Will the Sharpmaker ruin a Convex Edge? (Spyderco Hossom)

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I'm really tempted to buy a few Spyderco Hossoms, but I'm worried about sharpening them. I know how to touch up a regular convex blade on a leather strop + compound, however, the Hossom family all have very recurved blades which makes me extremely aprehensive... I don't want to invest on a really nice set of knives only to end up with dull bars of useless steel later, or truly expensive paperweights :grumpy:. I don't want to risk messing with or having to reprofile those super nice convex edges either...

So how do you sharpen your Hossom Spydies? :confused:


Thanks in advance!
 
You could use the sharpmaker but the edge won't be convex anymore and it will take a lot of grinding to get it to a V bevel. JRE sells a sharpening block just for convex, it comes with everything you need except polish compound. Its what I use for all my convex needs and I couldn't be happier with the product. Convex is not that hard if you know a little about sharpening.
 
knifenut1013 said:
You could use the sharpmaker but the edge won't be convex anymore and it will take a lot of grinding to get it to a V bevel. JRE sells a sharpening block just for convex, it comes with everything you need except polish compound. Its what I use for all my convex needs and I couldn't be happier with the product. Convex is not that hard if you know a little about sharpening.
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Do you have a link for that JRE product? I have no problem with straight convex blades, I'm just a little bit worried about those recurves... Will my Bark River sharpening kit work with those recurved blades?

This is what I have: http://www.knivesshipfree.com/Bark-River-Sharpening-Kit-Double-Sided-Hone-Compound
 
Recurve is not a problem when the edge is convex, its actually easier.

That's only a strop, it will work for finishing but that's it. Go to JRE its called the EMS sharpening block, its a good price too.
 
I've sharpened the Dayhiker before and I say don't bother trying to reprofile it with a Sharpmaker. It would give you carpal tunnel syndrome. Not worth the medical expense.
 
I just use a $10 utility stone from the local hardware store, and pretty much treat it the same as I do my axe. The edge is very similar.
 
cotdt said:
I've sharpened the Dayhiker before and I say don't bother trying to reprofile it with a Sharpmaker. It would give you carpal tunnel syndrome. Not worth the medical expense.
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That's precisely why I started this thread. I don't want to re-profile such nice blades.
 
Yesterday, I used my 3v BRK Bushcrafter to clear out some sapling that had been growing in the brush around my yard. I chose a knife for this as the saplings were too thick for shears and either too thin or too awkwardly located to use an ax or saw. That is, for the most part too small for an ax: I did chop down one tree with a three-inch diameter because I knew I could do so in the time it would have taken to fetch a saw from the garage. I was primarily chopping with some minor "sawing" with the knife and once or twice it's possible that the blade struck a rock under the sapling. At the time I was working, I didn't think I actually hit anything other than wood–and I naturally took appropriate precautions to avoid doing so–but when I looked closely at the chipped along the edge of the blade hitting a rock seemed the only likely explanation.

I began by stropping with coarse compound but two of the chips kept catching on the leather making me worried that I would destroy my strop without actually sharpening. I didn't use sandpaper for the same reason. I decided to use the diamond rods on my Sharpmaker aware that it was somewhat risky. I put the rods in using the 40 degree setting but held the knife at perhaps a twenty degree angle so that only the extreme edge was touching and then proceeded to sharpen as usual albeit with much more caution. At first I could feel the chips catching on the rods but they smoothed out and then I cycled through the medium and then fine rods before returning to the strop.

The result is a reasonably sharp blade with only faint remnants of the chips but the convex grind remains. I plan to sharpen again with sandpaper and strop again for maximum sharpness before resuming my yard work.
 
I know that this thread is probably dead, but I would like to add this video from Lionsteel (known to arrive from the factory with convex edges). And they use the sharpmaker at 40 degrees inclusive. YMMV with steels and ease of sharpening as always. This is not to detract from other methods of sharpening, but just to add another data point
 
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