Sharpening the Gerber LMF II - Advice needed :)

M

Meldarion

Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
5
Hey :)

Is my first post on the forum - So hopefully i am posting this in the right place !

Purchased my first knife recently (The Gerber LMF II Infantry) along with the Lanksy 4 rod turn box crock stick sharpening kit (I felt a guided system would be best for me as i have no experience sharpening knives!)

Overall am very impressed with the quality of the knife (Though admittely i haven't done a massive deal of testing yet) ^.^ The serrations are very sharp ! But my issue is with the sharpness of the fine edge! Tried cutting some A4 paper and it was struggling - it would make the occasional cut but more than often it seemed to want to tear the paper up !

Decided to try the in built sheath sharpener first and ran the fine edge through there a couple of times, but it seemed to make very little difference! So i decided to give the lansky a try instead ^.^

I used the 20 degree setting and began with the medium rods first - I did around 12-15 strokes on each side of the blade then switched to the fine rods (Also on the 20 degree setting) and once again did around 12-15 strokes. Gave the blade a little wipe and then tried to cut a few sheets of paper, but the performance barely seems to have improved :(

I don't doubt that it may well be down to my technique - Maybe i didn't do enough runs on each rod? Maybe i should be using a different angle instead of the 20 degrees? Maybe i was pressing too light/too hard? (I did not push on very hard at all with either rods) or i was wondering if maybe the rods i was using were just not very effective at sharpening down the hard 420HC stainless steel blade? (Afterall, the sharpening kit was only £20!)

I am currently thinking that it may be a better idea for me to invest in the DMT Aligner (With a set of 4 grits - Extra coarse, Coarse, Fine & Extra Fine) as it kinda kills two birds with one stone in the sense that
a) It will hold the blade at a completly constant angle for me - so i know it isn't down to my shoddy technique xD
b) The diamond grits are much more effective at stripping/sharpening the metal edge - so i know it isn't down to the quality of the sharpening medium

But as the kit is £73 i thought i would ask on here first for any advice or tips before i decided to invest in it :)

As someone who is a total noob in this area i appreciate any advice :)
Thank you for your time
Regards, Meldarion :)

Short Version :
Best method for sharpening the fine edge of a Gerber LMF II (Ideally to paper cutting sharp)
Is it worth purchasing the DMT Aligner kit with 4 Grits? Is it likely to perform better than the Lanksy 4 rod turn box crock stick sharpening kit that i currently have?
Any general tips on sharpening 420HC steel
Thank you :)
 
Here's the problem, I had the same issue. I think the steel they use just will not take a decent edge. Not trying to be a bummer here, but I could never get that edge to where I liked it...no matter what I did. So I convexed it and threw it in my trunk.

Gerber operates like no other brand name knife company. They do not specify what steel or how hard...at least on the majority of their products and none that I have. That way they can multi-source their steel supply and go with what is available, what is cheapest, or just so they can try diffferent things. Dissclaimer: I cannot cite this as a fact. It is my presumption based on direct observation and using my head as to why a knife company would not say what steel their knives are made of...knowing that some steels "sell themselves" by reputation.

Anyway, the LMF II is a great knife but I could never get it sharp to suit me. I hope you have better luck.
 
I haven't had any particular trouble getting the Gerbers sharp, although I can't really state for retention of that edge. 420 is pretty darn soft... I'd be tempted to convex it.
 
Hey :)

First off - Thank you both for your replies, it is very appreciated :D I really was at a total loss, what with me being new to the whole thing and i wasn't sure if i was going to do more damage than good if i kept trying to experiment with the Lansky !

I did hear that Gerber likes to play around a lot with the Steel that they use - From what i can gather they used to use 12C27 Stainless which is apparently a very good metal, but they later changed it to the 420 HC (Though a lot of websites still list it as 12C27 Stainless & as you said, Gerber themselves don't specify what the blade is made of!)

I bet i can find information about it if i look around on the forums but generally how would i go about convexing the blade? Is it a difficult thing to do ? ^.^

Thinking that i am probably going to invest in :

a) The DMT Aligner kit with the grits - as i feel it will help me a LOT with sharpening, from what i have read - keeping a constant angle is the key to it really ? And that set-up should help me out a lot :) Not to mention the grits themselves are apparently very good quality so i feel they would be a good investment once i learn to use them effectively =]

b) The Ka-Bar USMC - Before i purchased the LMF II i did a lot of a reading about different knives and i pretty much narrowed down my choices to the LMF, the USMC and the Becker BK2. I am hoping that maybe i will have more luck getting a nice sharp edge on the Ka-Bar + Tbh i really just want to own one, because it get such raving reviews and it is an awesome looking knife :O! :D

c) A mora companion carbon - Mainly just to practice my sharpening on :P They are cheap and cheerful (Can pick one up for about £10!) - Could maybe even try a bit of free handing with it on the DMT grits :)

I did try practicing on some of the old kitchen knives we have, but they aren't just dull - they are a mess!! They are chipped and everything O_O And i don't think the lanksy medium crock stock is quite up to repairing something as harsh as that ;D But i guess that system will do for giving my blades a quick touch up :P

As for the LMF i can always use that as a bit of a hacker/cutter for when i am out in the field ^.^ Got to say - those serrations are very impressive ! They have immense cutting power :O!

