Just a few Spydie questions and remarks.

[Sword and Shield]

I picked up an Endura the other day, and it's just a great knife. I was curious as to caring for it, however, and had a few questions for the forum here. I have lurked in the background for a while, and this seems a good place to ask.

1.) How suseptible is the lock to pocket lint/dirt? Will it be okay as a clip-carry knife, or will it need cleaning?

2.) The blade steel is ATS-55. This is my first dance with this steel and I would appreciate any opinions as to its performance and reliability.

3.) What is the best angle and grit of stone to use to sharpen it? My Lansky will handle 17, 20, 25, and 30 degrees, and I have 150, 280 and 600 grit stones.



Thanks for any help you can give me.



Keepin' it real...real sharp, that is.

[vampyrewolf]

Plain edge? Just get one of the pocketstones... I use DoubleStuff.

Most spydies are sharpened to 30. I tried beveling my ladybug to 40 and it doesn't work. Had to bevel it back to 30.

Pocket lint doesn't seem to be any problem yet for my Delica.

We all start with 10 fingers. Those with Spydies have 9 to spare, Still need a thumb. Good thing I still have 8 to spare...

[Clay Kesting]

As VW said, most Spydies come from the factory sharpened to an included angle of around 30 degrees. However I would suggest sharpening to 40 degrees for a more durable edge. I have found the angles on the Lansky type systems to be rather unreliable as they depend on the width of the blade (now I use a Sharpmaker <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>). It might be worthwhile running a marker along the bevel so that you can be sure you're taking metal off the cutting edge.

The type of stone will be determined by the sort of cutting you want to do. The coarser stones give a micro-serrated edge which is great for slicing. The finer stone gives a more polished edge more suitable for push cuts.

If you haven't already done so, have a look at Joe Talmadges' Sharpening FAQ: http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsharp.shtml

ATS55 is a top notch cutlery steel with a relatively high carbon content (1%) and a hardness of 60-62 Rc. I can't see you finding much to complain about <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>.

Clay

Don't worry that the world might end tomorrow, in Australia it's tomorrow already.

[sal]

Hi S&amp;S. Sometimes pocket lint can get caught in the lock well. You might want to periodally clean this out with a toothpick of something similar.

sal