Delta 3V: Honing

[Blues]

Noticed last night that the little EDC2 had a ding / anomaly near the belly of the blade. Whether it was a hit, something inside the horizontal Dozier sheath or the way the knife is retrieved from it, or just whatever, I decided it would be fun to run it on my brown Spyderco ceramic bench stone this morning to see how easily it removes and what this 3V felt like on the "stone".

First off, I have to say that the Delta 3V has its own unique feel on the hone. A different sound, a different feel while sliding along the length of the hone, and different overall feedback from various other steels I normally sharpen, whether carbon, tool or stainless.

The anomaly if not 100% removed is virtually entirely removed, and the already sharp edge is even sharper than it was. I noticed, since I tried to keep from altering the "as received" bevels, that it's not the greatest phone book paper slicer...but that certainly isn't why I wanted these knives. (And even so, it slices pretty well.)

Out of curiosity, those of you who hand sharpen, what media are you using to sharpen your CPK blades? (I generally use Spyderco ceramic, Shapton Glass, plated diamond, bonded diamond and the occasional water stone...just depending on what I think would work well under the circumstances.)

I also tested it out with 1 micron diamond on basswood, (for a little aggression), and stropping on some kangaroo leather.

I like this steel. It feels "substantial".

 

[WValtakis]

How do you sharpen your CPK’s?

I’m curious how you fine folks sharpen your Carothers knives? (Or any super steel) What system do you use? I’m admittedly not up to speed on the process of sharpening knives with these new steels and I’d like to hear how y’all tackle the job. Thanks in advance and I hope everyone is doing...

www.bladeforums.com

CPK Sharpening

Hello everyone I got my dek1 recently, also a proud owner of UF. I want to use them and keep them nice and sharp. Until now i have been using Work Sharp Angle Set Sharpener to which i added some fine and extra fine Spyderco ceramics. Plus stropes. I have been sucessfully sharpening my knives...

www.bladeforums.com

 

[jlauffer]

Guess you found the blem

 

[CBurgett]

I know its frowned upon, but has anyone tried the Ken Onion Work Sharp with blade grinding attachment? I’ve used it with other knives to good effect and so far it hasn't seemed to affect the HT of any of my knives. They have belts up to 12000 grit and cloth stropping belts. I have stones for when I go to field and a WE for when I want to put a crazy edge on a blade, but sometimes I just really enjoy freehand belt sharpening.

 

[WValtakis]

I know its frowned upon, but has anyone tried the Ken Onion Work Sharp with blade grinding attachment? I’ve used it with other knives to good effect and so far it hasn't seemed to affect the HT of any of my knives. They have belts up to 12000 grit and cloth stropping belts. I have stones for when I go to field and a WE for when I want to put a crazy edge on a blade, but sometimes I just really enjoy freehand belt sharpening.

Do NOT power sharpen D3V, you can overheat the edge very easily if you don't use a watercooled setup.

 

[CBurgett]

Do NOT power sharpen D3V, you can overheat the edge very easily if you don't use a watercooled setup.

Okay, and that’s why I'm glad I asked lol. I’ve used it with 3V as this system is slow to heat steel, (variable speeds, low heat belts) but I didn’t know how easy it would be to mess up the delta heat treat. Thank you in advance!

 

[Blues]

How do you sharpen your CPK’s?

I’m curious how you fine folks sharpen your Carothers knives? (Or any super steel) What system do you use? I’m admittedly not up to speed on the process of sharpening knives with these new steels and I’d like to hear how y’all tackle the job. Thanks in advance and I hope everyone is doing...

www.bladeforums.com

CPK Sharpening

Hello everyone I got my dek1 recently, also a proud owner of UF. I want to use them and keep them nice and sharp. Until now i have been using Work Sharp Angle Set Sharpener to which i added some fine and extra fine Spyderco ceramics. Plus stropes. I have been sucessfully sharpening my knives...

www.bladeforums.com

Sounds pretty much like the way I do things. Good to know that at least that part of my mind is still sharp.

 

[Murphjd25]

I maintain mine with Spyderco diamonds and mediums. Haven’t had an issue yet. I love how sharp these come from Nathan.

 

[bluemax_1]

Okay, and that’s why I'm glad I asked lol. I’ve used it with 3V as this system is slow to heat steel, (variable speeds, low heat belts) but I didn’t know how easy it would be to mess up the delta heat treat. Thank you in advance!

The sharper the edge, the finer it is (less metal at the very edge to absorb/dissipate heat, meaning it's very easy to overheat the very edge with non-watercooled grinders/powered sharpeners (and this can happen before you feel any substantial heat in the blade).

As Nathan put it, you can still get a very sharp edge, but the whole point of developing the Delta heat treat protocol for 3V, was specifically to improve edge retention, and overheating the very edge will negatively affect that (i.e. sure, it'll feel great when slicing paper, but will dull much faster if you're really using the knife).

