Sharpening tip for Schrade USA 152

[AK Jim]

Hi folks I’m new to the WE Family and am learning daily! Question for you folks, I have a Schrade USA 152 and want to sharpen it without ruining it. I’m a bit perplexed on where to mount it and what the factory bevel might have been? I am a novice at this but am learning to really enjoy it! Any help woul be greatly appreciated.

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[CliffCurry]

Welcome to the forum and what a nice looking lil beast that Schrade looks like…Id refer you to the youtube mounting tutorial(and all the others) by Josh of Razor Edged fame 😛

As for the angle to set? That depends on the steel and how hard you are gonna work it. One theory is to take it thinner(17dps, 15dps, 13dps etc) and if it fails at the apex for some reason, then just dial it back a bit. Another common setting is 20dps(degrees per side) and you shouldnt have to worry about it failing but you wont get the edge performance and total cutting efficiency(how long you can cut before it feels dulled).

As long as you check your angles and make sure its all clamped down, its pretty hard to do something you can undo…the sharpie trick on the edge is a great way to match the current edge bevel and minimize that amount of reprofiling needed!

Aloha,
Cliff

[tcmeyer]

Ooh, ooh, ooh! That’s the old “Sharp Finger.” I always wanted one of them, but when I could finally afford it (and they’re really inexpensive) I was already making my own knives and it just didn’t seem right to buy an inexpensive knife when I could make a very good one for less cost.

I think the angle should be dependent on how you intend to use it. Skinners probably shouldn’t be much less than 20 dps. I think Clay told me 25 when I asked him. Some have said as high as 30 dps. Too sharp or too fine of an edge will too easily cut through the hide, causing serious damage in the blink of an eye.

[AK Jim]

Thanks for the tips and info. Still having a bit of a problem holding it in the vise. Don’t want to over tighten and bend the jaws. Did 19 dis & don’t have any arm hair left 😉 may try some matting next time.

[CliffCurry]

Welcome to the No Armhair Club! I lmao 🙂
I finally went and scavenger a phone book for cut tests, still find myself shaving hair out of habit… One arm stubble, the other furry. Sure signs of a sharpener! Grats on a mission accomplished. 😛

[AK Jim]

Yep 10 fingers and no arm air good day! But still have to figure a more stable way to clamp it.

[tcmeyer]

Looking at the photo, my first thought would be to clamp it right at the point where the spine joins the handle – along that little curve for your thumb to rest on. Start with the heel of the blade pretty much horizontal. Yes, this puts the entire length of the edge off to one side of the vise, but that’s not unusual.

You can follow any of several recommended methods for dealing with “full-flat-ground” FFG knives, but since I stayed up late tonight, here’s my method:
1. Measure the angle difference between the sides. Divide this by two. This is the centerline angle of the blade.
2. Clamp the blade with the left side vertical in the vise. Kick the right-side jaw out at the bottom, so that the blade is clamped flat by both sides of the vise. The blade is now leaning to the left by about the centerline angle of the blade.
3. If you want to grind at an angle of 20 dps, set your left rod at 20 deg minus the centerline angle. Set your right side rod to 20 deg plus the centerlline angle.

If you find that the left side of the blade is not actually vertical, add or subtract the difference in your settings. For instance, if the left side of the blade is leaning 0.5 deg to the right, then you would add the 0.5 deg to the left and subtract it from the right.

For example: I have an FFG blade I want to sharpen at 20 dps. The blade measures +2.3 degrees on the left and -1.9 degrees on the right. The total difference is 4.2 degrees, so the centerline angle of this blade is 2.1 degrees. When I clamped the blade, I measured the left side and found that it’s actually leaning to the right by 0.9 degrees. I set my left rod at 20 minus 2.1 plus 0.9, or 18.8 degrees. The right side is set at 20 plus 2.1 minus 0.9 or 21.2 degrees.

Clamping a blade with it tipped to one side requires that you back off on the upper screw until the right-side jaw can rest flat against the right side of the blade as the jack screw is tightened. This is counter-intuitive, so you must get comfortable with the method before you proceed.

I hope this helps, as it’s not clear to me what your problem really is.

[AK Jim]

Tanks for your time TC. My problem is me 🙂 I caught the tip a couple of times when bringing the stones back and changed the horizontal position. Just have to learn to take my time and be patient!

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