ZT 0801 sharpening?

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So I'm still in love with my 0801. No surprises there, but I'm wondering what's best to sharpen the Elmax with. All I've got is a Norton stone that im not good with. I'm a horrible sharpener to say the least so I'm not sure what system would work good for me.
 
The Sharpmaker is arguably one of the best systems for quick touch ups. I actually reprofiled my 801 on mine without issue. You should really take a serious look at the Sharpmaker.
 
I was looking at the Sharpmaker but I've heard it works best after the knife has been reprofiled.
 
The Sharpmaker isn't great for re-profiling. You can wrap it with emery paper to get it done faster. Once your edge is 15 or 20 degrees it is great for bringing back the edge.
 
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Hmm. How does one find out the current angles? If I decide to try and reprofile it I wrap it in this tape and use the Norton stone?
 
The 801 is an excellent knife and fairly easy to sharpen with it's simple belly swoop. No extreme recurves or crazy shapes.

My favorite is the KME sharpener for setting an edge and reprofiling. Once I have the edge exactly how I want it. With a well apexed edge, a strop will touch up mild use. Then the Sharpmaker is great for the quick touch ups that need a bit more abrasion than a compounded strop.

I check and set my edge angle by using an angle cube or phone angle app while a knife is set level in the KME.



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i havent needed to re-profile what so ever yet, but i use fine grit ceramic stone that cost me $3 at knifecenter think its a smiths. if you need to reprofile then you might start off around 100 grit and go up to 400-600 for the best edge retention and touch up with a fine ceramic stone.

im looking at a KME sharpening system tho. way cheaper than a wicked edge
 
Yea the wicked edge is way outta my pay grade. I have some knives but not the quantity that would justify the wicked edge. Maybe not even the KME. Most are 1095.
 
The kme is expensive but you can get chosera stones/ lapping films/dmt diamond stones /ceramic stones/strops and strop emulsions so you can full mirror polished edges with it .
 
No doubt if you only have a few knives, I would have had a hard time spending the money that I eventually did on guided systems. By the time I bought the KME, I'd already purchased a number of others. Some factory grinds were amazing, some just ok, and others downright horrible. If I was going to own a particular knife, I wanted a decent edge. But soon learned that I could far exceed most out of the box edges. Who knew? [emoji41]

I picked up the KME with mental conviction that it would be a less expensive compromise of the WE. I really wanted to try a clamped system. Now I'm sure the WE is amazing, and had I had the cash at that time I may have purchased one. But I no longer have the desire to spend the money on it, as I can do pretty much all needed with the KME. Probably what those feel, that have the coordination to freehand on bench stones. Absolutely love it. Became totally impressed with what could be done to an edge, with the position held secure between strokes and stone changes.

The 801 is one of those knives that can accept a number of edge types, based on person preferences. From super toothy to high polish. While my pics are not specifically the 801, here are a few of my KME edges. One of my favorites is a semi-toothy jeweled look.

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Hmm. The KME looks like a nice system. I have a number of blades mostly fixed. I got a hair shaving edge on the top 3 cm of the 801 using the top to a car window (the textured rim) rest of the blade I believe is sharper than it was prior to doing it. Just confused as to why the top 3 cm or so are shaving sharp and the rest isn't. It's not popping hairs but I was impressed that I got what I did with a window. I'll have to think on what system is right for me. I don't think I'd be able to justify the price on the Wicked Edge for my person sharper. bflying your edges look nice. Not sure what edge I want as knife maintenance and actual sharpening is new to me. I hate admitting it but when I was younger and more dumb I used my dad's bench grinder to try and sharpen knives. To think the poor knives today makes me sad.
 
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If you go with the kme sharpener I've found the best way to get a razor sharp edge is to work your way up to the 1500 grit stone and then use the kangaroo strop with the 4micron strop emulsion
 
A Lansky basic system is very affordable. With the stones it comes with, it will have no problem with Elmax. I've used a Lansky for many years before I went to the KME system.
I've always used a sharpie on the edge to determine the factory edge. With the edge sharpied, you'll be able to see if you're hitting the apex and getting the whole edge.
There's many video's on using both systems.
 
My friend has an 801 and abuses the hell out of it, I would typically use waterstones finishing at 1000 grit but eventually discovered that a Fine India, Spyderco UF and a loaded strop produced a really hard to beat edge. Because the blade is thick the coarser edge provides better cutting performance and edge longevity while also being easy to maintain. The India stone also makes quick work of setting bevels or fixing damage.

I'm not into guided systems so this is my freehand recommendation.
 
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