Jeff
@tjsblader
active 4 years, 3 months agoForum Replies Created
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8Cr13MoV is nothing to write home about (google), return it and invest in a great steel that you will have for the rest of your life
Yes that steel can’t compete with some others in todays world of really high performance knife steels. Within the same brand Spyderco probably has greater variety then most especially considering all the sprint runs and dealer exclusives too. However, like everything there is tradeoffs. In this case $ . You can buy something in a current hotrod steel like Maxamet or K390 but you’d be 4x the price. The Tenacious model is a good value and Spyderco always seems to nail the heat treat for a production knife company. I don’t own that model anymore but it performed heads and shoulders above a Kershaw I had at the time in the same steel.
It can still get really sharp and cut and can last a lifetime. Just end up having to sharpen it comparatively more frequent.
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Hey Tim I’m a bit of a Spyderco fanboy with lots of them to sharpen so I certainly understand that frustration. I took the route of modifying slightly the stones as I’m not a fan of grinding sharpening choils in the blade. I cut the plastic edge off of one side of each stone grit. Did it on opposing corners so as you rotate the stone around the guide rod to change grits the removed plastic edge is still rearward next the ricasso. It is very easy to do with a box cutter taking multiple light passes to slowly score the plastic until you are all the way through using the edge of the stone as a guide for the blade. I can sharpen right tight in next the ricasso now with no issues. Just have to take a little extra time and care in that area when sharpening. See attached pictures.
Good luck with whatever route you take.
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Hi. Welcome. Regarding those Spyderco blades you shouldn’t have any issue with a “typical” bevel angle for a pocket knife like =>15 dps. Most of my folders are Spyderco’s and any of their models with their traditional “Leaf” shaped blade work just fine.
This issue one can have in this system with smaller blades is typically those that are short in height, not length. Too short of blade height can make it difficult to get the desired angle setting without your sharpening stones contacting the vise. Picture a small paring knife that has a relatively short blade height. There are work arounds such as a lift block under the clamp or employing the use of a Tormek small blade holder or sharpening on a more obtuse angle.
I’m sure others will chime in with more detail.
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Terry I’ve sharpened at least 1/2 dozen Paramilitary2, some multiple times, in different blade steels over the past few years. I use the settings found in this linked youtube video below work great for me. You can watch the whole thing but around the 2:00min mark is when the clamp settings using the advanced alignment guide comes up (top holes, F6) on a similar system as yours. Gives a nice even bevel along the entire blade length. This video is actually Clay’s. He may have forgotten about it.
As an add, my personal preference for sharpening this model is primary bevel only at 15dps and typically only going up to around 1500 diamond stones. Maybe a quick strop as a last step at 13dps. Sometimes I skip the stropping if I’m in a hurry. I know some really like going for that highly polished edge so they can take a picture of reading reflected text backwards (yes some intended sarcasm there :-). The picture looks cool and it will likely score really low in Bess testing but I find a toothier edge is much more useful for real world cutting in an EDC pocket knife. My models are in harder steels (Maxamet, K390, S110V, etc.) On the regular model with S30V I have sometimes added a 18dps micro bevel or if it was for rough use. Just my $0.02.
Jeff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku1klPBPPgo
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Another option that has worked well for me on distal tapered blades like a lot of Spyderco’s are is using a piece of soft leather chamois material between the blade and vise. A soft sheepskin chamois can be found on Amazon for about $10 to your door. Lasts years as you only need a small piece that can be used mutliple times.
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I find a Spyderco Sharpmaker is a great tool for quick edge maintenance. Relatively inexpensive too. I use it for a very quick touch up to return to sticky sharp. Just a few strokes on each side gets the job done. After 3 or 4 touchups it is time to get back in the WE system and run through a full progression. Starting grit dependent on the condition of the bevel.
I haven’t used water stones in years and get as good as, or better results with the various combinations (depends on the goal as to which combination I use) of diamond stones, ceramic stones, lapping films and strops.
Thanks for the insight Clay. I’m certainly no expert but my approach, which works for me with the stones and accessories I have, after I’ve sharpened once and set my own bevels.
Diamond stones 400 through to 1500 -> Lapping films 6, 3, 1.5 . All edge leading after some brief initial scrubbing with the 400. I typically stop there as they will whittle hair at that point if I’ve been patient and thorough with each progression. Occasionally I will then strop with diamond emulsions on leather but typically I’m either pressed for time or too lazy and the edge is refined enough for my liking and usage.
The Japanese Kitchen knives I own vary between VG10, R2, Aogami Blue #1, and Aogami Super steels. I run primary bevels only. Nakiri @ 14dps. Gyuto, Santoku and larger Petty @ 13 dps. Sujihiki, and smaller Petty @ 12dps. All of mine have a 50/50 bevel which I ensure before I purchase because it makes it easier for me to sharpen without altering the bevel too much. You really have to read before purchase because some can be made with other bevel ratios like 80/20 or 70/30. I do have one Sujihiki with a single bevel which is probably really considered a Yanagiba from my understanding.
The ones in VG10 are my wife’s and the rest are mine 🙂
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Quality Japanese kitchen knives are such a treat to use for food prep especially if you are used to the thicker, softer stainless that most of us probably “grew up” on. The Henckels, and Whustofs, etc. The sky is the limit (and price) when it comes to Japanese kitchen knives. Shun seems to be a very common gateway brand with decent quality. I have never personally had a Yu Kurosaki (although they look like a really nice piece from my brief google search).
I have latched on to both Takamura and Murata brands as a good blend of quality vs. price point but the available choices to us here in North America with the Global economy has really grown over the past decade or so. I used to travel a lot to Japan for work 25-30 years ago and a kitchen knife purchase or two during every trip was a must. It was almost as if they were a still a hidden secret at the time here in North America or at least purchasing them was.
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