Spyderco not only has several blade designs with difficult to sharpen blade tips but there are several other knife companies that also have hard to sharpen blade tips so I elected to put this thread here on the Off Topic part of the forum.
One that comes to mind immediately are the tips on Hawkbill blades PE or SE. To me it is important on a Hawkbill because on that blade style the tip is an important part of the cutting surface>> particularly on a plain edged Hawkbill. And I find PE Hawkbills to be one of the most difficult if not challenging knife blades to sharpen and maintain of just about any other type of blade tip out there. I'm also sure that the tips on linoleum knives and roofing material knives have their difficulties as well.
Now Hawkbills aren't the only knife blade with a hard to sharpen tip there are several on more conventional type knife blades as well. One knife I have that has a tricky tip to sharpen is my long time beloved BM Boguszewski Spike model which has a design and tip very similar to Spyderco's C-50 or C-25 Centofante model. The tip on that blade is very hard to get just right to where it has good penetrating and cutting ability. There again it's a knife design with the tip being a vital and integral part of the cutting surface. I don't find that type of tip to be as tricky as the Hawkbill tips are but it still takes a lot of patience and a steady hand to get right.
There are other tips on other blade designs that are also tricky to sharpen and maintain and I do want to talk about any knife tip you all have had problems sharpening and maintaining. I wanting to know what sharpening methods or any tricks of the trade you all have that would help?
Tip Sharpening & Repair
Re: Tip Sharpening & Repair
I use benchstones (mostly waterstones) and by rounding the edge it makes sharpening curvy blades fairly simple. To get a nice pointy tip I start at the tip and use edge trailing strokes to assure I don't gouge the stone. I also use finger placement to apply pressure on the edge where needed to pinpoint the grinding action.
Re: Tip Sharpening & Repair
I have done exactly what you described on one of my TORMEK wet grinding wheels and it works great on recurves especially. But on blade tips that are hard to sharpen like the ones on PE Hawkbills and even on some Wharncliffe type blades it's hard to do them unless you use a manual sharpening tool. I've never had very good luck using the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker but I have had good luck using the 701 Profiles for tip sharpening.Jason B. wrote:I use benchstones (mostly waterstones) and by rounding the edge it makes sharpening curvy blades fairly simple. To get a nice pointy tip I start at the tip and use edge trailing strokes to assure I don't gouge the stone. I also use finger placement to apply pressure on the edge where needed to pinpoint the grinding action.
A very streamlined Wharncliffe like the Spyderco "Des Horn" model is another one that is not easy to get just right without help. I'm anxious to see the new, upcoming GAUNTLET sharpening system that Spyderco has on the horizon. Because sharpening tips on some blades isn't as easy as one would think. And PE Hawkbills have other challenges when it comes to creating a razor sharp edge.
The radii on the 701 Profiles gives you a lot of versatility especially on serrations. I've also wondered if anyone uses the groove on the 701 units to sharpen tips with? I have found that groove great for a lot more than fishhooks.
Re: Tip Sharpening & Repair
I use a guided system with flat diamond stones, the DMT Aligner, and I have no problem sharpening points. It can take awhile to reprofile some knives because the grinds get really steep near the tip, but put in enough time and the points get sharp.
Depending on how you use a knife, the point can get broken off or worn down faster than another knife. I have a 154CM Manix 2 that I use a lot to open boxes and cut down boxes, and cutting the tape on boxes uses just the point so the point gets worn down fast. I can't restore the extreme point of the point but I can get it mostly sharp. To restore the extreme point of the point would require reshaping the edge or the spine. If a tip is broken off this would be required but if I just wear down the tip a little bit I'll sharpen it back the best that I can.
Depending on how you use a knife, the point can get broken off or worn down faster than another knife. I have a 154CM Manix 2 that I use a lot to open boxes and cut down boxes, and cutting the tape on boxes uses just the point so the point gets worn down fast. I can't restore the extreme point of the point but I can get it mostly sharp. To restore the extreme point of the point would require reshaping the edge or the spine. If a tip is broken off this would be required but if I just wear down the tip a little bit I'll sharpen it back the best that I can.
Re: Tip Sharpening & Repair
Fortunately I've only ever had two broken tip/points ever. One of them was given to me and it was a major job restoring it even with my TORMEK. I try to use a knife for only what it's to be used for>> and that's for general cutting chores only. When I see people using knives as screwdrivers, prybars and to do gouging jobs with I truly cringe :eek:bdblue wrote:I use a guided system with flat diamond stones, the DMT Aligner, and I have no problem sharpening points. It can take awhile to reprofile some knives because the grinds get really steep near the tip, but put in enough time and the points get sharp.
Depending on how you use a knife, the point can get broken off or worn down faster than another knife. I have a 154CM Manix 2 that I use a lot to open boxes and cut down boxes, and cutting the tape on boxes uses just the point so the point gets worn down fast. I can't restore the extreme point of the point but I can get it mostly sharp. To restore the extreme point of the point would require reshaping the edge or the spine. If a tip is broken off this would be required but if I just wear down the tip a little bit I'll sharpen it back the best that I can.
And you make a really good point about putting in enough time to get it right. Because sharpening the point on a lot of different styles of blades truly does take some time and patience.
Again getting back to PE Hawkbill blades that is one of the hardest knife points there is to restore to it's original state. I have had some decent success with the 701 Profiles but the main reason I put up this thread was the pick the brains of someone who might have a better way of doing it. Reason being is that the tip of any Hawkbill is one of the most important and useful parts of a Hawkbill blade. I've almost come to the conclusion that the only way to get one perfect is to somehow put it in a vice.
I'm sure your DMT Aligner can have good results however I wouldn't do the finishing work on a diamond stone because I mainly find diamond to be for rapid stock removal but not necessarily great for finish work.