Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

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Doeswhateveraspidercan
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Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#1

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Does anyone have a good method to sharpen the Spyderco Military serrated bladed version in 440V?

I have the Sharpmaker and a couple of Spyderco honing rods and the duck footed stone as well as a VEFF sharpener but it is getting me nowhere quick.
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RadioactiveSpyder
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#2

Post by RadioactiveSpyder »

The best method I found was to send mine back to Spyderco to have them sharpen it! :) They even sent a nice letter back with it that said how much they appreciated the hard use it had received. :D
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Evil D
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#3

Post by Evil D »

Make sure you're actually hitting the bevel, color the edge with a marker and make a few swipes and see where the rods are hitting. You may need to use the 40 slots if you're on the 30s.
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Doeswhateveraspidercan
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#4

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 05, 2018 10:02 am
Make sure you're actually hitting the bevel, color the edge with a marker and make a few swipes and see where the rods are hitting. You may need to use the 40 slots if you're on the 30s.
I assume you are referring to the VEFF Sharpener? Yes did the sharpie coloring in. Still not satisfied I can see why Sal abandoned this steel in favor of S30V. My PM2 fully serrated in S30V is a dream to sharpen by comparison.
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Evil D
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#5

Post by Evil D »

Doeswhateveraspidercan wrote:
Fri Oct 05, 2018 10:11 am
Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 05, 2018 10:02 am
Make sure you're actually hitting the bevel, color the edge with a marker and make a few swipes and see where the rods are hitting. You may need to use the 40 slots if you're on the 30s.
I assume you are referring to the VEFF Sharpener? Yes did the sharpie coloring in. Still not satisfied I can see why Sal abandoned this steel in favor of S30V. My PM2 fully serrated in S30V is a dream to sharpen by comparison.

Are you saying it has Veff serrations cut into it? Or you have their sharpener? I've never used their sharpener but the idea is the same. This isn't the easiest steel to sharpen so you probably just need to keep working at it and make sure it's 1) getting apexed and 2) you're not making or leaving a bunch of burr.
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Doeswhateveraspidercan
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#6

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Just the Sharpener... Which I have to say I am disappointed in. Maybe it just takes time to break in?

Any way I got confused by what you meant and just now figured out you meant the 40 degree inclusive on the sharpmaker.

You are correct I did try the 30 slots but could tell immediately the angle was too steep.


I just spoke to a pair of lovely ladies at Spyderco and I think I will stop now before I wreck the blade and send it in for a good sharpening after that I can maintain it with the Sharpmaker.

Those poor ladies have quite a bit of stress in their voices, lets remember and go out of our way to be nice when we call in. God only knows what hey have to put up with in a days time.

I was told to package the knife in a box with packing material (not a envelope) use a form of shipping that provides tracking and include $5.00 check or money order for shipping it back. When asked what the typical turn around was they said to expect about 3 weeks from the time they received the knife.

Also remember to include your contact information and email.

Then I asked if it were possible to send in another knife to have the DLC reapplied, the first lady did not know the anser and got me in touch with Warranty. The lady I spoke to there was very busy you could hear it in her voice no non-sense and to the point but nicely replied no. The DLC is applied at a different location and is done preassembly.

Kind of what I figured but had to ask.

Honestly what impressed me the most was the level of competence both ladies presented. I am very impressed with how well each of them know the aspects of their job and how intelligent and responsive both of them were.

Sal and Eric if you are reading this give the lady acting as Operator and the lady in Warranty (on Friday October 5th 2018 around 12:30 PM Eastern Time ) a high 5 you have a great team with them .

