Sharpening a ZDP Rockstead...

Mr.Wizard said:
I am very impressed with the crisp transition from mirror polish to the matte face of the blade. What equipment and technique did you use?
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To be honest that transition is done by the factory and not my credit. Checkout rockstead's website, they tell a cool story about their production process
 
Then you managed to blend your polishing work into the factory convex seamlessly. That it still impressive, but less mysterious.
 
I have a ZDP189 Sai Tanto. https://www.rockstead.jp/images/sys/db/2d126b65b01eaf919b15c90421492fd1d9e5c286.jpg I chipped it by cutting a steel ruler when I was trying to cut along the ruler. Doh! That's what you get when you make a stupid mistake with a blade of 67 hardness.

This was about 2 years ago. I've carried on using it for all kinds of things, nearly every day, and the chips have almost disappeared just with stropping using the suggested Rockstead stropping board and polish. https://www.rockstead.jp/maintenance/ If it wasn't for the chips, I don't think the knife would ever need sharpening. Stropping is enough. Same for all Rocksteads I reckon.

But stropping only works on the edge. If you scratch the mirrored finish (which I've also done) or got a stain on it (which I've also done, no idea how) you need another solution. I have a recently acquired Wicked Edge. (Which I got really cheap, hooray!) But I'm not confident enough to use it on the Rockstead. I'm going to post it to the factory for the free sharpening service. Maybe in another 2 years it will need more work, and hopefully by then I'll be competent enough to use Jerry Ding's excellent info! I'm looking forward to seeing if the factory makes it any sharper than it is now. It's razor sharp, I shave with it. And that's after 2 years of frequent use, and frequent stropping.

My Rockstead is so good that I've lost interest in buying anything which the Rockstead can do better. It's still a joy to use and to hold and to look at. Since I got it, all I've bought are a couple of bayonets and a Hitler Youth knife. The latter should arrive tomorrow. I ought to sell something and buy another Rockstead. The 70mm Hizen is not much more than £500. If I disabled the lock it would be legal carry here in the UK.
 
I took a chip off the tip of my Rockstead SHU, possibly a millimeter and started to sharpen it using my various strops two with regular compound and two with diamond paste. This made little to no difference so I sharpened it the same way I would my fixed blade Bark River in 3V with a cover grind. I put coarse through fine grit sandpaper on top of a microfiber cloth and brought the tip back in several minutes. Then I progressed the coarse to fine strops before using metal polish applied to a piece of denim attached to a small board. It is at least as sharp as it was when I got it-including the tip-and has only micro scratches left on what appears to be a mirror finish if I don’t look too closely.
 
Hello. Glad to hear you have been enjoying your Sai Tanto! I'm curious as to the results of the factory resharpening.
I am fortunate to have 3 folders in ZDP189 (had another but gifted it to my daughter, a "Kou").
I enjoy them, carry, and use (reasonably, not abuse). I actually am ok with the inevitable scratches, lol.
Best regards and God bless.
 
I wonder if I will be the first person on the forum to use the factory sharpening service? Most people here just post unused Rocksteads to each other! Their only concern is not to register them so the factory never finds out who is entitled to the warranty! Seems idiotic to me, so I have to stay away from the Rockstead owners' thread.
 
Nick H. said:
I wonder if I will be the first person on the forum to use the factory sharpening service? Most people here just post unused Rocksteads to each other! Their only concern is not to register them so the factory never finds out who is entitled to the warranty! Seems idiotic to me, so I have to stay away from the Rockstead owners' thread.
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I was planning on sharpening it myself until seemed like it really needed a professional sharpening. Mine is a user so I don’t want to ship it to Japan
 
Got it, you can't do without it for 3 weeks or so. I would also miss mine pretty bladly.
 
I sharpen my William Henry San Mai ZDP-189 (67 HRC) blade on Shapton glass stones. I can go to 30,000 grit, but usually stop at about 4000. I have been using this knife for over 20 years. 2DE8E4A9-B36F-420B-886E-4BE133CCF7CE.jpeg6EC29557-DE89-48A1-B97F-7D4F0D87A55D.jpeg
 
Mirror polishes are a PITA. Especially if you want to return them to "mirror polish" after sharpening. If you don't have a wheel, several different grits of polish compound, lots of time, and lots of experience... leave it to a pro.

Not something to try at home... especially with an expensive knife.
 
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