Spyderco Forums

Hi, I used the 40 degree setting on my Bug and it didn't come out as sharp as I'd hoped. Wanted to get advice before trying at 30.

BTW Which angles do you folks use for the FFG Delica 4 and Dragonfly 2 VG-10's ?

Thanks

First things first you need to make sure you're hitting the edge regardless of what angle you use. Color the bevel with a black marker and then make a couple light passes and see where the stones are hitting.

I like to use the 30 setting for my pocket knives and the 40 for my kitchen knives. Like David mentioned use a sharpie to see where on the bevel the stone is making contact. It may be that you're only hitting the shoulder of the bevel and you are not making contact with the apex. Also make sure your stones are clean, they can get clogged up pretty fast and not cut the steel so well. Keep to the brown stones and test the edge once in a while to see where you are, when you can shave a bit of arm hair easily then you can move on to the fine stones and refine the edge.

30 degree setting should be fine for your Delica and Dragonfly and you might want to add a micro-bevel with the 40 setting but that's a whole other story :)

It depends on what you cut... VG-10 is fine at 30 degrees, but don't expect to cut hard stuff like wire or knotty/seasoned hardwood without minor damage to the apex, a 40 degree micro bevel will make for a tougher edge, especially on the softer steel in your bug.

If you have the patience I'd set the primary bevel at 30 using the marker & burr method, then add a 40 degree micro bevel

My question for you is whether you're maintaining a relatively sharp edge or resharpening a dull edge. If the edge is rather dull from use and lack of edge maintenance, perhaps you need a courser stone on your Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, such as the Spyderco Diamond Tri-Angle Stone...

I mention this because I sharpen the kitchen knives for my family and sometimes I get these knives from them duller than a butter knife. I start with the Diamond Tri-Angle Stones at the 40-degree setting and once I can get an edge started, I move onto the Spyderco Brown then Spyderco White Tri-Angle Stones that come with the Sharpmaker and use the 40-degree setting to finish the job. I've yet had a need to go to the 30-degree setting on my Sharpmaker for their kitchen knives.

Now, all that said, last time I sharpened these knives, one of them was REALLY DULL, so I pulled everything off of my Sharpmaker, flipped it over, laid the Dianond Tri-Angle Stones in the grooves on the bottom, turned my Sharpmaker into a bench stone, and laid the knife on the set-up at a nearly flat angle... I was able to get an edge started, reconfigured my Sharpmaker to use the stones at 40 degrees, and finished off with the Brown and White Stones.

I sharpen most all my knives at 30 degrees with the diamond rods till I hit the Apex than put a 40 degree micro bevel on them with the brown stones. If it's a blade steel that works better with a fine edge I use the fine stone next.

I touch up the 40 degree micro bevel with the brown stones as needed. Again, I add the white if I want a fine edge. S110v, S90v, S30v all get coarse edges. VG-10, Zdp-189, M4 and S35VN all get fine edges. I'll use the diamonds again at 30 every so often so the micro bevel doesn't get too big.

Inexperienced knife-sharpener here... I use the 40 degree setting because I think that was recommended in the Spyderco instructional video (at least until you'll reach a point where you need to re-profile)... I don't use my knives often but after the blade begins to lose it's initial sharpness, I touch it up on the Sharpmaker using the white (fine) stones... I don't allow the blades to ever become dull...

Hi folks, not sure I get the lingo. When we write on the bevel with the sharpie, where are we writing?

Also what does "hit the apex" mean exactly?

Thanks

Use the Sharpie to color in bevel on your knife. As you sharpen the ink will come off and you'll be able to see exactly where you are removing steel from. Hope this diagram helps



The apex is the point where both sides of the blade/bevel meet and when you "hit" it that's when your knife starts getting sharp.

I'm a Sharpmaker noob and for my current disposition, can't imagine sharpening a *dull* knife with the medium brown stones. I'm sure it can be done but I wouldn't want to, not when there are better tools for the job. Diamond stones are essential imo, unless the task is a touch up in the maintenance of already sharp blades.

I know its an old thread - but the tips in here were very useful for my sharpening technique.

I’ve got a UK Penknife in LC200N and the left side must have a bevel below 15 degrees as the 15 degree per side setting (30 degree bevel labeleled) just catches the apex (checked using the sharpie method).
But on the right hand side of the blade there must be a bevel of almost 20 degree as the 30 degree setting just hits the shoulder on the very top and the 40 degree setting initially hit the bevel too without reaching the apex.
So I started with the goal of reprofiling the bevel with the 30 degree setting on the Sharpmaker using diamond stones on the right hand side. After about 20 minutes still not reaching the apex I decided that it might be a good idea to just use the 40 degree setting for the right side and the 30 degree setting for the left side.
I’ve tried it and the blade is amazingly sharp now.

So my question:
Is there any negative of using different settings for each side of the blade (e.g. 30 left and 40 right)? I thought that maybe the cut gets drawn to one side - but I’ve tried it with paper and I’m still able to cut a straight line.

If there is no negative than this seems to be an easy method to sharpen out of factory asymmetric bevels easily.