Which pocketknife design lends itself to easy sharpening - how would you sharpen it?

J Thomas · Jun 30, 2016

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In the near future I'll be passing by this knife store ... http://www.countryknives.com/

A new pocketknife is potentially in my future and for the first time I'll be looking with an eye toward sharpening usability.

For fun, which knife would you pick ... if you want, fill out the 4 questions below in your response.

.

For me:

(1) Knife?

Spyderco with a leaf design blade (any models within this category anyone have experience with?)

(2) Primary Use?

Slicing, paper, cardboard, some fine work - hence leaf blade with fine tip

(3) Sharpen for intended use.

Shapton Glass 500 & 2000 with a finish on Spyderco Ceramics: Medium and Fine

(4) Why this design?

No thumb stud, flat grind lends itself to thinning out behind the edge, plunge line is pretty much vertical so I can lay the knife close to the stone for scrubbing and the choil design pushes the blade a bit away from the handle so I have some safety space while sharpening.

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Wowbagger · Jun 30, 2016

Tell you what; I will answer your question then read the rest of your post.
Partly because there is a lightening storm brewing and I may have to shut'er down quick.

Any thing with a straight short blade is going to be easier to sharpen

top knife = Cold Steel Tuff Lite (mini in this case)

This one is single bevel (the back is flat) so even easier to sharpen than the rest

this blue Case Swayback has one straight blade. You can get it with just one blade.

How would I sharpen it ? I am going to be a chicken shed and say : Well I would put it in my Edge Pro and kind of brainlessly move it back and forth a little and it would come out jaw dropingly sharp.

Wowbagger · Jun 30, 2016

1.Spyderco with a leaf design blade (any models within this category anyone have experience with?)

Tha's easy. For me that would be the Dragonfly in the ZDP-189 (more difficult for a beginner to sharpen so you may want to go with a lesser steel). An extremely satisfying knife to own and use. I was using it today at work on some hard rubber and had a big grin on my face. LOVE THAT LITTLE KNIFE !

2) Primary Use?

Slicing, paper, cardboard, some fine work - hence leaf blade with fine tip

I guess I don't see this as a question. Do you mean what is the Dragonflys best application ? About everything but skin in' grizz.

(3) Sharpen for intended use.

Shapton Glass 500 & 2000 with a finish on Spyderco Ceramics: Medium and Fine

I can sharpen the said knives in this and my other post with the two stones shown with the Dragonfly which are a Norton 4000 and a Norton 8000 water stone. But I sure like the Edge Pro and use it almost exclusively now.

4) Why this design?

No thumb stud, flat grind lends itself to thinning out behind the edge, plunge line is pretty much vertical so I can lay the knife close to the stone for scrubbing and the choil design pushes the blade a bit away from the handle so I have some safety space while sharpening.

Ohhhhhhh kaaaaaaaa
not sure what to say there.

blade dude · Jun 30, 2016

I learned to sharpen on my delica if this helps.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chris "Anagarika" · Jul 1, 2016

All good thinking. If you find a Stretch VG10 at reasonable price, get it. You'll enjoy the knife & the sharpening as well.

Obsessed with Edges · Jul 1, 2016

(1) Knife?

Any blade with a THIN grind, a graceful sweeping arc through the belly to the tip, and no recurve. Examples would often be something like a clip blade, drop point or skinner-type blade, all upswept to a nice, sharp & pointy tip. All of these traits are conducive to a smooth, heel-to-tip sweeping pass on the stone, and are what have always sharpened up most easily for me. An already thin grind means a minimum of steel needs to be removed to restore a dull edge, and additional thinning usually isn't necessary, or at the least, can be accomplished with minimal additional effort. I've never much liked a recurved edge (I've owned several, which taught me this), because they always present additional complications to sharpening, and I've yet to see much, if any, functional advantage to them in pocketknife/folder-sized blades. I do see their usefulness in larger, machete/kukri-style blades made for chopping & clearing brush & such, though I personally haven't needed such blades anyway.

In the less-than-perfect real world, I tend not to favor so-called 'straight' edges on most knives, because they're almost always imperfectly 'straight', with warps, bends, uneven grinds and thickness variations behind the edge, all of which detract from ease of sharpening and fluidity of finished results, with uneven bevels being the most glaring reveal of an imperfectly-straight edge and uneven grind.

(2) Primary Use?

Typical EDC uses like package/box opening, rope cutting, food prep, gardening/pruning, etc. NO PRYING tasks at all, so no need for 'sharpened prybar' type blades.

(3) Sharpen for intended use.

Especially in simpler steels like 1095, CV, 420HC, etc., I might sharpen on anything conveniently at hand, like an Arkansas stone, simple hardware store AlOx or SiC stone, or diamond hones (DMT C/F/EF 'credit card' hones are conveniently always in my pocket). With a pocket diamond hone always within reach, there are no limits on the steel type carried or used.

(4) Why this design?

Answered in the replies above, I think.

David

cbwx34 · Jul 1, 2016

I would also look at good ergonomics, especially if you're going by a store where you can actually handle the knife (pun intended). Also how it carries (left/right clip, tip up/down, etc.).

