Just how good are Spyderco's Ceramic benchstones.........

[jackknifeh]

the 306 is only available in ultra fine

Wonder why they don't have the larger med. and fine stones?


Jack

[sir_mike]

Wonder why they don't have the larger med. and fine stones?


Jack

I wonder the same thing! Sal, whats up with that?

I have a new Sage 2 that I just received, should I use the fine or ultra fine to touch up the edge before I start using it? Or is it sharp enough as is? (another noob question)

[C.L.L 97]

Amazing edges Prime!!

[jackknifeh]

I wonder the same thing! Sal, whats up with that?

I have a new Sage 2 that I just received, should I use the fine or ultra fine to touch up the edge before I start using it? Or is it sharp enough as is? (another noob question)

It's probably really sharp now. Depending on your desires you could touch it up. Try just dragging (like on a strop) the edge along the surface of a fine or UF stone. Or a strop if you have one. But, if it slices paper real easy I'd just use it for now.

Jack

[prime77]

If the Sharpmaker and not the stones make removing steel take more time do you think it's the thinner stones or is there a limit on how much pressure you can put on the rods when using the sharpmaker?

If there is a limit to the amount of pressure you can use with a Sharpmaker could that be remedied by anchoring the Sharpmaker base to a bench, table, etc.?

Jack

I believe it's the amount of pressure you can put on the bench stone but more with the way the strokes are used on the sharpmaker. The time it takes to stoke the blade down the rod, take it off then get your angle again at the top of the rod, then stoke down again can be very time consuming when trying to remove metal. Freehand on the bench stone you can keep the blade on the stone and with much more pressure stroke down the stone bring it up maintaining your angle and repeat. It makes for much more efficient metal removable.

[prime77]

Very nice Prime77! I've never taken the time to put a mirror on any of my edges.. I don't want to spend all that time, then have it destroyed the first time i use it.

All in all it really didn't take a lot of time. Much more for me to organize the pics and write up the thread. Also one of the great things about the finely polished edge is after use it will respond nicely to the stops to bring back that fine edge.

[prime77]

Nicely done.

Are you using the 302 series stones or the 306 series? Does the 306 series have a medium and fine available?

I just picked up the med, fine and ultra fine in the 302 series but havent used them yet! I must be gun shy or something! I am a noob when it comes to sharpening so sorry if the questions seem kinda dumb!

With those stone you will be able to do everything I did before the strops.

[prime77]

That is an awesome write up.

Just to confirm, when you said the UF stones gave you that nice mirror edge, did you do that on the Sharpmaker with the UF stones?
If so how long did it take?? and im going to buy a pair right now...

No I used the 306uf larger bench stone. It really is an amazing sharpening tool and I believe the pics from the fine stone to the UF really show it. With this stone as your finishing stone you can really have a nice keen edge without the stops. Also it's a great touch up stone for keeping an edge in good condition.

[chuck_roxas45]

No I used the 306uf larger bench stone. It really is an amazing sharpening tool and I believe the pics from the fine stone to the UF really show it. With this stone as your finishing stone you can really have a nice keen edge without the stops. Also it's a great touch up stone for keeping an edge in good condition.

Would it be too much to ask for a vid of your technique Prime77?

[sir_mike]

With those stone you will be able to do everything I did before the strops.

So you used the 302M and 302F or the sharpmaker M/F set before the 306UF?

I also have a stropmans strop with the green compound but dont remember exactly what the green compound specs are!

[prime77]

Would it be too much to ask for a vid of your technique Prime77?

I have a Youtube channel and have thought about doing vids but my camera is crap at taking videos and don't have a lot of free time to post them. I can tell you that Solo's freehand series had a great influence on me in his advice and technique. The tools he uses are almost the same. They are 4 short vids and I recommend them to anyone who wants to learn to free hand. I can't tell you how many times I have watched them. Here is a link to the first vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNwP-2xBphI

[prime77]

So you used the 302M and 302F or the sharpmaker M/F set before the 306UF?

I also have a stropmans strop with the green compound but dont remember exactly what the green compound specs are!

Right. Medium, fine, then ultra fine. No sharpmaker was used.

[Donut]

Those Solo videos are a very well documented tutorial.

[prime77]

Those Solo videos are a very well documented tutorial.

That they are. I maybe wrong but I believe he posted them all in order somewhere here for easy viewing. They really a great visual lesson.

[prime77]

I found the link to his thread if anyone want's to take the time to see a really good freehand sharpener at work.

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showt...highlight=solo

[phillipsted]

I believe it's the amount of pressure you can put on the bench stone but more with the way the strokes are used on the sharpmaker. The time it takes to stoke the blade down the rod, take it off then get your angle again at the top of the rod, then stoke down again can be very time consuming when trying to remove metal. Freehand on the bench stone you can keep the blade on the stone and with much more pressure stroke down the stone bring it up maintaining your angle and repeat. It makes for much more efficient metal removable.

When I'm reprofiling a blade on a benchstone, I try to keep the blade continuously in contact with the stone, moving in a figure 8 pattern. This makes it much easier to keep a uniform angle - and it sharpens very fast...

TedP

[sir_mike]

It's probably really sharp now. Depending on your desires you could touch it up. Try just dragging (like on a strop) the edge along the surface of a fine or UF stone. Or a strop if you have one. But, if it slices paper real easy I'd just use it for now.

Jack

Okay, say like a weekly touchup after alittle use, could I get it real sharp just by using the UF or Fine stone? I would never let it get dull, just moderate use so I shouldnt need the medium or fine stones to maintain, right?

[chuck_roxas45]

Weekly touchups enough to keep it sharp if you don't use your knife a whole lot. Some people like to do a couple of strokes each side everyday.

[Donut]

You should be able to maintain very well with fine and ultra fine, the only thing you might run into is a chip or compression. If that happens, then you can either be okay with that one spot not cutting (more like tearing) very well and take a few sharpenings to get past that spot, or you can go with a more coarse stone and repair it on the first sharpening.

[sir_mike]

Weekly touchups enough to keep it sharp if you don't use your knife a whole lot. Some people like to do a couple of strokes each side everyday.

You should be able to maintain very well with fine and ultra fine, the only thing you might run into is a chip or compression. If that happens, then you can either be okay with that one spot not cutting (more like tearing) very well and take a few sharpenings to get past that spot, or you can go with a more coarse stone and repair it on the first sharpening.

Thanks guys! Just trying to figure what steps I dont need to do if I am just gonna maintain an edge that is already there. I do understand if there are chips or the knife gets dull from heavier use that I will have to use the medium stone too.