Sharpening an Emerson CQC-7B-BT?

[deranged_coder]

Hi all,

Over the weekend I got an Emerson CQC-7B-BT as a 'heavy-duty' folder to keep in my Fatboy. It feels great, I was just feeling disappointed that it was not sharper out of the box (maybe I am just spoiled because the Benchmade 551 I got was really sharp out of the box). Since I do not have much experience with sharpening knives, can anyone offer any tips on how to sharpen this knife? The blade is quite different from any other knives I have in that it has a tanto tip and is only ground on one side. I have no clue how to sharpen this and I do not want to ruin the blade by doing something I should not. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[cdf]

Emerson has sharpening instructions on their web site . I generally use a diamond steel , followed by a ceramic rod , followed bya strop . Sharpening the blade , and sharpening the tip are seperate operatioms . Generally , unless you are stabbing a lot of guys wearing armour , you willhardly ever touch the tip .

 

[chmsam]

There are other threads on sharpening that you can search for, but the upshot of the whole deal is this --

Use a marker on the blade edge. Lightly stroke the edge on the sharpener of your choice. If you are taking off the ink evenly on the section you've run across the hone, you have the sharpening angle correct. If the ink only comes off of the very outside of the edge or only off further up the edge but not the edge itself, you need to adjust your angle. Simple geometry. Getting the angle correct is the most important part, IMHO.

What sharpener to use? The one that you are comfortable enough to use whenever the edge actually needs it. That way you are more prone to keep the edge sharp. Diamonds work faster but are expensive and remove more metal (eventually the blade will wear away -- over a long time though); natural stones work well but are not cheap; synthetic stones are inexpensive but take some extra effort. Strop and/or use a steel to realign the edge in between sharpening.

How sharp? That depends. What are you cutting? Using the knife only for defense backup (got training? If not, don't try it)? Cutting cardboard or rope will dull a fine edge quickly, so you actually do not want a highly polished edge for that (you don't need to use the super-fine grit hones). Opening envelopes and removing splinters is easier with a really sharp edge, so polish away!

And remember to clean the liners and pivots often, so the dreaded Pocket Crud Monster doesn't make your knife's lock fail and let the blade close on your fingers under pressure.

BTW, nice knife!

 

[sween1911]

EXCELLENT CHOICE! The CQC7 series is a fantastic tactical folder! It is critical with that blade style to only sharpen the obverse (the side that is ground - the side that faces you if you were to hold it in front of you, edge down, tip pointing to the left) side and not the flat side, or you will ruin the edge angle. I think there is a left handed version with the blade ground the other way, but you get the idea.

Chmsam had great advice on the marker idea. Go easily and carefully. I highly recommend you check out the following...

http://www.folders-r-us.org/full_technic.htm

They have a section on sharpening Emerson knives specifically. Check it out!

 

[270winchester]

I have four Emersons(CQC7B-BTS, Mini COmmander, Combat Karambit, and a Commander) and love all of them. But the CQC was simply a pain in the rear to sharpen and after a few tim es, I just sent the knife to Matt Cucharria and got it reshaped to a V-grind and never looked back.

He's on bladeforums and extremely pleasant to deal with.

Nick

 

[chmsam]

V-grinds and chisel-grinds don't have to be all that different or difficult to sharpen.

Here's what might be making it seem harder -- with a chisel-grind, as you sharpen the edge, the flat side will tend to develope a wire-edge. That is a fine edge that has curled over and while it seems very sharp, it will easily break off, making the knife seem as if it has gone dull very, very quickly. BTW, V-grinds can do this, too.

How can you tell if you have a wire-edge? Simply run the flat (not edge) of your thumbnail very delicately down the width of the blade to the sharp edge, on both sides of the blade. If you feel something catch on your nail, you probably have a wire-edge. How to get rid of it? Easy. Run BOTH sides of the blade very, very lightly over the hone, but increase the angle a few degrees. For instance, if you have sharpened the edge to, say, 20 degrees, run the blade across the hone lightly at 22, or even 25 degrees. It doesn't take much to take off the wire-edge, and it usually only takes a delicate amount effort.

Hope that helps.


Holy Moly, my 500th post!

 

[deranged_coder]

Thanks for all the informative responses, everyone. As most of you guys have already realized, my worries center around the fact that the blade has a chisel grind and I already consider myself as quite inexperienced as far as sharpening knives in general. I did not want to ruin the blade by just haphazardly sharpening.

The tip on using the marker sounds really good, many thanks for that. I am curious about how to maintain a constant angle with the hone, though. Can anyone share any tips on how to make sure that once I have determined the correct angle using the marker, I can maintain that angle?

Thanks also for the info on the wire edge, as well as all the links. Looks like I have a good amount of reading to do.

As far as what I will be using the knife for, I expect it will be for mainly mundane tasks such as opening envelopes, packages and stuff. It is also a possible last-ditch defensive weapon; I did study arnis (Filipino stick fighting) several years ago when I was still back home in the Philippines and I am aware of how adapt the stick techniques to empty hand and knife fighting. I really hope I am never going to be in a situation wherein I have to apply any of that stuff, though.

 

[GarageBoy]

just lay the beveled side of the blade on the stone and lift it up until only the edge bevel is touching. you'll feel it, slightly. becareful of the tanto triangle