ MPH) you would lean down and drag the knife at the optimal angle to sharpen, then reverse as needed. Works quite nicely. Give that a go, and Robert is your father's brother.
 
ZombaiO said:
How do you sharpen your Beckers ? I use DMT fine - extra fine - stropping - the knife gets shaving sharp.I strop it until there's no more "wired edge". But I find that the knife gets dull very easy (from shaving sharp to unable to cut paper) - just from batoning and wood carving.Is this normal for 1095 ? Perhaps I should sharpen it on DMT fine and then strop - without using the extra fine hone - maybe that will make a working edge,that will last longer :confused:
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Well, I think that one question that needs answering is "how much batoning and wood carving?" It's it just a couple of logs getting split or doing a few traps, spoons, etc, then I think that you've probably got your edge too thin and it's rolling a bit.

Now, if you've split enough wood to last for a couple of days or carved a complete dining room set, then I'd say that you're getting most of the performance that 1095 at 56-58RC has to offer. :thumbup:
 
cramsey3006 said:
Well, I think that one question that needs answering is "how much batoning and wood carving?" It's it just a couple of logs getting split or doing a few traps, spoons, etc, then I think that you've probably got your edge too thin and it's rolling a bit.

Now, if you've split enough wood to last for a couple of days or carved a complete dining room set, then I'd say that you're getting most of the performance that 1095 at 56-58RC has to offer. :thumbup:
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I would like to chime in that it might be the opposite as well. If you edge is too thick you can see similar issues as your edge is too obtuse, which I have had lead to similar problems.
 
The only thing on this planet that is able to sharpen Becker 1095 cro-van is Chuck Norris teeth! And trust me they are hard to come by.
 
It's pretty high tech. Sharpen it (I personally don't think you can beat a Norton fine red India) go whittle some dry hickory or hard maple. If it rolls it's too thin. Trial and error is a good teacher.
 
DerekH said:
Well, really it is a two person job, although you can do it by yourself if you are pretty talented. For those in the know, you would either drive yourself (if you were really good) or just ride on the back of a motorcycle, and as you get up to decently high speeds on the highway (say around 70+ MPH) you would lean down and drag the knife at the optimal angle to sharpen, then reverse as needed. Works quite nicely. Give that a go, and Robert is your father's brother.
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This is the same method I use. Except I'm usually fighting ninjas, having sex with exotic lingerie models, and drinking whiskey simultaneously as I sharpen. I then strop it across the skin on my chest. It comes out sharp enough to split light beams, thus making the knife invisible if the edge is facing you.
 
mrn8 said:
What angle are you using? Something like a 30 inclusive is a bit thin for a working edge.
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No, it really isn't. A lot of the custom scandis come with a 25 inclusive and they work just fine. On a chopper you may have a point.

So OP, how much carving are you doing? I notice that with 1095 if I do some carving on hardwood it will lose the shaving sharp/paper cutting edge pretty fast but the working edge will last a long while after that. I can usually finish most of a spoon on maple before it needs a sharpening to give you a reference. Like Derek said though, you may want to consider thinning the edge for better carving performance. Obtuse edges suck at that kind of work.
 
ZombaiO said:
How do you sharpen your Beckers ? I use DMT fine - extra fine - stropping - the knife gets shaving sharp.I strop it until there's no more "wired edge". But I find that the knife gets dull very easy (from shaving sharp to unable to cut paper) - just from batoning and wood carving.Is this normal for 1095 ? Perhaps I should sharpen it on DMT fine and then strop - without using the extra fine hone - maybe that will make a working edge,that will last longer :confused:
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My guess is that you are using that stock GFN sheath...

Reason I say so is that I never have had any problems with edge retention from a Becker. After watching some vids where Jerry Fisk explains the toughness of 1095 and how to get more out of 1095cv by USING the toughness, I took all my Beckers down to below 20 degrees. All of the edges are somewhere around 17 degrees with a slight convex. Meaning, the widest part of the roundest portion of the edge would hit around 17-19 degrees. For sure below 20. I even was out in the field for some time and sharpened my BK7. I used a DMT set and I had it at the lowest angle with the clamp really narrow, not wide with the screw all in. The result was a scary sharp edge. It have used all of these blades like this with no chipping or edge problems, even when chopping or splitting cold, frozen wood.

That is why I am guessing the GFN sheath is the issue. Maybe I am wrong, but with my Eskabar, there were issues when it touched the stock sheath...
 
Critikill said:
This is the same method I use. Except I'm usually fighting ninjas, having sex with exotic lingerie models, and drinking whiskey simultaneously as I sharpen. I then strop it across the skin on my chest. It comes out sharp enough to split light beams, thus making the knife invisible if the edge is facing you.
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Don't forget to strop it using Tradewater's beard clippings. Gets that subatomic particle popping edge on it...
 
In the process of polishing my 9 with sandpaper, I thinned out the blade some. This lead to much better cutting performance. I put a small micro-bevel on it too just to be safe. It can now whittle hair with ease. :cool:

I took some pics that I'll try to upload soon. :)

BTW: I use a 1x30 belt sander on my knives to great success. For my hard-use knives like my 9, I use a 220 to 400 to a leather belt with Bark River green compound. For my folders I take it up to 15µ to 9µ and then the leather. That gives me a hair whittling mirror polish.
 
I pulled the Lansky out myself and forgot how much I hate using them. Ever since Bladite swore by how effective the Worksharp was, I've actually rarely if ever use anything else. It's almost mesmerizing looking at the edge after you use the 6000 grit belt, it's like straight up Excalibur.

bsmith_shoot said:
I broke out the old Lansky diamond system a few days ago. I'd forgot how much fun it was to use lol.
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