Serrated knife sharpening

Ok, so I am pretty comfortable with the sharpening of plain edge knifes, and have plenty of stones and various tools for that. Sharpening serrated edges is something of a puzzle to me, though, and I am wondering if anyone has suggestions. I don't have many serrated knives, but I do have a couple. A CRKT beater or two for rough work on the farm or whatever where I don't want to worry about hurting my knife, and my river rescue knives, a Spyderco and a CRKT (because serrated edges are your friend for super quick cutting of things one can become tangled in).

The Spyderco knife suggested their triangle stick sharpening system. I guess use the sticks in a position where you are sharpening against the edges, rather than the flat sides you would normally use.

I know that Lansky makes hones for their system (which I do have one of that someone gave me, although I am not generally a huge fan) for serrated blades. They also seem to have a little triangular hand held hone specifically designed for Spyderco serrations

Also, I noticed that DMT makes little tapered rod hones for serrated sharpening.

-Mo

I use the Spyderco triangle hones. They include instructions with the hones, but essentially you use the point of the triangle to get into the serrations. If the serrations are small, you could always go the Murray Carter method, ignore them and hone them out completely.

Dennis

So far, I've never had a Spyderco serrated knife dull on me.



==Tom

I never sharpened a serrated knife. They're not used for precise cuts, and by nature hold their edge for a very long time. I imagine that you could just sharpen the flat side, which should help somewhat, but the serrations themselves would require something cylindrical or conical, and would have to be done one at a time.

My 20+ yo Henckel bread knife still can cut a roll, so I never found a need to do anything to it.l

Mo

I love my Lansky. Even before I got the triangle hone, I tilted the standard hones on edge to do the same thing. I will say that since you are contacting the knife with a vary small area, the point of the triangle, it takes longer. I believe you need to use less pressure, as the pounds per square inch can go way up since the contact area is so small and you can easily roll the edge.

Mike

Nothing to add here. Just wanted to see if this pic worked.

Yup, it works.

ouch said:

Nothing to add here. Just wanted to see if this pic worked.

Click to expand...

Fine then.

Knives




Spyderco Sharpmaker


DMT Diafold Sharpeners (course shown)


Lansky Spydersharp


Lansky system serrated hone

Cool. I like the little keychain sharpener.

I use a Gatco sharpening system for most of my knives. It is similiar to the Lansky system Motomike referred to. I have had great success with it on everything I use it on, but especially with serrated blades.

Knife porn!

analog_kid said:

Knife porn!

Click to expand...

What, those pictures?

No.... These....

My dress knife:


And then the ones I want:

This would be a nice edc


Good.


Better

I used to have a CRKT with a serrated edge that has subsequently been stolen

I used to take it to a professional with my Wusthof kitchen knives. They always did a really good job.

rawbrey said:

I used to take it to a professional with my Wusthof kitchen knives. They always did a really good job.

Click to expand...

In all honestly, that is probably a good option for serrated. But I am such a DIY, I would hate myself.....

-Mo

ouch said:

I never sharpened a serrated knife. They're not used for precise cuts, and by nature hold their edge for a very long time. I imagine that you could just sharpen the flat side, which should help somewhat, but the serrations themselves would require something cylindrical or conical, and would have to be done one at a time.

My 20+ yo Henckel bread knife still can cut a roll, so I never found a need to do anything to it.l

Click to expand...

I've never had our set of 10+ year old serrated knives sharpened and they all still cut well!

Mo - great looking knives. Who is the maker on those?

Limey said:

Mo - great looking knives. Who is the maker on those?

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Rob,
Well, the ones in the first post are Spyderco up top and CRKT below. Those particular Spydercos are interesting in that they claim to be absolutely truly rust proof steel (H2), not just stain-less, for use in the salt water environment.

I doubt you were asking about those, though.

In the other post, top is a Kershaw Nakamura. Chinese quince handles. The bolsters are stainless steel layered with bronze and copper, to create a sort of damascus-like look, but more colorful. The blade is VG-10 at around 60Rc layered between something else (forget what) for strength. I really really like this knife. The fit and finish are fantastic for a not that expensive knife.

The next is a Boker 2007, this year's edition of their yearly special edition damascus knife. Personally, I think this is about the most attractive damascus pattern I've seen.

The rest are William Henry. They aren't custom, but for production knives, they are sort of in a different class from basically everything else. They use really nice materials, and in kind of a cool touch, most of the thumb studs are set with gemstones. Also, for just crazy edge holding, the non-damascus ones use a really spiffy steel hardened to 67Rc. I would love to own one, but they are a little rich for my blood. Cheapest one there is $695. The mammoth ivory and gold inlay one there is over a thousand, and not their most expensive.

-Mo

I want at least one of these.

I also have the Nakamura and it is a beautiful knife. Alas though, it is a little too heavy for me to carry as a dress knife. I like the various Spyderco KIWI's

tim8557 said:

I also have the Nakamura and it is a beautiful knife. Alas though, it is a little too heavy for me to carry as a dress knife. I like the various Spyderco KIWI's

Click to expand...

It is a touch heavy. And I really do want a dress knife that is grey/black rather than brown, as well. (Is that ridiculous or what... But there it is....) Not so crazy about the look of the Kiwi's (or more Spyderco's honestly), although they are nice knives.

-Mo