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

Guess you found the blem

came here to say this

 

[Blues]

According to Jo, she thought the blem was something else. Something most of us would have overlooked, but truth be told I didn't look for a blem because it was a gift, it'll never be sold, and it feels and looks perfect under cursory inspection.

It was only after figuring out, (thanks Jo for the link to Nathan's video), the best technique for retrieving the knife, that I noticed the little anomaly.

I didn't bother looking under direct light, with a magnifying glass or anything else to inspect it because I wanted to see how the steel felt on a stone anyway...and it responded pretty quickly considering the hardness of the steel using a medium ceramic bench stone. (I like the way it felt on the diamond / basswood strop, and the naked kangaroo leather as well.)

These knives are going to be fun and rewarding to use. This little guy will probably see the bulk of use because it's just so conveniently sized and feels great in my hand.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

I know its frowned upon, but has anyone tried the Ken Onion Work Sharp with blade grinding attachment? I’ve used it with other knives to good effect and so far it hasn't seemed to affect the HT of any of my knives. They have belts up to 12000 grit and cloth stropping belts. I have stones for when I go to field and a WE for when I want to put a crazy edge on a blade, but sometimes I just really enjoy freehand belt sharpening.

Big nope on that one

The sharper the edge, the finer it is (less metal at the very edge to absorb/dissipate heat, meaning it's very easy to overheat the very edge with non-watercooled grinders/powered sharpeners (and this can happen before you feel any substantial heat in the blade).

You can still get a very sharp edge, but the whole point of developing the Delta heat treat protocol for 3V, was specifically to improve edge retention, and overheating the very edge will negatively affect that (i.e. sure, it'll feel great when slicing paper, but will dull much faster if you're really using the knife).

 

[Tigerden]

I have used the ceramic Spyderko Sharpmaker and a little leather stropping. I find that these get back to factory sharp with little effort on my part.

 

[CBurgett]

The sharper the edge, the finer it is (less metal at the very edge to absorb/dissipate heat, meaning it's very easy to overheat the very edge with non-watercooled grinders/powered sharpeners (and this can happen before you feel any substantial heat in the blade).

As Nathan put it, you can still get a very sharp edge, but the whole point of developing the Delta heat treat protocol for 3V, was specifically to improve edge retention, and overheating the very edge will negatively affect that (i.e. sure, it'll feel great when slicing paper, but will dull much faster if you're really using the knife).

Makes sense. I went ahead an read the older forums that WValtakis posted and Nathan mentioned you could you belt systems(preferably wet) as long as you could run the belts at a crawl. The work sharp uses M3 belts and has the ability to run a crawling speeds. That being said, i will most like just use my wicked edge system unless its a exceedingly long blade.

 

[CBurgett]

Big nope on that one

The sharper the edge, the finer it is (less metal at the very edge to absorb/dissipate heat, meaning it's very easy to overheat the very edge with non-watercooled grinders/powered sharpeners (and this can happen before you feel any substantial heat in the blade).

You can still get a very sharp edge, but the whole point of developing the Delta heat treat protocol for 3V, was specifically to improve edge retention, and overheating the very edge will negatively affect that (i.e. sure, it'll feel great when slicing paper, but will dull much faster if you're really using the knife).

Just saw this. Sorry for the added confusion and thank you for the guidance!

 

[unwisefool]

I strop it on my arm hair like a real man.

 

[Meridian]

Venev diamond bench stones and a Knives Plus green strop work very well. As others mentioned the Spyderco Sharpmaker is fine to use and will tend to keep your edge more symmetrical as its semi guided, always finish with a strop if you can.

I would recommend familiarizing yourself with flat stones like Venev or Naniwa eventually, they work extremely well and are more versatile than guided systems.

Look up Virtouvice on youtube for sharpening advice, the mans a legend.

 

[Blues]

Venev diamond bench stones and a Knives Plus green strop work very well. As others mentioned the Spyderco Sharpmaker is fine to use and will tend to keep your edge more symmetrical as its semi guided, always finish with a strop if you can.

I would recommend familiarizing yourself with flat stones like Venev or Naniwa eventually, they work extremely well and are more versatile than guided systems.

Look up Virtouvice on youtube for sharpening advice, the mans a legend.

Brother, I've got more sharpening stones than you can shake a stick at. I've owned Venev for a couple years at least. (And Diemaker's diamond for the Edge Pro as well, though my Edge Pro just sits and waits alongside the shop sink. I like to sharpen freehand by and large.)

I like sharpening gear as much as I like knives.

I don't really need lessons in sharpening, I was simply wondering if others were employing the same stuff I use, since I hadn't sharpened Delta 3V until this morning...but I have had a 3V utility knife for 20 years or so...and touch it up regularly.

I did mention bonded diamonds hones up above, as well. (No offense.)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Meridian]

I misread it, yes you did mention that. Allow me to reword it, Venev ocb diamond stones and a Knives Plus strop (JRE make a good one as well).

 

[Blues]

I use a strop from northwest_knife_guy that I like quite a bit. 'Roo hide. And 1 micron diamond spray.