What's going on?

R

Robert Ptacel

Joined
Feb 1, 2007
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314
I have several Spydercos . Two E4s , one D4 and and a FFG E4 plus others. My question is I can't get a razor sharp edge on this one. I've tested it on manila rope and it cuts that well with little edge degradation so it can't be underhardened. I just can't get a fine edge that will pop hair like my other knives. What metallurgical quirk is going on or is it just me? I have a hard time believing that as my other knives turn out fine. Has this happened to anyone else?
 
Which one is "this one"? Kinda hard to guess what the problem is when you haven't told us what model/alloy it is.
 
Do you know if they're all sharpened at the same angle? level of finish? Kinda obvious, but other than that, I've got no clue.
 
Yes they are all sharpened at the same way at the same angle. Is it possible to overharden a blade so it doesn't get a fine edge? It slices newspaper with no rough spots but just doesn't pop hair like my other Spydercos.
 
What method do you use to sharpen? Have you tried the sharpie trick?
 
all of my delicas original grinds were not created equal to say the least. ive spent much time thinning, and removing excess shoulder material to get them all performing about the same. however im but a simple, pragmatic, utilitarian, realist, type of guy when it comes to sharpening, and dont exspect a whole lot of performance from stock delicas, enduras, or knives such as these untill theres been a fair amount of work done to them. hope this helped.
 
All my knives are relief ground on a coarse stone and then the primary bevel is done on the sharpmaker at 20 degrees. The others all get a fine edge that can pop hairs but not this one. It is a perfectly usable edge but not up to the level of the others.

Also in the same vein is free hanging toilet paper cut test a valid one? This knife will do that.
 
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If your knife cuts free-hanging toilet-paper, but not hairs, try to see if there isn't a burr. Or that you're not just hairless from sharpening the rest of your knives.
 
Have you looked at the edge under magnification? If it's not a burr related issue, it could be a problem with micro-chipping.
 
I don't see any micro-chipping under magnification and it cuts newspaper smoothly. Yes, I am quite hairless at the moment. My wife noticed my legs yesterday and laughed. She's used to it by now. It cuts manila rope quite well with little edge loss so if it was a bur the edge performance would fall off markedly. I don't strop with leather/compound just my hand or on my jeans but all my other knives will pop hairs with this regimen. Maybe just a steel quirk.
 
Even though you can't see the burr it does not mean its not their. VG-10 sharpen fairly easy and will get really sharp even on a medium ceramic but it seems to not show its true sharpness until stroped. Stropping on you jeans is ok but can cause too much rounding of the edge making you knife duller instead of sharper and also will not give you the same results as a leather strop with compound. Don't be too quick to blame the steel, when sharpening a knife by hand there can be a lot of variable's that will cause a knife to not get sharp.


P.S. try a single bevel
 
No I am not blaming the steel I thing VG-10 is a fantastic steel. It may just be a peculiarity to this particular blade as all my others are great. As I said before if there was a burr edge performance would have fallen off. I cut quite a bit of manila rope and edge loss was almost nonexistent. It holds an edge for a very long time.
 
When in Doubt I just lightly steel the knife, with the finest chefs steel you can get. It might not be the best way, but any knife thats already sharp, but won't ''pop'' Will POP With just a few light strokes. Just try to make sure you don't have a Burr problem, like the other guys said.
 
And don't go back and fourth really fast like you see on TV, just put the blade at the right angle and only use the weight of the knife, and push, and same back toward you on the other side, and do the same amount of strokes on each side, 5-5, or 10-10 ect.... And some steels have 2 sides, one with lines running the length of it, and the other thats finer, if you only have the kind with lines just do it as light as you can, after you do all the sharpmaker stuff, and make sure you don't have a burr, and I gaurentee it will ''POP''
 
An update is in order. After regrinding my knife on a SiC stone a couple times after use the edge has settled down and is sharp as my other E4s. I still believe it may be an anomaly from from the factory edging. Edges can get overheated. Just give it some time and it will normalize. I didn't change my technique so sometimes it doesn't pay to second guess yourself.
 
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