Spyderco Forums

You'd think that 10 years later I'd be good at this... I manage to get useable, but not great edges

I want to pick up a Spyderco as a house chores knife and to learn to sharpen
Something not tiny, with a steel that deburrs easily (and is not a super collectable Sprint)
Sub $100? I'll probably get an edge pro at some point

You don't want to just try sharpening up some butter knife from a thrift store?

I actually bought a few bags of cheap Swiss army knives on eBay, but it feels different than a normal folder

That or any cheap 440C or 8cr13mov knife off of ebay. I think it's easier to learn on a softer metal than something even like s30v. I do love the Edge Pro for sharpening my Spyderco knives though. Some knives are a PITA to hold at a consistent angle without moving around especially smaller knives, but Spydies are pretty easy. No thumbstuds, oddly placed grinds that make it hard to hold still and what not. The PM2 I usually lay flat on the face of the blade and go from there but I've seen people lay it on the flat by the choil. Another good thing is there's tons of aftermarket Edge Pro stuff, like diamond and CBN stones, strops, etc unlike some systems where you're limited to using the stuff they sell with their kits.

I'd buy a couple of Victorinox or similar paring knives and practice on them. :)

Thanks. I was going through eBay, and man, used beat up Spyderco knives command a lot of $$$

Am hoping that the edge pro helps me free hand too. I can't seem to tell the difference between 30 and 40 degree

I got a cheap folder from Harbor Freight to practice on. It's half serrated but none of my quality knives are. It's nice to practice with it though.

Edit: the steel is 8cr13mov. Easy to dull, easy to sharpen.

GarageBoy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:58 pm

I want to pick up a Spyderco as a house chores knife and to learn to sharpen
Something not tiny, with a steel that deburrs easily (and is not a super collectable Sprint)
Sub $100? I'll probably get an edge pro at some point

If you don't already have one I'd look real hard at a VG10 Delica

Get a Spyderco Salt in pe H1. Maybe a salt 2? The steel is easy to sharpen and every Spydie fan needs to own at least one salt knife.

52100.

Ya'll forgetting about Byrds?

Grab yourself a $20 Cara Cara and a $40 302M Medium bench stone and you'll have everything you need to teach yourself how to achieve hair popping sharp edges free hand.

I went to the Salvation Army and found a couple of partial knife sets for about $20. Even though the steel was really poor, it was excellent practice for getting comfortable with the mechanics of freehand sharpening. Builds muscle memory if nothing else. And I got those suckers SHARP eventually :)

I also picked up some knives from a Salvation Army, practiced with my EdgePro until I got them all really sharp, and then donated them back.

My recommendations would be a VG10 Delica or Endura, or yeah, a Byrd meadowlark or cara cara. You can’t beat the price of the Byrds. If you get the more expensive knife and don’t get results you like, you can send it to Spyderco and they’ll sharpen it for you.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:01 pm

Ya'll forgetting about Byrds?

Grab yourself a $20 Cara Cara and a $40 302M Medium bench stone and you'll have everything you need to teach yourself how to achieve hair popping sharp edges free hand.

Good call! I was going to suggest Kershaw. I have a fatback (fat back?) made by Kershaw that I have been practicing on. I started free hand, got a KME, and now am trying free hand again. I found the KME helped me in a lot of ways to keep still while on a stone or on the sharpmaker.

I was joking about the butter knives, but honestly I would go to the thrift store and see if you can pick up some kitchen knife for a few bucks and work on that -- or a cheap Kershaw would do, or some random Gas station knife. At some point really garbage steel maybe would be pathological, but I'll bet you could learn lessons on anything. And you might pick up some decent kitchen knives. I have some horrible "smith and wesson" folder that is without a doubt the worst knife imaginable. I would be willing to subject it to anything and try to learn on it.

How about a mora? Realatively cheap but a good useable fixed blade. Personally, I just won’t buy garbage, it just encourages them to make more.

If you can wait a little while, that bow river would be perfect.

You should get a Sharpmaker to practice sharpening on. :)

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:01 pm

Ya'll forgetting about Byrds?

Grab yourself a $20 Cara Cara and a $40 302M Medium bench stone and you'll have everything you need to teach yourself how to achieve hair popping sharp edges free hand.

This. To learn you need an easy steel but not crap. Crap steel will usually burr heavily, or won’t take an edge.
Spyderco/Byrd 8Cr13MoV is right.

Alternatively a Victorinox paring at 3-5$ doesn’t disappoint although I find it easier to manage the Byrd (depending on the stones you have).

I would just start out with old kitchen knives. I rushed into trying out folders too soon when I got my Edge Pro, my first try was on a kitchen knife and I was so pleased with the results I moved on to my Para 2 20CP sprint and absolutely jacked up the bevel. I would stick with cheap knives for a while before moving on to expensive ones.