paging mr. @enbloc

greencobra

greencobra

NES Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2011
Messages
27,235
Likes
26,727
Feedback: 31 / 0 / 0
mr. @enbloc, i'm remembering you had a nice collection of esee knives. wondering how you sharpen 'em...what grits on the stones? what angle? and any related info. i'm getting ready to refresh the edge on mine and just want to ask before i go at it and inadvertently mess up the geometry with a re-profiling that i definitely don't want to do.

if you remember, i use a spyderco sharpmaker that is capable of 30 and 40 degree angles. so nothing fancy here for me to work with. off hand i forget the grit of the 2 sets of stones i'd be working with.
 
greencobra said:
mr. @enbloc, i'm remembering you had a nice collection of esee knives. wondering how you sharpen 'em...what grits on the stones? what angle? and any related info. i'm getting ready to refresh the edge on mine and just want to ask before i go at it and inadvertently mess up the geometry with a re-profiling that i definitely don't want to do.

if you remember, i use a spyderco sharpmaker that is capable of 30 and 40 degree angles. so nothing fancy here for me to work with. off hand i forget the grit of the 2 sets of stones i'd be working with.
Click to expand...

I like 20 degree angle/side, so 40 degrees total. I use a wet Fallkniven DC4. It does a great job if I do mine...

I bought a spydy sharpmaker but have not needed it yet... 40 on it should be sweet...

1628630537642.png

"A very efficient, compact, sharpening stone. The DC4 is made by Fallkniven, who produce a serious range of knives and sharpening kit. The DC4 stone is a diamond/ceramic sharpening stone designed to be carried with you in the field within its leather carrying pouch. The diamond side comes in at 25 micron and the specially designed ceramic is made from synthetic sapphire, enabling you to get a "shave sharp" edge on your knife. These materials performance actually improves with use and the stone will hold its shape which is vital for sharpening well."
 
I have a ton of other stones, mostly Jap whetstones and Nortons, but I always fall back on the Fallkniven...

Also, a less-steep angle, depending on intended use (batoning and such), can be useful. I would max out at 25 degrees/side though. Unless it doubles as your camp hatchet... :D
 
Last edited:
mr. @enbloc, thanks! 40 it is.
enbloc said:
...Fallkniven DC4...
Click to expand...
you don't have a jig to set this and the knives up in? freehand you do? yeah, i really suck putting an edge on, that would be a disaster for me. i would like to get comfortable with other methods besides my sharpmaker. they edge the knives by hand at spyderco holding them to a grinder. and i feel spyderco and buck are the two sharpest blades out of the box so by god if they can do it i can, lol
 
greencobra said:
mr. @enbloc, thanks! 40 it is.

you don't have a jig to set this and the knives up in? freehand you do? yeah, i really suck putting an edge on, that would be a disaster for me. i would like to get comfortable with other methods besides my sharpmaker. they edge the knives by hand at spyderco holding them to a grinder. and i feel spyderco and buck are the two sharpest blades out of the box so by god if they can do it i can, lol
Click to expand...
It's a great skill to learn. I understand you're worried; for awhile I used one of those Lansky sets, but they marked up the backs of the blade where I tightened down the jig.

Learning to do it freehand gives you a great sense of why your edge is profiled as it is. Just start out slow. Guide it with a finger on the edge, sliding along the stone with the blade, and you'll VERY quickly feel when your angle is shallowing. The beauty of doing things by hand, whether it's knife sharpening, planing wood, or filing steel, is that it's hard to mess it up if you're paying attention.
 
greencobra said:
mr. @enbloc, thanks! 40 it is.

you don't have a jig to set this and the knives up in? freehand you do? yeah, i really suck putting an edge on, that would be a disaster for me. i would like to get comfortable with other methods besides my sharpmaker. they edge the knives by hand at spyderco holding them to a grinder. and i feel spyderco and buck are the two sharpest blades out of the box so by god if they can do it i can, lol
Click to expand...
I have an angle guide block with different common angles on it that I got from A.G.Russell years ago. I use it to set my angle manually by reference then continue strokes from side to side.

It took a little to get used to it, but now it's second nature. Like having a dedicated angle built into your arm, fingers and eye.

Also, I'm not a "surgical" sharp kind of guy. I've always felt that there is a fine line between "a nice sharp blade" and being anal about it... (which can wear down steel in a hurry)

"Perfect is the enemy of good..." ~Voltaire

Your sharpmaker will do everything you need and do it fast and consistently.

