KenBuzbee wrote:



Actually the reason I like the cricket so much is that it's so small and thin, and it won't freak anyone out where I work. I haven't used my Dodo yet. It was really expensive. It came really dull from Spyderco--rare in my experience. I can see what you mean about the zip ties!

Thanks guys! I just ordered the curved stones. Now I'll just have to figure out the best way to use them with those Spyderco recurves. Funny thing is, In the past I steered away from buying recurves, because I didn't know how I would sharpen them. But after trying the Cricket, it's become one of my favorite EDC knives. Not sure about the Dodo yet... I know it's not going to win any beauty contests!

Will the curved stones handle the Spyderco Cricket and/or Dodo? They are very small blades with some pretty sharp curves. I included the Benchmade Mini-Grip for size reference.





Thanks!

I finally got my mirror edge! Sort of. Here's what I'm using: diamond stones: 100 200 400 600 800 1000. Ceramics: 1200 1600. Strops (all leather): 5, 3.5, 1, .5 paste, and .25 diamond spray. I also used 2000 and 2500 grit sandpaper. I didn't quite get rid of all of the scratches, but it's reflective enough that I'm happy with it for now.

I think my diamond stones are still breaking in. Not being able to get rid of all scratches, I went all the way back down to the 800 grit stones. I was able to replace all 800 grit scratches with 1000 grit scratches. However, I could not get rid of all the 1000 scratches with the 1200 grit ceramic. I tried everything I could think of: light pressure, moderate pressure, heavy pressure, soapy water, spending a LOT of time, watching the edge very carefully with a 20X loupe... just can't seem to do it. It seems my 1000 stones are just cutting too ddep, even with light pressure. I tried alternating heel to tip/tip to heel, but my tip to heel technique is not very good yet. At least I know where the problem is. At some point I'll go back and try again, but for now I'm happy and I did learn quite a bit in the process.

Thanks guys! Welp, I tried for a mirror edge but didn't quite get there... I did get a somewhat reflective edge, so I couldn't be too far off. But I still see some scratches and haze. I think part of my problem was that I was using a sponge with soap and water to dab my stones. I was wiping down the blade between stones, but I was using the same sponge for all the stones and probably cross contaminating them! Duh! Oh well, I'll chock it up to a learning experience and try again. Can't wait for my new strops to get here in time for Christmas! I think they should help with the reflectivity--I ordered the 1 and .5 micron pastes with balsa strops, and leather strops with .25 micron diamond spray.

People think I'm nuts for having so many knives and talking about sharpening all the time. I don't think they realize how much is involved, or how addictive it can be!

Hello all! My name is Dan and I'm relatively new to sharpening with the Wicked Edge. I have sharpened about 20 knives so far. I got less than impressive results with the first 5 or 6. After that, my results stared improving consistently. Now I get edges that continue to amaze me. The latest was my Zero Tolerance 560. I got it to the point that it will whittle hair. Now for some that may not be a big deal, but consider my experience level: I am a BEGINNER! Check it out:



Next I would like to be able to get a mirror edge on this same knife. I realized that the scratches I made when I sharpened it the first time were just too deep to strop away. So I put it back in the WE and took it way down to 200 grit again. This time I paid very close attention to the pressure I was using, and to the scratches on the knife, using a 10x loupe. I havent finished yet, but If I can get a mirror edge that splits hair, I will be one happy cat!

I have come to this forum to get tips and I haven't been disappointed. It's great to find a community where people are the same type of freak as myself (a knife freak)! Well I look forward to chatting with Y'all in the future!

Dan