I have a Benchmade Griptillian Model 551 folding knife in 440C. I have another in 154CM but I haven’t attempted this yet. Anyway on the WEPS I’ve sharpened the 440C at 20 degrees down to 1200/1600 ceramic. Lately I’ve been using the 5/3.5 strop. This thing cuts like nobodies business.
But I’m starting to get two or three chips or nicks in the edge. I’m wondering if I’m doing something incorrectly or I need to do something different? I’ve had this knife for years. It is my EDC and I used, successfully, the Spyderco Tri-Angle at the same angle of 20 degrees to keep it sharp prior to the WEPS and never had this challenge.
Can I expect the same thing with the 154CM when I start using it on the WEPS?
In what stage of sharpening is this happening? While 20* isn’t super thin, the 440C (not great quality) might play a factor. When you print the stones in, make sure you make light contact before you start your stroke. Or use a scrubbing motion and remove the variable of impact on the blade all together. Also make sure your stones are broken in. Hope this helps.
Next question is; How new are the stones you’re using? As we’ve discussed many times here, stones which haven’t been fully broken in can have small clusters of grit which will cause chips.
I used my 100/200s so seldom (because of their propensity for causing chips) that it took about three years before they were finally fully broken-in.
Isn’t that a pretty common go-to “cheap” steel for Chinese knife producers? I remember seeing it on several cheapo-s I had as a kid. Or was that 400 Stainless?If I misspoke, my bad!
The use of a grade of steel in cheap knives does not mean that the grade itself is poor, and consider that really cheap imports are probably not even marked honestly. 440C covers some range of formulations and production methods, and of course heat treatment is paramount.