Will keep you informed though ^.^

Regards, Meldarion :)
 
If I were betting, I wouldn't be surprised if the edge grind on that thick blade is just too wide an angle (> 40 degrees). It's real common for knives like these to have thick edges, which can be difficult to fine-tune on ceramic rod sharpeners like the Turn Box or others. If the edge from the factory comes just a little bit dull, it's almost certain a significant amount of metal will have to come off to correct it. That's no fun with ceramic rods. Nothing at all wrong about 420HC steel itself (steel of choice for both Buck and Case), assuming that's what Gerber is using. Knifecenter's specs on this knife confirm it.

If it were my knife, the first thing I'd look to do would be to re-bevel it to a thinner angle. Diamond hones are good for that, so the Aligner kit you're considering could handle the job.
 
Last edited:
Ahh i see ! That would explain a lot :)

Awesome :D The DMT aligner is a definite purchase for me then :) It may be a little pricey - but can't complain when the stones are good enough to last a life time ^.^

Guess if i start with the extra coarse i shouldn't have any trouble reprofiling it to a thinner angle ;D And as long as i stick to a constant angle as i work myself down from the extra coarse to extra fine grits, i should get a nice sharp edge right ? :)

Thank you very much for the info/advice :D
 
I'd be tempted to grab the MagnaGuide instead of the aligner, actually. Still DMT and the same method of working, but the magna-guide uses the duo-fold plates that you can carry with you easily and use without the guide as well, should you need to work on a larger blade or do something that the guide is not suited for. Say, pruning shears. :)
 
Komitadjie said:
I'd be tempted to grab the MagnaGuide instead of the aligner, actually. Still DMT and the same method of working, but the magna-guide uses the duo-fold plates that you can carry with you easily and use without the guide as well, should you need to work on a larger blade or do something that the guide is not suited for. Say, pruning shears. :)
Click to expand...

That would be my first choice too (I use it and like it). ;) The Aligner kit will still work fine though, as all of DMT's hones are excellent performers.

Having said that, the Dia-Fold hones used with the Magna-Guide have a somewhat larger working surface than the dedicated Aligner hones. It's not a huge difference, but when the hones are this relatively small, more abrasive surface area is always a plus, especially for a big job like re-bevelling a thick, large blade. And if you want or need even more working surface, the Aligner clamp can also be used with a bench hone. The clamp itself is what makes any of the three options so versatile, especially if one isn't yet confident about his/her own freehand skills.
 
Last edited:
Thank you again for the advice :D

Shall go for the magna guide then :) Can pick it up from Heinnie for even cheaper than the aligner :D \0/

Their kit comes with a fine/extra fine grit - so i will order the coarse/extra coarse duo to complete the set ;D :)

Works out well actually - then i can order the Ka-Bar USMC + The kit all in one order from the same place =]

Shall let you know how i get on :))

Regards, Meldarion =]
 
Last edited:
Meldarion said:
Thank you again for the advice :D

Shall go for the magna guide then :) Can pick it up from Heinnie for even cheaper than the aligner :D \0/

Their kit comes with a fine/extra fine grit - so i will order the coarse/extra coarse duo to complete the set ;D (...) :)

Works out well actually - then i can order the Ka-Bar USMC + The kit all in one order from the same place =]

Shall let you know how i get on :))

Regards, Meldarion =]
Click to expand...

A friendly head's up (sincerely :)). Might want to omit your dealer link from your post. Easy to get infracted here for deal-spotting, if the dealer isn't a paid BF member.

Aside from that, the XC thru EF hones should get you well on your way. :thumbup:
 
Ty for the heads up ! :)

:) Hope so ^.^ Will be relieved when i can get a nice edge on it =]

Thanks again for everything :)
 
DMT Products are very very good. I have many of their diamond products and have waiting in a shopping cart their diamond "steels". I cannot speak to the aligner product specifically but if DMT makes it, it's good. The diamond rods will be first rate.

If your LMF is one of the 12c27s it should take a screaming sharp edge...that is one of my favorite steels. FWIW, I am very happy with my LMF now that it's convexed...took a very fine edge. However the black finish is very marred. So when I said I threw it in my trunk, that was no slap to the thing...it is my keep it handy when the going gets tough kind of knife along with the axe and the bolt cutter and the crowbar back there. The LMF is popular with the troops I guess. It is tough, priced that a GI can afford it, and carried readily in PXs overseas (the anecdotes I heard were in Iraq where there are presumably no PXs left).
 
I just sharpened up mine now that I got a Lansky and holy crap it worked! Before I could never get this thing sharp but now I put a mirror edge on it with Lansky here's what I did:

Lansky clamp at 30 degrees per side, widest angle available. Started off reprofiling using a modified Sharpmaker triangle stone that I adapted to work with Lansky, but any coarse diamond will do. Went through every step progression, Diamond, extra coarse, coarse, medium, fine, extra fine, then since I also bought a few extra Lansky stones I went Sapphire super fine, Lansky strip which I loaded with green chromium oxide. End result? Shaves easily, cuts paper even with crappy edge geometry for cutting paper. Was all this necessary for this knife? Of course not but I'm not on this site cause I just want an edge that works lol. Will post pics later
 
LMF II Post Lansky
fdOEU


https://imgur.com/gallery/ntWbf

LMF plus Lansky
Z3zGV


https://imgur.com/gallery/Z3zGV
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top