Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Sharpening S30V blades

What are your preferred methods and sharpening devices?

I use Waterstones and sharpen as usual. It just takes longer to get the same polish...................DJ

Spyderco Tri-Angle...just takes a few swipes.

some of this was discussed in the following post:


24hrcampfire

some pretty good suggestions scattered through the replies.

Seems like a lot of guys here just buy a new Ingram when it gets dull. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

On the box of the Gerber I have, it recommends the use of diamond or ceramic for sharpening.

That takes a while to do, get one dull that is!
My brother and I culled 11 deer for a buddy this weekend as he is getting out of the deer & elk raising business. My #2 Ingram field dressed all 11 and still has a fair edge. You just cant beat his D2 and from the reports I`ve heard the S30V blades are tougher yet.

What I was looking for was--when they get dull what have others found to be the most effective method of putting the razor edge back on. I just got my first S30V blade and was looking to tap in on some experience here.

According to some here--they just use the traditional methods and take a little longer to do it. I was sort of wondering if folks found diamond more effective than a stone and what they used for the final polishing process--a steel rod, a fine stone, or a strop etc?

Edge Pro "Apex". I've never tried to polish the edge on S30V, but the Edge Pro will do that, too, or you could just use a leather strop with a little polishing compound.

For minor touch-ups, at home, I use the Spyderco "Tri-Angle Sharpmaker", with the standard ceramic hones.

I like the Lansky kit for sharpening at home, I keep a sharpener in my pack, if my blade needs a tune up, and I can not remember the name of it. It is about 10.00 bucks. Big Stick recommended it to me. Might pm him.......Blake

Thunderstick, I've tried diamonds, ceramics, Arkansas Stones, Lansky systems, Lansky diamond systems, various sandpapers etc. for sharpening. For me a decent Waterstone is superior and gives a better quality edge than any of the other systems. I've tried every one I could get my hands on and just want to use what works best. You can get a King 1000/6000 combination stone at Woodcraft or other woodworking store for under $30. It will travel anywhere and you just need water and a couple paper towels to sharpen just about anything to a mirror edge. I do like to use a strop for that little extra polish but I don't think that you can buy or try anything that will work as well as a decent waterstone for anywhere near the price.
You do need to have just a little bit of skill to sharpen on a flat stone but even that's easier on a Waterstone because they cut faster, which of course is especially helpful on S-30V.
That's just my opinion but I do sharpen a couple dozen S-30V knives per year......................DJ

Just got my new S30V this afternoon....one bad dude.

I have to agree! Beautiful knife.

Next week I go on my annual trip up to hunt deer and I can't weight to look and see what I can find in the back of the knife case at a few sports shops on the way.

Regards, sse

I just picked up a poor man's Edgepro, a Gatco system. I think with a little care it will sharpen as well as the Edgepro, since it is the same basic design. I'm going to start out first with the conventional hones and the included honing oil. If that doesn't measure up, I'll pick up a few diamond hones and see how those work.

Regards, sse

Rosie O'Donnell and Catherine Zeta-Jones are of the same basic design, but if you were to take each of them for a spin, well, ......

The Gatco system is much closer to the Lansky system, design-wise. I've tried the Lansky, and it's no Edge Pro. Many people seem to be happy with it, though. IIRC, Gene Ingram uses, or did use, a Lansky on the knives he sells. It actually works pretty well on most short-bladed hunting knives.

LOL.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.......Classic....................DJ

Don't encourage him!

Well, now I've tried the Edgepro and the Gatco. The Gatco is no Edgepro, either. The difference is that the components of the Edgepro are such high quality, it makes the job easier. The parts are more precise. Also, the diamond hones are standard with the Edgepro. But, since the hones themselves are the great equalizer, the end result probably isn't much different. That is what I meant when I said with a little more care...

I was working with a Buck 110 on an edge that had not been reconstructed post-factory. Buck claims that their steel is such that you can dispense with the secondary/primary compound edge and go with one edge of between 26 to 32 degrees. So, I set the Gatco at "15 degrees", with the bend in the rod holders, who knows what it really was. I do like the more rigid guides found on the Edgepro procduct.

After much work and slathering of oil, I managed to get a uniform burr and worked that down ot the fine hone. Seems pretty sharp to me, so with luck I'll give it a taste of a whitetail hide and see what happens.

I got the Gatco at Cabelas the other day and they threw in the plastic base that attaches to the bench. The nice thing about the set up was that to work from one side to the other you simply slide the apparatus out of the base, turn it upside down and slide it back into the base. So, there is no need to attach and re-attach the knife into the clamp. That was handier. But, there was a lot of play, or slop, in the system, which was annoying, and is not found with the Edgepro.

Regards, sse

That is the same knife I got. They sure are stoutly built.

The Edge Pro uses synthetic water stones - silicon carbide in the coarse and aluminum oxide in the others.

As to S30V, I agree water stones are the ticket and find a final edge finish of 600-800 gives the best combination of aggressive cutting and edge retention with its carbide structure..

Sorry about that, I shouldn't muddy the facts. The one I used was about three years old, so either I am fantasizing, or they used to sell the diamond hones. Either way, I doubt I could tell the diference.

Regards, sse