Happy Honing!
~Enbloc
 
Last edited:
greencobra said:
i would like to get comfortable with other methods besides my sharpmaker.
Click to expand...
The Fallkniven DC3 and DC4 are excellent pocket stones/diamonds/ceramics and are reasonably priced for the quality and longevity that comes with them.
If you start slow with budget knives you will quickly ramp up your skillset and have the tools and ability to sharpen anything, anytime, anywhere...

It is a form of therapy too...
 
Here's some views of the DC4...
I finish-strop the blade edge with the back of the leather case with the stone inserted...
1628634845110.png
1628634860538.png
1628634880188.png
1628634904225.png


Our DC3 and DC4 whetstones consist of a fine diamond stone (25 micron) and a very special ceramic stone, made of synthetic sapphires.
Click to expand...
 
Outstanding info here. Thanks guys 🍻. I would like to add that whenever I’m done using my Esee I always lightly line the blade with olive oil and have never had an issue with rust. Just throwing that out there
 
Same here. I used to use mineral oil, but now I use olive oil. It's everywhere, it safe and it works...

ESEEs need oil... they need it a lot.
 
enbloc said:
Same here. I used to use mineral oil, but now I use olive oil. It's everywhere, it safe and it works...

ESEEs need oil... they need it a lot.
Click to expand...
That's a great point for knives that will be used for food prep, I usually use something like grapeseed oil. If the blades are raw carbon then just cutting acidic foods like potatoes and lemons and stuff is a great way to force a patina on the steel to help prevent corrosion. Black rust is good, red is not. This is one of my old R. Murphy knives made in Ayer MA with just natural patina from cutting foods PXL_20210810_230008464.jpg
 
Ron Jablonski said:
That's a great point for knives that will be used for food prep, I usually use something like grapeseed oil.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and because you just never know when your "twine cutter" is also going to dispatch an apple (or God forbid an orange!) a food-grade oil is just best.
Olive oil is great because a lot of restaurants have some and will give you a little if you ask.
I get funny looks when I pull out my boot ESEE and lightly wipe the edge. [rofl]

I've never tried grapeseed oil though...

There are a lot of knife steel oils on the market with anti-rust protection chemicals, but I'm a bit of a Neanderthal...
 
Ron Jablonski said:
Also, don't forget a nice ceramic honing rod. If you hone the knives on a regular basis they won't require as much sharpening and removal of steel
Click to expand...
There are some 4-inch mini rods that I've been looking at so that I can have one with me when I'm out and away from my better gear...
Great for small pocket/belt knives.
1628637510243.png
 
Last edited:
enbloc said:
Exactly, and because you just never know when your "twine cutter" is also going to dispatch an apple (or God forbid an orange!) a food-grade oil is just best.
Olive oil is great because a lot of restaurants have some and will give you a little if you ask.
I get funny looks when I pull out my boot ESEE and lightly wipe the edge. [rofl]

I've never tried grapeseed oil though...

There are a lot of knife steel oils on the market with anti-rust protection chemicals, but I'm a bit of a Neanderthal...
Click to expand...

One of my buddies in college was out on a blind date and thought it went fine, but she ghosted him and he couldn't understand why. I asked him to describe the date, at a nice steakhouse in town (this was in Wyoming).

"Well, I mean, it was hard to cut the steak, and she was having trouble, so I did what any gentleman would do: I pulled out my boot knife and offered it to her. She didn't say much after that."

Nice guy, and a brilliant petroleum engineer. But social cues were not his strong suit.
 
Picton said:
One of my buddies in college was out on a blind date and thought it went fine, but she ghosted him and he couldn't understand why. I asked him to describe the date, at a nice steakhouse in town (this was in Wyoming).

"Well, I mean, it was hard to cut the steak, and she was having trouble, so I did what any gentleman would do: I pulled out my boot knife and offered it to her. She didn't say much after that."

Nice guy, and a brilliant petroleum engineer. But social cues were not his strong suit.
Click to expand...
Your buddy dodged a bullet.
 
CRSIII said:
I nominate enbloc and picton to make the YouTube vid.
Who’ll second the nomination?
Click to expand...
Dude.

I'm about the least technologically adept person on NES. There are probably scads of YouTubes out there about sharpening. I learned how to do it in woodshop class in junior high.
 
enbloc said:
There are some 4-inch mini rods that I've been looking at so that I can have one with me when I'm out and away from my better gear...
Great for small pocket/belt knives.
View attachment 511439
Click to expand...
If you really need it you can use the bottom of a coffee cup, I've also heard that if you lower your car window you can use the rounded edge on top, never tried it but it seems like it might work as long as your edge isn't rolled over too far
 

Similar threads

I hate E-Bay Randall knife weasels (Enbloc would approve of this rant)
Replies
9
Views
706
Tigerstripe
T
Back
Top Bottom