Victorinox sharpening issues... All ideas appreciated

[retzius]

I was sharpening a few knives this evening and I noticed that my Vic Cadet gets sharp, but it doesn't get that "sharpness" that I usually equate with a finished job...

I am a decent sharpener and I have experience with many steel types. I get the impression that the Victorinox steel is easy to work but hard to master. It it easy to set a bevel but seems to have a hard time taking a very keen edge.

Maybe my technique is to blame. Maybe I use to much pressure for the soft steel and thin edges on their knives. I was sharpening some Victorinox steel, some vg10, and some Aus8; all the steels would push cut phone book paper but I couldn't get the Victorinox steel to tree top hairs or shave smoothly like the others.

Any ideas what I am doin wrong? Am I expecting too much from the steel? Does its inherent softness result in it keeping a micro-burr?

 

[EyeDog]

Too much pressure on this blade is problematic. Once the basic profile is to my liking, I don't put much more pressure then the weight of the knife. I spend a little more time on a strophe with a soft compound to finish off the blade.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Too much pressure on this blade is problematic. Once the basic profile is to my liking, I don't put much more pressure then the weight of the knife. I spend a little more time on a strophe with a soft compound to finish off the blade.

:thumbup:

That's the key with Victorinox's blades. They WILL take extremely fine & sharp edges, but it must be done with a very light touch.

Edited to add:
My mantra with Vic's stainless blades is 'LESS IS MORE'. What I mean in saying that, is that less pressure and a minimum of honing passes will usually produce the best results. It's very easy to overdo it on these blades, either with too much pressure or more honing than is necessary.


David

 

[EyeDog]

:thumbup:

That's the key with Victorinox's blades. They WILL take extremely fine & sharp edges, but it must be done with a very light touch.


David

Hey David...you're the expert my friend and I've learned a lot looking over your shoulder.

Mike [emoji57]

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Hey David...you're the expert my friend and I've learned a lot looking over your shoulder.

Mike [emoji57]

Thanks Mike.

Victorinox's blades have become one of my favorites on which to fine-tune my 'touch' for sharpening, precisely because they mandate such a light touch. I picked up a 3-knife set of Victorinox's paring knives a while back, and I tinker with them all the time on different hones & stones, just to keep my hands tuned up. If one gets a feel for sharpening these, the same light touch pays off in refining most any other steel. I had sort of a breakthrough a while back, in finding a 'best for my hands' hold on a knife, in order to repeatably & consistently control angle and pressure to produce sharp edges with a minimal need for stropping (almost burr-free). The knife in my hand, when I figured that out, was one of those Vic paring knives. It has paid off across the board, in every blade I've sharpened since.


David

 

[retzius]

:thumbup:

That's the key with Victorinox's blades. They WILL take extremely fine & sharp edges, but it must be done with a very light touch.

Edited to add:
My mantra with Vic's stainless blades is 'LESS IS MORE'. What I mean in saying that, is that less pressure and a minimum of honing passes will usually produce the best results. It's very easy to overdo it on these blades, either with too much pressure or more honing than is necessary.


David

Thanks for the information. I think that I used to much pressure on the Vic Cadet and as I result I feel like I have a wire edge or micro burr that is preventing me from getting the maximum sharpness out of this steel. Tonight I am going to do a very light touch up on the honing ceramic that came with my EdgePro just to get rid of the wire edge or burr and then do a VERY light touch up on the fine stones on the Sharpmaker and see what kind of results I get.

You are right about the Victorinox steel... It is easy to sharpen but almost TOO EASY to oversharpen and distort the edge. I think Victorinox should run the steel a bit harder, maybe RC 55-56 instead of the 53-54 that I feel they are using. It would actually be MORE user friendly for the amateur sharpener if it was a bit harder.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for the information. I think that I used to much pressure on the Vic Cadet and as I result I feel like I have a wire edge or micro burr that is preventing me from getting the maximum sharpness out of this steel. Tonight I am going to do a very light touch up on the honing ceramic that came with my EdgePro just to get rid of the wire edge or burr and then do a VERY light touch up on the fine stones on the Sharpmaker and see what kind of results I get.

You are right about the Victorinox steel... It is easy to sharpen but almost TOO EASY to oversharpen and distort the edge. I think Victorinox should run the steel a bit harder, maybe RC 55-56 instead of the 53-54 that I feel they are using. It would actually be MORE user friendly for the amateur sharpener if it was a bit harder.

Ceramics will make it additionally challenging on these blades. They're more prone to making burrs than most any other abrasive type, due to the combination of extreme hardness and relatively low rate of metal removal, which makes it easier to roll a very fine/soft edge (burring, in other words). Not to say they can't work well, but the touch needs to be additionally feather-light.

I've had the best results on abrasives that cut the steel very aggessively (i.e., cleanly) at very light pressure, and even at very fine grit, such as diamond hones in Fine/EF/EEF grits. Burring will be minimized on these, so long as pressure isn't excessive. The additional upside in using them is, they'll often do all that needs to be done in just a few passes (2-5) at light pressure.

(Victorinox spec's the hardness of their cutlery at HRC 55-56, BTW. See the 'Facts about Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery' handout, linked below.)

https://www.swissarmy.com/medias/sys_master/8868238589982/Resharpen.pdf


David

 

[James Y]

I've actually found Victorinox to be the easiest steel to resharpen. I also use VERY light pressure, and I use the fine white rods on my Sharpmaker. For most touch ups, it takes me only seconds.

Jim

 

[ecallahan]

Wow this is a timely thread for me. I am able to cleanly cut phone book paper with most all my knives, but I was lamenting this weekend I just can never seem to get my Cadet that sharp. I thought it might be the steel. Now I know (once again) it's me. I'm going to try some very light pressure next time.

 

[NMpops]

I have no problem with Vics. When really dull or nicked I use a 600 grit diamond stone from Smith's then I strop, first white then green and SAKs & Case knives will pop hair with the best.

 

[HeavyHanded]

The lower the RC, the better many cutting tools will respond to a burnishing with a smooth steel or Pyrex as a final step. The key is to get the edge as burr free as possible and to stop at a medium/fine finish. Really helps to have some irregularities in the scratch pattern so the steel has somewhere to flow, very much like a notched trowel when doing tile work.

Only a degree or two elevation of the spine is optimal - think as a very very fine microbevel, and pressure very light - maybe 2-10 passes/side, no more.

 

[Jason B.]

Softer waterstones can be very good for softer steels, helps a lot with burr removal too. My go-to stone for Victorinox steel and other soft stainless is the Naniwa Green Brick 2k, applies a good edge and removes the burr without fuss.

 

[lonestar1979]

Victorinox steel is good and easy to sharpen with just light pressure.Used to touch it up on bottom of ceramic plate for months without putting it on stone.It was back to razor sharp in few strokes and with hair whittling toothy egde.Wish I had Spyderco in this steel.For edc and field maintenance it is excellent.