Sharpening Serrated Blades Experiments (Pic Heavy)

[Jors]

I have been experimenting with the sharpening of serrated blades of my Leatherman Tools. I have taken a few photographs of my setup as well. I am a Lansky user and I do not claim it to be the best system, but it works.



This is my Sharpening bag that I made to keep everything neatly together.



Here you see my existing kit. Oil, Lansky kit (I have the 5-stone kit, but the 3-stone is just as good), A reversible diamond sharpening stone (Medium and Fine), a BUCK serrated diamond file, A BUCK double sided diamond sharpening pocket set, A Lansky V sharpener, a small Arkansas stone, and a small pocket sharpening stone. You will see there is a piece of leather in the Lansky box for stropping, as well as a small piece of water sand paper and a piece of steel wool to remove rust. There is also an extra clamp, that I am going to modify for use with big knives that will push on the table (Floor) next to a big sharpening stone, with the knife blade moving across the large stone at the correct angle.



This is the BUCK diamond file. It is tapered and allows you to sharpen several sizes of serrations, provided that the serration is a half circle.



Sharpening the small serrations/ You must watching the angle.



Sharpening the bigger serration.




I came across this sharpening stone at a gun shop that stock Lansky products and bought it immediately.



The tool removed from the package.



With the rubber plugs removed you can see the tool has three angles.



I have milled this crude prototype to simulate an ordinary stone. The stone just got pushed in with two pieces of tube gripping it in position. The angle showing outwards is the angle you need.



The tool in use (At the 30 angle)



And.



And.



And.



A con is that you can only use the stone directly opposite the center of the clamp. Using it like the smooth stones will destroy your profile. I will at a later stage make a new fitting that will replace the 30 degree hole and allow you to move the stone without having to re-clamp the blade in a new position.

I am also thinking of making a new type of clamp with a nylon sliding shoulder, with a metal profile of the hole that I can cover with water sand paper. That will be easier to use and more accurately. To sharpen the serrated blade incorrectly can easily ruin it.

 

[dks]

 

I use a plain round file, though my results are not that good.

[Lynn LeFey]

Very cool set-up. When you use the round Buck file, is it a sawing or rotating motion?

[Jors]

Mostly sawing, but you can use it as you wish. Cheap as well for the tool.

[Pignut71]

Hey Johan,

Mind that table you have all those scratchy things on, my Good Lady would have a heart attack if I was to put that amount of kit on our dining room table!

Good kit by th way 

Atb, Jon.

[Mike]

Looks like your basically doing the same thing as Ben Dale the inventor/manufacturer of the Edgepro does. I do the same thing too and it works pretty well.



Mike

[Hammer]

Looks like your basically doing the same thing as Ben Dale the inventor/manufacturer of the Edgepro does. I do the same thing too and it works pretty well.



Mike

I have used the Edgepro System quite extensively and haven't found much that it can't do.

[Jors]

Hey Johan,

Mind that table you have all those scratchy things on, my Good Lady would have a heart attack if I was to put that amount of kit on our dining room table!

Good kit by th way 

Atb, Jon.

I always work on newspaper. This was only for the purpose of taking the photographs. The tables was given to me as a present about 20 years ago.

[Jors]

I visited a gun shop yesterday and saw a new (to me) sharpening system that is manufactured here in South Africa, that is according to me even better than what I currently have (And of course, I bought it!)
It is The Warthog Multi-Edge Blade sharpening system.

In South Africa the web page is:
http://www.warthogsharpeners.co.za/

and in USA:
http://www.v-sharp.com

The USA site does not sell the multisharp system. Some of the forum members may be familiar with the products advertised on the v-sharp.com site. I see you can also order spares from the South African Site.

The instructional videos of the Multi-Edge can be seen on:
http://www.warthogsharp.com/videos.php

The four profile serrated edge diamond stone was the trigger for me to buy the system as it is working with the clamps set. You also get a handled four profile diamond stone for hand sharpening of serrated blades. The system is also used for scissors, planes and chisels. Very useful, but what is the best part for me is that it can handle long bladed knifes as well, but the system I had was limited in size as well as blade width. The Multi-Edge system is large and tiny blade friendly and you can sharpen to any angle from 10 - 90 degrees. And the stones are diamond stones. There is also a leather stropping plate included. Very durable.

I bought the basic set and ordered the serrated sharpener as well as an extra grade diamond plate. The serrated stone has four profiles to be compatible with most serrated knives, Leatherman and SOG included.

(Just take note, the videos on this site is a little outdated as the system was improved. The system is now sold with diamond coated abrasive plates and not the reddish silicon type as shown on the videos. The mounting is also improved where the upright is mounted on a slider and not on the wood as shown in the video.)

[Steinar]

Hm, I must admit I'm a little skeptical towards the Warthog (it reminds me too much about some presumably inferior systems I tested which I didn't like), but I'm always curious about new sharpening systems. In other words, I hope you post a review of the Warthog, because I like its size and it does seem easy to use.

[Jors]

I will post one a within a few days. I am just waiting for the serrated stone to ship. Sometimes next week. I will take the necessary photographs as well. I must say, the videos show how it is working but my first impressions are: Wow! Just what I wanted. Bigger in size to carry around but much better than the Lansky kit that I had.

[Styerman]

One trick for serrated edges that's worth remembering ; a leather bootlace , first waxed , then loaded with buffing compound . Works well as long as the edge isn't too far gone . Zero weight or bulk , works in the field ( loop it around your foot and stretch it tight with your left hand ) . Diamond pastes are getting cheaper ( don't know about ZA ) , add a bit to the buffing compound .

Chris

[Likeablefish]

Ive recently tried a dremel and a stiff then soft buffing wheel with some compound on and got pretty sharp results