dreadpirate
Ultimate Member
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Spyderco Edge Help!
- Thread starter BossmanPJ
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BossmanPJ
Ultimate Member
I already had it shipped by the time this was posted. I am very curious tho. More details needed.
Do you actually try to cut the board in half? Or do you just run it into it a few times until it feels sharper? Also, against the grain or with it?
For the record, this sounds a bit silly.
Butcher
Active Member
Doesn't sound silly. A good way to hone your edge in the field with no other tools around is to roll/fold up some paper as thick as you can and swipe the edge on it a couple times just like you would normally strop it.
alucard0822
For great Justice
Easiest way is draw it across the end grain, if the burr is excessive it can pull it off, if the edge is deformed, and the steel is tough and soft it may straighten the edge to some degree. Stropping uses a tough, but not hard substance to pull the edge into alignment by drawing it with the edge trailing, Leather is the material of choice, but most anything tough and firm will work, cardboard, denim, canvas, wood, etc. Steeling uses a hard steel or glass edge or ridges, to bend the edge back straight as it's pushed edge forward. With a good tough blade steel you can strop or steel the edge back to sufficient cutting ability quite a few times before actually sharpening it by grinding metal off.
Stropping generally produces better results, and produces the best edge after sharpening, steeling is much faster, both need to match the angle sharpened into the edge, neither will fix a chipped or edge that has worn dull, they only correct rolls. I strop my EDC knives frequently, sharpen them rarely, makes them last the longest and keeps the best edge, might go a year or more between light sharpening with my better blades, but usually strop for a couple minutes every week or two.
Spyderco makes a good knife (for it not being a Benchmade anyway 
j/k )
But seriously even the best companies are going to have a small percentage of defectives, and there's a lot that goes into making these ultra sharp modern knife blades. I think you just got a bad one by luck of the draw.
You bring up a good point. The most important part of a good blade is not the steel type, it's how good the heat treating is. Best steel in the world will make a pure shit blade if it's not treated right.
j/k )But seriously even the best companies are going to have a small percentage of defectives, and there's a lot that goes into making these ultra sharp modern knife blades. I think you just got a bad one by luck of the draw.
You bring up a good point. The most important part of a good blade is not the steel type, it's how good the heat treating is. Best steel in the world will make a pure shit blade if it's not treated right.
BossmanPJ
Ultimate Member
Ok now this makes more sense. I did not incision stropping with the way you described it. I saw you describing literally doing a cutting motion into a piece of wood with the blade straight up and down.
I have been looking to get a nice strop. I did not realize that the actual edge work could be done with more than just leather or steel.
I wish I would have tried it before I shipped it off. You guys know a lot more about knife edges than I do.
BossmanPJ
Ultimate Member
My knowledge extends to:
Knife shave arm hair easily = sharp.
Knife dulls like hell after cutting one zip tie = bad.
Knife shave arm hair easily = sharp.
Knife dulls like hell after cutting one zip tie = bad.
Yeah... That's a problem. A few years ago I had to spend a couple of days working with plastic snow fencing and zip ties. I love my Rescue and it performed admirably but by the third day I had switched to pliers with a heavy wire cutter.
BossmanPJ
Ultimate Member
That SpyderEdge is amazing. I have been watching cut test videos since your recommendation. I've never seen a knife slice a water bottle completely in half. I know what I will be trying tomorrow!
I'm looking at the Spyderco Salt 1. I love my Delica 4 and it is the same size. Plus the added bonus of being rust proof really sells it for me. I work around rock salt all winter long and on trucks covered in it.
ponypeddler87
Active Member
I actually was saying to cut in to the board. By lightly but firm enough to slightly cut the wood and dragging it you can straighten out the edge. If I figure out how to put up a video I will post one or find a link from YouTube. You hold the knife perpendicular to the wood and the grain or anything else doesn't really matter. Only takes like 3 or 4 pounds of pressure. I was very skeptical of this method at first but after trying it I was amazed it worked. I tend to use this method more often when I only sharpen to 1200-1600 grit. When I sharpen to 40,000 grit and up I won't need to do it. Stropping is definitely the key to the sharpest you can make a blade.
BossmanPJ
Ultimate Member
Stropping is definitely the key to the sharpest you can make a blade.[/QUOTE said:
alucard0822
For great Justice
The salt series are awesome, and so is H1 steel. The corrosion resistance doesn't really matter to me, but it is incredibly tough steel that is unusual in that it is work hardened and not heat tempered. In a plain edge it is very ordinary, really nothing special being it rolls and dulls on par with cheap 420 knives. In a serrated edge though it performs like supersteel, Sal Glesser(spyderco owner) has posted a lot about it on knife forums, claims the serrated edge grinding process gives it a hardness in the upper 60s, and with serrations protecting the edge to avoid damage and wear it performs exceptionally. I was skeptical, cut bought a couple of the mini salt knives to pair with a large plain edge, I beat on them, cut nothing but tough plastic and hard stuff that I avoid with my expensive plain edge folders, and it's still razor sharp over a year later. The edge does roll, and I've bent teeth cutting stuff I probably shouldn't, but it is EASILY straightened. I can drag it spine forward, pushing hard on a block of wood and the bent teeth straighten right out, then finish with the edge of a leather belt on my belt sander, have yet to actually sharpen it.
I use a couple, mostly a Lee valley tools 1x30 leather belt on a harbor freight belt sander loaded with green chrome oxide compound on the smooth side, and use a plain rough side to buff it. It strops and polishes really fast, and gives a ridiculous edge in a couple minutes. For a quick stropping at my desk I use a Knives plus stropping block and strop by hand, basically a piece of wood covered in leather, fitz polish loaded on one side, the other side clean. Also use glass, balsa and leather with and without compound on my edge pro if I have time to waste and want to end up with something impressive.
In the past I've stropped with felt and cardboard grinding wheels, wood, old belts, cardboard, mousepads, canvas, steeled with coffe cups, car windows, random pieces of steel, glass, ceramic and steel rods, knife spines, basically everything I could find, they all work, they all require practice and skill to hold the angle, but the block and belt on the sander are the best for speed, convenience and results.
ponypeddler87
Active Member
When I hand sharpened it doesn't really matter on the strop i just used a cheapish $12 strop. It was 2 strops with the unfinished sides touching. What really matters is a stropping compound or a diamond spray.
Agreed. The compound makes a huge difference.
I like the Wicked Edge 3.5u/5u paste, which you can get from KnifeCenter for less than $10.
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