I actually use Tungsten Carbide(find out how)

S

SS234

Joined
Jul 18, 2020
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I know everyone will disagree. I have a trick. On a small Tungsten Carbide rod. I barely touch the blade to it. Then finish on a ceramic rod. Not a pull through. Rods. I find sometimes this can get a blade like S125V/S90V razor sharp. While removing very little metal. Due to the very light touch. Of course this does not work on a dull blade. YMMV
 
"Not a pull through" is what matters most. I don't think you'll hear any disagreement in how you're using the WC rod. The material is hard enough to do the job, as with a ceramic rod, or diamond or whatever.

Most pull-through sharpeners with scissor-edged inserts do their damage in the way the blade edge is pinched in them, and also in the direction in which metal is removed (parallel to the edge, instead of perpendicular to it). How they're configured, in that manner, is what leaves edges weakened and prone to quick failure, and is why they're generally not favored among sharpening aficionados.
 
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A French company called CarBee Sharp makes a nice little compact tool with a multi-surfaced carbide piece on it that does wonders with steeling and deburring edges.
 
SS234 said:
I know everyone will disagree. I have a trick. On a small Tungsten Carbide rod. I barely touch the blade to it. Then finish on a ceramic rod. Not a pull through. Rods. I find sometimes this can get a blade like S125V/S90V razor sharp. While removing very little metal. Due to the very light touch. Of course this does not work on a dull blade. YMMV
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Keep in mind the vanadium carbides inside the s125v and S90v are harder than tungsten carbide so it's still not going to have the advantage of diamond and CBN which will abrade everything not just the matrix surrounding the carbide like Todd S has shown with ceramic.
 
For some reason if I use it very lightly. On some blades I get a nicer edge than Diamond. I could not explain. As I mentioned. This is on a sharp knife. Not a dull one. I finish with Ceramic.
 
SS234 said:
For some reason if I use it very lightly. On some blades I get a nicer edge than Diamond. I could not explain. As I mentioned. This is on a sharp knife. Not a dull one. I finish with Ceramic.
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Better is relative, glad ya found what works for you.:thumbsup:
 
It has the same effect as ceramic rods, the carbides are pushed into the surface, sometimes breaking them in pieces, but certainly softening the steel around the apex to the point where the rod can produce a keen edge. Lot's of people are happy with the type of edge, so I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but that's what's happening.
 
Fully agree. I just feel myself on very hard steels. It yields at least a quicker result than ceramic. I am just feathering it though. Not at all digging in. I still finish on ceramic. That I find odd then.
 
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