A knife's no fun if it's a PITA to hang on to...

Obsessed with Edges · Jul 1, 2016

cbwx34 said:
I would also look at good ergonomics, especially if you're going by a store where you can actually handle the knife (pun intended). Also how it carries (left/right clip, tip up/down, etc.).

A knife's no fun if it's a PITA to hang on to...

Good point. I'd forgotten to mention that in my reply as well. Some knives' handles don't lend themselves to a secure or comfortable hold for sharpening. Very small knives (traditional patterns like small stockman, Peanut, pen knives, etc) gave me trouble for a long time, because it was difficult to grip them in such a manner as to maintain steady control of the angle or pressure used. Very thin or slick handles, and positioning of pocket clips, can present obstacles to a comfortable grip as well, for me.

I've even noticed that the flatness or roundness of a knife's handle can influence ease of sharpening. A flatter handle, for me, is easier to 'index' to hold a certain angle, whereas a rounder handle sometimes makes finding or holding that 'index' position a little more tedious. I notice this every time I sharpen my Opinels, which are essentially perfectly round in cross-section, therefore more difficult to make sure I'm holding them consistently at my favored angle each time.

David

bucketstove · Jul 1, 2016

Obsessed with Edges said:
Good point. I'd forgotten to mention that in my reply as well. Some knives' handles don't lend themselves to a secure or comfortable hold for sharpening. Very small knives (traditional patterns like small stockman, Peanut, pen knives, etc) gave me trouble for a long time, because it was difficult to grip them in such a manner as to maintain steady control of the angle or pressure used. Very thin or slick handles, and positioning of pocket clips, can present obstacles to a comfortable grip as well, for me.

I've even noticed that the flatness or roundness of a knife's handle can influence ease of sharpening. A flatter handle, for me, is easier to 'index' to hold a certain angle, whereas a rounder handle sometimes makes finding or holding that 'index' position a little more tedious. I notice this every time I sharpen my Opinels, which are essentially perfectly round in cross-section, therefore more difficult to make sure I'm holding them consistently at my favored angle each time.

David

Hi,
its easier to "index" these handles if you rest your thumb against your pointer finger , helps keep the handle from spinning no matter the shape

Obsessed with Edges · Jul 1, 2016

bucketstove said:
Hi,
its easier to "index" these handles if you rest your thumb against your pointer finger , helps keep the handle from spinning no matter the shape

Not so much an issue of the handle spinning or turning while sharpening; that hasn't been a problem. It's more an issue of orienting the handle the same way every time in the hand, as would more or less be automatic with a flat-handled knife, for example. It's a relatively minor issue for me anyway, but just something extra that I need to account for, when sharpening such knives.

David

bgentry · Jul 1, 2016

I have several of Spyderco's leaf shaped blades in folders. The criteria you outlined is well considered and I think I understand it.

For specific Spyderco knives, here are a few impressions:

1. Delica FFG: I have one of these in ZDP-189. ZDP is the *wrong* steel for you because you want something easy to sharpen. The Delica FFG (full flat grind) is available in VG-10 also, but I think this design has been discontinued. If you find a selection where you go, you might get a good deal. VG-10 is considered a "super steel" but one that's relatively easy to sharpen. Though some people complain that removing the burr is difficult on this steel. I'm not sure because I only have a Spyderco VG-10 blade in serrated (SpyderEdge). The Delica is just about "the perfect knife" for me. The handle is nearly perfect in a medium sized hand, and the medium sized blade gets a lot done in a fairly compact package.
2. Endura FFG: Same comments as above, only the Endura is another 3/4" to 1" longer I believe. This will be a personal taste thing. I REALLY want an Endura FFG, VG-10, in Purple, or perhaps Green or Orange.
3. Tenacious: This is probably the best value in a quality folding knife from Spyderco. Perhaps the best combination of quality and performance that I have personally seen. The blade is roughly equivalent to 440C, so it's easy to sharpen and it takes a relatively fine edge. The leaf shaped blade is a nice slicer compared to most conventional folders today. The handle is nice and grippy. Not as ergonomic as the Delica, but very nice and a superb value for the money.

If you are looking at Delicas or Enduras, be aware that most of them are sabre grinds, which is counter to what you want. The FFG blades are a separate series and have colored handles. (Purple, Green, Orange, Grey, and maybe one other I'm forgetting)

Brian.

J Thomas · Jul 1, 2016

Everyone ... thank you for taking your time and helping me know how to refine my search and characteristics to look for in a pocketknife. Reading why you like certain designs and what you look for in a knife is helping me better understand what to look for in a pocketknife and how to look at different models/designs and steels.

Years ago I purchased a Al Mar Sere 2000 thinking this is what I needed because all the magazines said it was "the best". Not what I needed and it has sat unused for years because it does not suit my needs.

I'm really looking into the Delica FFG, Endura FFG and Dragonfly FFG... hopefully, being able to handle the knives will help make the decision for me. The Dragonfly and Delica seem to be the size I'm looking for. I like how the Dragonfly has the choil for choking up. Then I just saw the Calypso online ... that is nice, a bit big like the Endura, but appears to be a Dragonfly but larger. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.