How To Stone sharpening an insingo blade on an Inkosi?

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Bijluvsblades

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Dec 24, 2021
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Anyone do this? I understand that the CRK comes with a convex edge and that they recommend touching up the edge on a Spyderco Sharpmaker. The Inkosi I received really doesn’t have a decent edge. I have a Sharpmaker, which personally I hate. I sharpen my Jap kitchen knives on stones and get those proper sharp no issues. Anyone do the same on their CRK?

I tested the CRK on some large and thick cardboard boxes which I had to cut down to size for recycling. By the end of two large boxes the knife needed a touch up. I used to have a Benchmade Crooked River and that was a beast on edge retention. Whatever. The Inkosi is however very well put together. Best fit and finish I’ve seen on anything in a long time.

Except this one Puerto Rican girl at Whole Foods…
 
Personally I'd tape up the blade, and pull sharpen using a mouse pad and wet sandpaper.

It the convex still doesn't work how I want it, I'd then take in on a DMT to flatten to a V edge and work my way up the grits. A few swipes on a strop with white compound to finish.
 
Convex? sure they call it that but its far from convex. You can sharpen any knife on a slightly slack grinding belt and produce a "convex" edge. Good marketing but that's about it. I would highly recommend against using a mouse pad and sandpaper unless you want to mess up your $500 knife, it's also not a very good method for convex sharpening because it is way too soft.

CRK's are not as hard and Chris has stated this before, he does it so the blades are easier to sharpen. While I disagree with this logic it is what it is. My preferred method for sharpening CRK knives is to use DMT Stones in Coarse and Fine, then follow with a 1 Micron diamond strop, typically balsa wood. Most often I stop at the Coarse DMT and clean the edge up with the strop, this provides excellent sharpness and cutting performance on the CRK's.

I would keep away from finer more polished finishes as the steel will simply loose its edge more quickly and you will be back to sharpening again.
 
Jason B. said:
Convex? sure they call it that but its far from convex. You can sharpen any knife on a slightly slack grinding belt and produce a "convex" edge. Good marketing but that's about it. I would highly recommend against using a mouse pad and sandpaper unless you want to mess up your $500 knife, it's also not a very good method for convex sharpening because it is way too soft.

CRK's are not as hard and Chris has stated this before, he does it so the blades are easier to sharpen. While I disagree with this logic it is what it is. My preferred method for sharpening CRK knives is to use DMT Stones in Coarse and Fine, then follow with a 1 Micron diamond strop, typically balsa wood. Most often I stop at the Coarse DMT and clean the edge up with the strop, this provides excellent sharpness and cutting performance on the CRK's.

I would keep away from finer more polished finishes as the steel will simply loose its edge more quickly and you will be back to sharpening again.
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Thank you. I was very much thinking this way too. I use Shapton stones for my kitchen knives so will do the same here just not to the same high grit. My CRK is a daily and multi use tool. No interest in polishing it to a mirror etc.
 
The whole CRK convex edge mystique is way overblown, in my view. The factory edges do appear to be very subtly convex. But whether intentional or not, I think it's just an artifact of their edge-polishing / buffing process and it certainly isn't critical to keeping those knives sharp. I don't know about the newer CRK knives - but I do have three of the older Sebenza models in S30V. Two of them (smaller versions) are basically safe queens - but the 3rd one is a large model that I've 'made my own' simply by thinning the factory edge a little bit and going a little more acute in the sharpening angle to sub-30° inclusive. And beyond that, it has become one of the simplest of my knives to maintain, using only a diamond hone in Coarse (325) or Fine (600), according to my preferential whims. Either of those leaves a great working edge on the Sebenza in S30V. The overall primary grind of their blades is impressively thin. So, a little tweaking at the edge itself usually makes all the difference in sharpness and ease of upkeep.
 
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Bijluvsblades said:
Thank you. I was very much thinking this way too. I use Shapton stones for my kitchen knives so will do the same here just not to the same high grit. My CRK is a daily and multi use tool. No interest in polishing it to a mirror etc.
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The SG500 would probably do well.
 
I have a CRK Mnandi and I have used both a Sharpmaker and benchstones. I sometimes think people, myself included, over think the whole knife sharpening thing. Lets be honest, a sharp knife is a sharp knife regardless of how you do it. Find a system that you like and carry on. I like the Sharpmaker and I have been learning how to sharpen freehand. The freehand thing takes some practice but when I get it right it is very satisfying. If you want a convex edge then try a Worksharp; the belt flexing will give you a slight convex shaped edge.
 
I maintain my convex edges by sharpening 'backwards', using a trailing stroke on my DMT bench hones.
 
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