M4 is surprisingly easy to sharpen.

230grains · Jan 7, 2011

I had intended on reprofiling my Spyderco Gayle Bradley but I wasn't sure how shallow I wanted to go. I ended up going about a hair under 15 degrees per side (eyeballing it, freehand can't be exact IMO). It now cuts absolutely amazingly. What I was really surprised at was how easy it sharpened, I was expecting it to put up a much bigger fight. DMT stones working my way up to .25 diamond on MDF, as close to a mirror as one can get. I think the worst part of it was when I got up to the first set of stropping, I noticed some scratches I missed and had to go nearly all the way back. There was really no real reason to do so, but I figured why not? Still my favorite knife.

CrimsonTideShooter · Jan 7, 2011

Beautiful edge. And freehand? Impressive.

mystro · Jan 7, 2011

That is great free hand work.

Erasmus · Jan 7, 2011

You'll forgive me for thinking that you were sharpening an assault rifle.

230grains · Jan 7, 2011

I've tried every method of sharpening in my quest for the best edge, edge pro (sold within a week), paper wheels (quick sharp edge, but could get a MUCH better edge other ways) belt sanders and stones. My two prefered methods are my kalamazoo 1x42 grinder for my bigger blades and DMT stones and diamond compound for smaller blades.

JV3 · Jan 7, 2011

when i saw the pic i thought to myself, "great...another edge pro blah blah"...but then i read it's all freehand...very impressive! nothing wrong with edge pro though. i might buy one in a few weeks time but freehanding somehow relaxes me.

230grains · Jan 7, 2011

JV3 said:
when i saw the pic i thought to myself, "great...another edge pro blah blah"...but then i read it's all freehand...very impressive! nothing wrong with edge pro though. i might buy one in a few weeks time but freehanding somehow relaxes me.

I won't knock the EP, it just wasn't for me. I enjoy free handing, both with stones and belt sanders. Too many jigs/contraptions just aren't my thing. I used to convex everytihng, but to be honest grinding on smaller pocket knives is a lot harder than larger fixed blades so now all my folders get hit with the stones then stropped. The izula and lawman got a similar treatment last week, thinned them out decently, I had to take the lawman a little thicker though, the edge was flattening a bit.

prime77 · Jan 7, 2011

Great looking edge 230grains:thumbup: I used my DMT stones on mine as well was surprised just how easy M4 was to sharpen. I'm starting to think you could sharpen a rock into a mirror with them.

I tried to stay as close to the factory edge as possible.

dsmegst · Jan 7, 2011

230grains said:
I've tried every method of sharpening in my quest for the best edge, edge pro (sold within a week), paper wheels (quick sharp edge, but could get a MUCH better edge other ways) belt sanders and stones.

The white compound included with the paper wheels is too coarse (2 micron particles) for an extremely fine edge. I got an extra slotted wheel and applied some 0.5 micron green compound. This combination produces a much sharper edge with only a little bit of extra time spent.

I don't normally take my folders that far though. It's just not necessary for an EDC knife.

zx14maniac · Jan 7, 2011

I love my Bradley. What is the angle on the factory grind?

CrimsonTideShooter · Jan 7, 2011

zx14maniac said:
I love my Bradley. What is the angle on the factory grind?

Mine matched the 15 degree setting on the edge pro exactly. So around 30 degrees inclusive.

Jason B. · Jan 7, 2011

Whatever angle the worker at the factory put on it.

Nice work 230, yeah M4 is not bad with the right tools and seems to beg for a high polished edge

KennyB · Jan 8, 2011

Makes me want a Gayle Bradley even more. Anyone used them on Norton's waterstones?

zx14maniac · Jan 8, 2011

Thanks.. I also got a KaBar Phat Bob in D2 that has a 15 degree grind and it cuts awesome also.

DapperDan · Jan 8, 2011

230grains said:
I had intended on reprofiling my Spyderco Gayle Bradley but I wasn't sure how shallow I wanted to go. I ended up going about a hair under 15 degrees per side (eyeballing it, freehand can't be exact IMO). It now cuts absolutely amazingly. What I was really surprised at was how easy it sharpened, I was expecting it to put up a much bigger fight. DMT stones working my way up to .25 diamond on MDF, as close to a mirror as one can get. I think the worst part of it was when I got up to the first set of stropping, I noticed some scratches I missed and had to go nearly all the way back. There was really no real reason to do so, but I figured why not? Still my favorite knife.

Never mind. I see the answer further down.

230grains · Jan 8, 2011

DapperDan said:
What happened to the paper wheel system you posted about on Arfcom a while back. I thought that was the cats meow. You give up on that?

I still have the paper wheels, and they still give an incredible edge and it is IMO the fastest of all the systems. After the paper wheel system I got into convex edges and got my first belt sander and for larger knives I really liked it. Then just for simplicities sake, I convexed all my knives. I then got more and more into sharpening and trying different things out. The paper wheels were great, but I can get a more refined edge finishing with the finest diamond compound available and hand stropping with care. If someone told me I need to get a bunch of knives razor sharp in a hurry I'd use the paper wheels. This knife took a couple hours of hand sharpening to put the final polished edge on it but i've become a perfectionist with sharpening so if I notice some lower grit scratches i'll start all over. I don't know why, it's just become a hobby.

Jason B. · Jan 8, 2011

I call it a hobby too

All part of the 12 step program......

As your working through the plates inspect the edge at multiple angles under bright light. Its hard to see but you can find those unwanted scratches if you train your eyes. Changing direction of scratch pattern helps a lot too.

230grains · Jan 8, 2011

knifenut1013 said:
I call it a hobby too All part of the 12 step program......

As your working through the plates inspect the edge at multiple angles under bright light. Its hard to see but you can find those unwanted scratches if you train your eyes. Changing direction of scratch pattern helps a lot too.

Yeah, i've been trying to catch that now more than ever. I've only recently really started sharpening on the plates often. I've mainly been a belt sander kind of guy. On the grinder, if I went a little too far ahead, it's easy to fix. On the plates it's a long process. I'm happy with my progress thus far though. I got the MDF tip from you, it seems to work better than leather with the diamonds on some of the harder steels.

Jason B. · Jan 8, 2011

MDF, balsa, and hardwood all work great with the diamond compounds, I favor the hardwood though. Finish and cutting speed is the main difference, most wood strops will cut faster and yield larger scratch patterns while the leather works slower buy yields a much finer finish. For me I don't usually go below 1 micron and for some steels that means once I finish on the 1 micron balsa strop I would need to use a 1 micron leather strop to clear the bevel of micro scratches.

Haven't used MDF in a while but the hardwood seems to help with the changes in scratch pattern. Kinda like a mix of the balsa strop and leather strop, it still cuts fast but leaves the finer finish like leather.

230grains · Jan 8, 2011

prime77 said:
Great looking edge 230grains:thumbup: I used my DMT stones on mine as well was surprised just how easy M4 was to sharpen. I'm starting to think you could sharpen a rock into a mirror with them. I tried to stay as close to the factory edge as possible.

What did you end up finishing with? Edge looks great.