NotSharpEnuff

Have you read MarcH’s thread on how to find the sweet spot? The depth key holes are just a starting point and you won’t always end up with the knife resting on the depth key once you find the sweet spot. You did the correct thing by using the results to guide your clamping position.

That’s a seriously wide bevel. What angle was that?

It is easier if the knife is a flow through design. In that case you just need good lighting and close examination. If the back of the knife is closed then it is more difficult and I don’t think you can know unless you take it apart or find photos of the knife disassembled somewhere online.

One of the YouTube knife guys that I follow made me aware of that issue. He enlarged the sharpening choil on his Benchmade 940 and ended up ruining the blade because the edge was hitting the spine of the handle upon closure. He had to send it back to Benchmade to get a replacement blade (which they do for $25 if I recall correctly).

That will solve your plunge grind issue without a doubt. I think it is perhaps a little larger and deeper than I would have gone with, but it looks cleanly executed and like it could have been done that way from the factory.

I would leave the point for now. You have to be careful when doing these kinds of modifications to folders because…[Read more]

This is a problem with many modern knife designs. It is my opinion that a properly crafted knife should include a sharpening choil to allow for the end user to easily sharpen the blade. Like Marc said, you can add a sharpening choil to the blade without too much effort, but it will change the look of the knife.

You should add your photo to the Super Polished Edges thread.

I have the same experience. I don’t know enough to say for certain whether or not that is normal.

Strops do a lot to bring an edge to its fullest potential.

That looks good! What progression did you end up using?

Diamond lapping films on glass are the closest thing to a perfectly flat sharpening medium that I’m aware of. That is not to say that the WE diamond plates don’t work well and aren’t close to flat as well. People generally use very fine grit films that don’t remove a lot of material, so you won’t get nicely V-ground bevels with the films unless…[Read more]

I do not have the super fine ceramics, only the micro fine ceramics.

If you want a closeup view at the bevels that the ceramic stones produce, check out this old thread. It was a good one and has some very cool microscope images from Clay.

Unless it wasn’t clear from Clay’s comments, the 8,000 grit DMT diamond plates used to be sold by WE but were replaced in the lineup with the 1500 grit diamond stone. The 1500 grit stone actually produces scratches that are between 2.5-3.5 microns wide. See this old thread from when the stone was introduced.

I’ve had the micro-fine ceramics for about 9 months or so. I really like them as a long wearing alternative to the more rapidly consumable diamond lapping films. The films produce a shiny mirrored finish (with defined scratches visible in some lighting) with minimal effort because the diamonds cut very efficiently. The ceramics don’t work as…[Read more]

I sharpen my cheap kitchen knives with 100 , 200, 400, 600, and 800 diamonds and then strop with 4 / 2 micron progression on leather. The edge is a bit toothy. My EDC knives usually get a very similar treatment.

For my better knifes I have been giving them a full progression of diamond stones up to 1500, 1.4, 0.6 micron ceramics and 14, 10, 4, 2,…[Read more]

Strops work differently than the stones and films. Stones and lapping films remove a lot more material and will refine the apex much faster. Strops are more for smoothing out the bevels, improving polish, and removing any remaining burr. The choice of exactly what progression to use is a matter of personal preference and intended cutting…[Read more]

I use 14 / 10, 4 / 2, and 1 / 0.5 for my strop progression.

You’ll get a more polished look if you do a more substantial progression. The sharpness will improve as well.

That is good progress. Things will only get better as you get more consistent with your technique and your stones continue to even out. What was your strop progression after the 2,500 grit sandpaper?

I think you did exactly what needed to be done. New stones sometimes do have loosely adhered clumps of diamonds that fall off upon use. This is part of what happens during the break in process. The first few sharpening sessions with the stones produce a lot of diamond dust mixed in the the tiny metal shavings.

I think it is looking good. The scratches seem to be of equal depth and width. I’m not sure, but it looks like the section in the middle of the photo might not have gotten the 1000 grit scratches all the way to the apex. You can always check by putting on a layer of sharpie and doing a few passes. If you see any remaining sharpie on the bevels…[Read more]