Sending the knife in today.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#7

Post by Sjucaveman »

RadioactiveSpyder wrote:
Fri Oct 05, 2018 9:55 am
The best method I found was to send mine back to Spyderco to have them sharpen it! :) They even sent a nice letter back with it that said how much they appreciated the hard use it had received. :D
When all my s110v spydies get dull I just may do this. I don't know if I have the patience let alone skill to sharpen it. Plus it very rarely needs it.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#8

Post by jezabel »

701 profiles are your friend here, hunt some down. I’ve three 440v SE Millie’s which see a tonne of work. All kept alive with Ye olde profile stones.

j
FB04PBB, C07FS4K390, C12GS, C12SBK2, C36GS, C36GTIP, C36CFM390P, C36CFTIP, C36GPBORE, C41BKPS, C44GP&SGY, C46PS, C46GPBK, C52BKP, C52FPGYE, C63G3, C65TIP, C70S, C81FG, C81GS2, C81CFM4P2, C83BM, C83GP2, C101GP, C101GPS, C101CF90VP2, C105, C134CF, C151GODTiPBK
Doeswhateveraspidercan
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#9

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Thanks for the tip, where can the still be purchased? Had to work late so missed the post office
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#10

Post by vivi »

https://youtu.be/Ptmx1iJELhU

Sharpening them yourself isn't too difficult. I used to be intimidated by it, but after some practice it became natural.

If you are going to use the sharpmaker, I'd use the CBN or diamond stones if its pretty dull.

I haven't tried the profile stones, but looking at them I could see they'd do well.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#11

Post by OldHoosier62 »

jezabel wrote:
Fri Oct 05, 2018 5:50 pm
701 profiles are your friend here, hunt some down. I’ve three 440v SE Millie’s which see a tonne of work. All kept alive with Ye olde profile stones.

j
Exactly the right answer. 701's are purpose built for your task.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#12

Post by Evil D »

Vivi wrote:
Fri Oct 05, 2018 7:11 pm
https://youtu.be/Ptmx1iJELhU

Sharpening them yourself isn't too difficult. I used to be intimidated by it, but after some practice it became natural.

If you are going to use the sharpmaker, I'd use the CBN or diamond stones if its pretty dull.

I haven't tried the profile stones, but looking at them I could see they'd do well.
You should also try alternating passes going from heel to tip and from tip to heel. That guarantees you hit the entire curve of each serration. I've noticed with a markered bevel that sometimes I don't get the whole curve if I'm only making heel to tip passes, and my edges have improved since doing alternating passes.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#13

Post by vivi »

I may try that sometime. Using strokes in one direction I can get my Pacific Salt sharp enough to pop off arm hairs without contacting the skin, which has been good enough for me.
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Doeswhateveraspidercan
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#14

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Thank you so much for these wonderful instructions.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#15

Post by Evil D »

Vivi wrote:
Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:54 am
I may try that sometime. Using strokes in one direction I can get my Pacific Salt sharp enough to pop off arm hairs without contacting the skin, which has been good enough for me.

It seems to make more difference for me on newer knives. After I've sharpened one enough to round and smooth out the teeth a bit they flow over the corners smoother and I get the whole curve better. I like to slowly run the edge along phone book paper and let each scallop go through the paper so I can see and feel if any of them are less sharp than the rest.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#16

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Today I mailed the 440V Military fully serrated into Spyderco for sharpening and asked what it would take to bring it back to close to new. These instructions will be helpful for keeping it that way when it returns.


Does anyone know where to buy the 701's it is strange how Spyderco makes wonderful things then discontinues them.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#17

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Wow ok this is not cool. This morning I went to touch up a knife and realized one of my sharpmaker brown stones was damaged.

I can't believe how hard 440V is, it actually damaged the corner of a brown stone. Discolored it and made it rough on the edge. This is the left one that I used for the serrated side. Man am I glad I sent this into Spyderco to sharpen, these serrations are a beast.

Actually ate up a sharpening rod wow! I was on my way to work so had to go will take pictures and post later.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#18

Post by Evil D »

That discoloring is just steel that's rubbed off on the stone.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#19

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Ahhh I was really beginning to think wow that is one Uber tough steel. I will clean the rods and see how it looks. That edge was crazy rough on the CTS-204P I was touching up.
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Re: Sharpening Serrated Military 440V

#20

Post by Evil D »

Doeswhateveraspidercan wrote:
Mon Oct 08, 2018 1:10 pm
Ahhh I was really beginning to think wow that is one Uber tough steel. I will clean the rods and see how it looks. That edge was crazy rough on the CTS-204P I was touching up.

Get yourself some SOS pads or Scotchbrite pads and some Barkeeper's Friend and scrub them up. It also helps to keep them cutting better if you keep them clean.
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