Having trouble getting D2 sharp. Wrong Stone?

LivingLikeLarry said:
I looked up Drakes channel and seen the tutorial it was pretty good but if I want to refine more after aligning the burr with the rough stone I don't break it off until I am done with the finer stones right? For example lets say 400 grit diamond to make the burr, flip the side to make it even then proceed to something like 1000 or higher and when I am happy break the burr?


Is 1000 grit really all it takes to shave arm hair on D2? I will check out those stickys but I don't have enough knives to invest too much into a high end system maybe eventually though.
Click to expand...

You should be able to shave arm hair with a 200 grit, or 400 grit stone edge.

I have taken D2 to shaving sharp on a sheet of automotive sand paper. 400 grit.

D2 has large almost plate like carbide (under high magnification). Diamomd stones can be had pretty cheap.
 
Danketch said:
Looks like you are new here OP. There is a dearth of info on this forum, and the stickies at the top and search function will probably bring up a lot of additional info for you.
Click to expand...


I think you mean to say there is a wealth, abundance, surfeit, of information on this site. Dearth means scarcity or lack of...
 
bucketstove said:
Hi,
If its really big , it might take 4 or 6 or 8 or 10 or 20 double angle passes to remove it

But if absolutely nothing happened ,
then you probably have a burr before you've apexed,
a burr on the side not on the apex


grab a flashlight / strong light
and look over the edge to see what reflections you can see

my advice, use your 200 grit diamond, and give it 100 strokes on one side, then check for burr, repeat up to 3 times, then take a break

commony new knives come thick with high angles,
so raising the first burr might take a while


Code: 
apex cut off flat (de-stressed), reflective, no burr, starting position

   ____
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\
Code: 
apex cut off (de-stressed), reflective, yes burr (scratchy),
a possible starting position

  |____|
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\
Code: 
after some grinding
yes burr, but nowhere near fully apexed , still reflective

   |___
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\
Code: 
after some grinding
yes burr, but nowhere near fully apexed , still reflective

  |
  |____|
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\
Code: 
after some more grinding
yes burr, getting closer but not fully apexed , still reflective
     _
  |_/\\
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\

switching sides, same deal, closer but not close enough, still reflective
    _
   //\_|
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\
Code: 
     _
    //          <-- a thick "burr"
   //\_             feels like a rolled edge
  ///\\\
 ////\\\\
/////\\\\\
Code: 
     /
    /
   /\            <- fully apexed, you've got triangle
  //\\     almost fully sharp
 ///\\\
////\\\\
Code: 
    sharp edge, no burr left
     |
     V
    /\
   //\\
  ///\\\
Click to expand...
This is great advise and one of the lessons I learned when sharpening extremely dull edges.

Yes it is possible to feel a bit of a burr but have not apexed your edge. A good way to test this is to look down at the apex under a light. If it is at all reflective then you have not apexed the edge
 
Last edited:
bucketstove said:
Hi,
If its really big , it might take 4 or 6 or 8 or 10 or 20 double angle passes to remove it

But if absolutely nothing happened ,
then you probably have a burr before you've apexed,
a burr on the side not on the apex


grab a flashlight / strong light
and look over the edge to see what reflections you can see

my advice, use your 200 grit diamond, and give it 100 strokes on one side, then check for burr, repeat up to 3 times, then take a break

commony new knives come thick with high angles,
so raising the first burr might take a while



[/code]
Click to expand...
I didn't know a burr could form before apexing. I will try this this weekend. Should I do something to reset the edge and remove the burr before doing 100 strokes or can I just go at it the way it is?
 
If you're having trouble getting something sharp, it's almost always the technique not the stones. Better, or more appropriate stones will enhance your edges and your sharpening experience, but almost any stone is capable of a sharp edge with proper technique.

Check your basics, angle control, burr formation on both sides, burr removal, Alex refinement on the strop without rounding.
 
I made some progress and I am able to cut notebook paper decently with only a few hiccups turns out the double angle deburring method doesn't really work for this knife. I tried doing edge trailing to even it out and it worked a lot better still far from hair popping sharp though. To speed things up do I have to do alternating edge trails or can I do multiple sets at a time just worried about creating a burr if I do more than one.
 
Don’t let yourself be limited by doing a prescribed number of strokes per side. In all likelihood if your technique is still developing there will be areas of the knife that remain burred despite a very structured approach to deburring. Your best bet is to work on the areas of the knife that need it - determined by feel.

At first it can seem that you will never feel a completely smooth apex but with time, patience and accuracy you will get there.
 
Craig James said:
Don’t let yourself be limited by doing a prescribed number of strokes per side. In all likelihood if your technique is still developing there will be areas of the knife that remain burred despite a very structured approach to deburring. Your best bet is to work on the areas of the knife that need it - determined by feel.

At first it can seem that you will never feel a completely smooth apex but with time, patience and accuracy you will get there.
Click to expand...
Okay makes sense, I probably don't even need to use edge trailing until I am on my final stages then?
 
I managed to get it sharp here is what I had issues with:
-Getting a good burr
-Removing the burr
-Keeping the edge sharp after removing burr

What solved my issues were using a more aggressive sharpening medium, I purchased the DMT mini stones and that helped form the burr. The rest of my issues were solved by deburring on the stone using the original angle with even and calculated strokes. I will say though from all this my knife kinda looks like it went through hell and back. Thanks everyone for the advice
 
Last edited:
D2 responds best to diamond hones. A 220 grit produces a very toothy edge that suits D2 just fine. You can go finer but I like that biting edge on my Dozier K1 General Utility.
 
NORTHWEST_KNIFE_GUY said:
I tried that stone (got it off amazon) a while back, now this is my opinion and not trying to knock your stone so please don't take it that way. Out of the box and after a short soak I tried it and just didn't work well for me, I could get a decent edge but the stones quality just seemed to be lacking and also seemed much coarser then 1k/6k. Are you working up a burr on each side? If you are take some into the edge passed using the lightest pressure you can to remove the burr. If you search youtube for steel drake he has some good videos on this.

I am by no mean on the level of some or perhaps many on the forum when it comes to sharping however I can get an edge pretty sharp. Here is a steel will in D2 I just sharpened on spyderco ceramics med, fine and UF and then strop with diamond on basswood.

Click to expand...
You are being modest by saying “Pretty Sharp”. I find it pretty dang impressive when someone can put a hair whittling edge on D2, or any steel for that matter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top