I got my first Spyderco's!

[GP63]

Hi from a new Spyderco enthusiast. I recently picked up a Caly 3 (zdp-189) and plan on using it as an everyday utility knife. I also bought a Chaparral (S30V) that I intend to give to my father for his birthday. Or maybe the other way 'round..not sure yet! In any case both look very well made and are very sharp.

I understand that both of these steels are very hard, and I have little experience with hand sharpening. So what's the best way to keep these blades sharp? Would a Sharpmaker be the way to go? And would I need the diamond rods? Do the standard grit rods have any impact on these steels?
Thanks for any advice!

[Gofannon]

Is it serrated or plain edge? I like the Sharmaker but you have a lot of possibilities to sharpening your knife (good choice, I like my caly 3 in VG10).
The Sharmaker is for me the easier way to sharpening all my Spyderco, whatever the steel: VG10, S30v, zdp, gin, H1... with or without teeth. It's not the case for all the sharpening device.

[KardinalSyn]

Congratz on those blades and welcome to the forum mate. Hope you have lots of fun here. Good place to ask questions as well on the Spydies you have too.

I would say the Sharpmaker. Check out the Sharpmaker videos on YouTube if you have doubts.

[PARATOM]

im looking forward to getting a caly 3 soon.

but as for sharpening, i agree that the sharpmaker is great option for keeping the blades sharp. I just recently bought one and i had little to no sharpening experience. After a few practice runs with my tenacious, my whole spyderco line up is hair popping sharp. It really is pretty easy to get the hang of and it is just so easy to take out, put together, sharpen, and store. I havnt got the UF stones nor a strop so i cant imagine how sharp they would be after that.

+1 on the sharpmaker, you dont need the diamond rods unless you really f-up the edge. I would say put the money toward the ultra fine stones...

[toomzz]

Welcome GP63,

since you bought a hardsteel Spyder (ZDP189) diamond rods makes it easier to resharpen it. So they are good to get. The brown (Medium) and white (fine) stones in the sharpmaker set are for both steels excellent for resharpening, but on harder steel it takes a little longer to get there. You will hardly see what the rods do to the edge but they WILL get sharp

[Mr.Porter]

Well I am going to have to agree on the Sharpmaker... I've sharpened up my dad's ZDP Dragonfly several times on the Sharpmaker using mediums, fines and additional ultra fines.
I recommend the ultra fines as an extra purchase to get that little something extra from your blades, of course the fines will get you very very sharp too.
If you take it down to ultra fine and then strop afterwards... man you can get some great results from those steels. I don't personally have any ZDP yet, but I have a lot Spydies in S30V and I'm able to get it ridiculous sharp...
what I like to call an "X4CTO edge" as demonstrated in my Y.T. video on how I use the Sharpmaker. Just got a stupid sharp edge on my Citadel using the above mentioned kit.
Also, if you touch up your edge more frequently then you can pretty much keep it sharp without an issue... honing I guess you could say... re-sharpening only if you get it too dull.
It's not "harder" to sharpen harder steels, just takes a bit longer as has been mentioned.
Sharpmaker... highly recommend by me.
Go get you one! HAHA.

[Blerv]

Hi from a new Spyderco enthusiast. I recently picked up a Caly 3 (zdp-189) and plan on using it as an everyday utility knife. I also bought a Chaparral (S30V) that I intend to give to my father for his birthday. Or maybe the other way 'round..not sure yet! In any case both look very well made and are very sharp.

I understand that both of these steels are very hard, and I have little experience with hand sharpening. So what's the best way to keep these blades sharp? Would a Sharpmaker be the way to go? And would I need the diamond rods? Do the standard grit rods have any impact on these steels?
Thanks for any advice!

Congrats on the purchases !

Both S30v and ZDP-189 are considerably hard (especially ZDP) and both are deemed as very "wear resistant". Luckily both edge angles are quite thin so sharpening isn't as terrifying as one would think.

A Sharpmaker is the ultimate setup for the money as it keeps your angles very accurate. With the brown/white stones you can sharpen either knife but the ZDP-189 will take more passes. It would be worth putting it on the table while watching a TV show or a short movie and just enjoy the process.

Diamond rods do speed up the process but mainly they are for reprofiling. If you get a nasty chip in a knife or want to take the bevel down thinner they shine. Otherwise I would just let abrasion and duration do their work.

[BAL]

Sharpmaker good.
Diamond rods good.
Ultra fine rods good.