Anyone want to try a Spyderco UF?

[Wid]

I was lucky enough to be gifted this Spyderco UF by a very generous member here. I've used it a few times and got some really good results, especially using crox or diamond as a medium.

Now to the point of the post. Anyone want to do a pass around of this hone? If we get enough wanting to do it I will start by shipping it out to the first to respond. Keep it for a week and pass it along to the next in line. Due to no tracking I would like to keep this in the U.S. No offense to our international brothers but with out tracking I don't want to take a chance on having this baby lost. I do want it back home safely.

So; anyone game?

[danjared]

I'd like to try one again. Can I be in?

[Wid]

I'd like to try one again. Can I be in?

Of course. Being the first to respond you get it first. Pm me your address and I'll get this thing rolling.

[drathgeb]

I would like to try it as well. I am in the market for some honing equipment and would like to try some things first.

[Wid]

I would like to try it as well. I am in the market for some honing equipment and would like to try some things first.

Sure, it's going to Jared tomorrow. You can contact him with your info.

[tomjr]

i would like 2 try it, thanks, tom

[otto76]

I would like to try it also, thank you. I have looked these over at Woodcraft several times but have yet to pull the trigger on one.

Thanks Rick!

I PM Tom my address, is that how this works?

[Wid]

Yeah Otto, just pm the person that is in front of you and they will sent it to you.

[otto76]

Yeah Otto, just pm the person that is in front of you and they will sent it to you.

Okay Rick, thanks again.

[zirrow]

I would be interested in giving this a whirl. So far, I've only used lapping films for honing, but I'm getting interested in branching out. I realize you're probably not planning on sending this thing out for the next hundred years, but if there's room for one more on the list, I'd be very appreciative. Thanks!

[Wid]

I would be interested in giving this a whirl. So far, I've only used lapping films for honing, but I'm getting interested in branching out. I realize you're probably not planning on sending this thing out for the next hundred years, but if there's room for one more on the list, I'd be very appreciative. Thanks!

Sure you can be in, no problem.

[zirrow]

Sweet! PM on its way, Otto. And I can't thank you enough for giving us this opportunity. THANK YOU

[Wid]

No problem.

[paco664]

i wanna i wanna i wanna!!!!!

[Wid]

i wanna i wanna i wanna!!!!!

You're in Paco.

[PapaFish]

I'll be interested to hear people's feedback on the UF. I have one and like it a lot. It's slow, but does a fine job. I have been meaning to find some diamond, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[professorchaos]

Well done Rick!

[Wid]

Well done Rick!

Thanks Henry.

[danjared]

So, it's been a couple years since I've used one of these. I found it interesting to use one again, even though I was only able to use it a couple times this week because this week has been very busy for me.

The first thing I noticed was how this one felt exactly the same as what I recall the other one felt like during use. The Spyderco is a cold, glassy hard slab of ceramic. The feedback with water is almost completely non-existent. While dry, it's a bit better but still tactilely lacking--at least if you're used to natural hones. Lap one feels pretty much the same as lap 200. With water, the water beads up so easily that it's hard to keep water on the surface. I didn't bother going downstairs to get some dish soap so mostly used the hone dry. I bet you might be able to use oil with these but didn't try it since it's not my stone. If you try slurrying it with, say, a BBW, there will be a stain afterwards. So, there is still some texture to the stone despite how it feels to the touch. I used an Idahone scrubber to clean off the surface and rid it of the slurry discoloration. (The discoloration from what appears to be chromium oxide (not from me) is still there, though.) The scrubber did help me gauge how much metal is abraded since you can see the embedded swarf coming off. It's proof that abrasion does occur even though during use you don't really see any signs of swarf.

The resulting edge was quite sharp. After ~200-300 laps (previously one razor had been finished on a coticule), the visual difference in the bevel was pretty minimal under 60x magnification with a cheap pocket microscope. I did the last few laps with the edge-trailing. Stropping brought a noticeable improvement in the HHT result, both compared to right after edge-leading and edge-trailing strokes. The edge seemed slightly sharper than my average coticule edge but apparently at the cost of being more crispy. I got some weepers. It resembled the edge on a brand new Feather Pro Super in many regards. I could have likely smoothed the edge at least a bit with more practice.

One thing that I noticed is that it was lapped smoother than the surface of my Spyderco UF files. I suspect that the other side could be lapped more coarsely. Doing so would likely allow one to use both sides more quickly than one side alone to similar effect. Interestingly, I think the surface could also be smoothed even more. It might leave a keen edge if that were done.

Aside from the admittedly boring feedback from this hone, I think it's a great finisher, especially for the price. For example, if you have an Amazon Prime account and are in the US, you can buy the 8"x2" version with two-day shipping for ~$50. While I think the Belgian Blue Whetstone is more versatile for the price (8"x2" for $50 with free shipping from TSS), the Spyderco UF can be used dry and is a "no fuss" finisher. It also easily leaves an edge with a keenness that is often with naturals harder to achieve without lots of practice ("honing in" if you will). These ceramic stones are also not as easy to gouge as most naturals are.

[Wid]

Nice write up Jared. Pretty much the same as I had found, although I didn't try that high of a lap count.