Sterling sharpener breaks down my SeBenZa

I use Sterling (carbide sharpener) in the field to maintain my SeBenZa (BG45 steel).



I do as instructed by Sterling but the result is this:


The edge is ripped up!

What do I do wrong!?!?
<img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

The Sterling sharpener is designed to shave a small amout of steel from the edge. This is only good for relatively soft steel. If the steel is to hard and brittle the edge can be ripped up. Shapeners with ceramic sticks are better for high quality knives. They are available with fixed sharpening angles so even people with little practice can achieve good results.

But what doses Douglas S. do?

Doesn’t he use a Sebenza and a Sterling ?!?

I can´t comment on that.
Reviews and my experience show that sharpeners like the Sterling are not the best way to sharpen a knife. That´s especially true for high quality knives. I would use mine only in a real emergency. Most forum members seem to prefer diamond sharpeners of various designs. Most of those sharpeners can´t beat the weight and size of the Sterling though.

E-mailed CRK and asked for an advice…

I bought (via Toolshop.de) a DMT Folding Diamond Sharpener.

Hope this i ok.

Doug has a small sheet of some kind of diamond or sand paper on his sharpener. I am guessing he pulls it through the carbides then fixes it up on the paper. This should produce a kind of mini serrations, which would be okay for regular use. Personally, I have a fold up blue (medium grit) DMT diamond sharpener that works great, it is the perfect grit for most field sharpening.

The pad has diamond dust on it and comes with the sharpener. The grit is between the medium and fine grit of the DMT fold up sharpeners. It will not help much for a ripped up edge (BTDT).
The edge will get worse when the carbides are used frequently because the resulting roughness prevents a fluent motion.
I agree on the subject of the medium grit fold up sharpener. It´s my favorite for field use too.

Danish,

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, but I suspect your expectations are higher than can be met with a carbide sharpener. As I note:

"Tungsten Carbide sharpeners also will do the job, but don't leave as keen an edge as a fine diamond or ceramic sharpener. These sharpeners have a pair of tungsten carbide pieces arranged so a vee is formed, through which you draw the blade. In fact, they do a pretty crude job, relatively speaking, but they are very effective and pretty much foolproof, both worthwhile attributes. In general I am not enamored of these sharpeners."

I carry the Sterling as a field expedient sharpener because it is effective and is compact and as I often say, if it isn't with you, it can't save you. Like all carbide sharpeners, it does not leave a refined edge, but it will sharpen a dulled knife so that it can be useful again. I apologize if I wasn't as clear as I might have been and will be adding a bit more on the subject vis-a-vis the Sterling to make this clearer. You will note that in my larger kit I carry a small GATCO Micro-X sharpener with ceramic rods. Both room and weight are less of an issue in that kit. My pockets can only contain so much. Any field sharpener is a compromise between size, weight and effectiveness.

You should be able to put a fine edge back on your Sebenza with a good stone, diamond or ceramic sharpener. If you are not up to the task yourself, likely there will be someone in your area who does this professionally or you can send it back to CRK and they will do so for a small Shipping and Handling charge.