Trouble sharpening an H&K OTF

[Hop]

I bought a used H&K (made by Benchmade) OTF and have had one hell of a time getting it sharpened. It came to me with a convex grind which it not what I think it had from the factory. BladeHQ shows a similar Benchmade 4700 version with a flat grind but the dagger style blade is more of a double bevel edge with a small fuller down the center. There's also a bit of wiggle in the blade since it's an out the front. The wiggle + the D2 steel + the double bevel with no real flat spot for a reference is just kicking my butt trying to sharpen.

I can get a pretty sharp edge onto steels like VG-10 using stones & ceramic. With a lot more work, I can get a pretty sharp edge onto S90V. Wondering if anyone else has as much trouble with D2 or is it just my beginner skill level?

I gave up and put it in my Smith's sharpener to try to re-profile the edge. Kind of cheating but I'm frustrated.
https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-Adjustable-Manual-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B007Y15LD4

Knife = H&K Epidemic:
Benchmade H&K Epidemic OTF Auto Knife, D2 Satin Blade

 

[Dean C.]

Double edged knives are tricky, especially if you are essentially trying to reprofile a cinvex edge into a "flat edge" with just ceramic stones. For something like that I would want to get the blade clamped down and use 100 grit diamond stones to re cut the edge

 

[rhino]

I bought a used H&K (made by Benchmade) OTF and have had one hell of a time getting it sharpened. It came to me with a convex grind which it not what I think it had from the factory. BladeHQ shows a similar Benchmade 4700 version with a flat grind but the dagger style blade is more of a double bevel edge with a small fuller down the center. There's also a bit of wiggle in the blade since it's an out the front. The wiggle + the D2 steel + the double bevel with no real flat spot for a reference is just kicking my butt trying to sharpen.

I can get a pretty sharp edge onto steels like VG-10 using stones & ceramic. With a lot more work, I can get a pretty sharp edge onto S90V. Wondering if anyone else has as much trouble with D2 or is it just my beginner skill level?

I gave up and put it in my Smith's sharpener to try to re-profile the edge. Kind of cheating but I'm frustrated.
https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-Adjustable-Manual-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B007Y15LD4

Knife = H&K Epidemic:
Benchmade H&K Epidemic OTF Auto Knife, D2 Satin Blade

D2 is a lot easier to abrade/remove metal than S90V.

That doesn't always translate to ease of sharpening. If the D2 is soft, it may not be able to take a decent edge (for very long). It also may be a geometry issue. If the D2 blade is really thick behind the cutting edge, it's never going to be very sharp. That may be why the previous owner convexed the edge in order to work with what he had.

In terms of sharpening, I would forget about using ceramics and natural stones until you get it sharpened. I would use diamond abrasives. You could then finish on the ceramic, but you'll probably have better cutting performance if you leave it rough.

 

[Hop]

I have a Worksharp Field 2.2.1 with diamond plates. It's a nice little backpack sized sharpener. I was having trouble maintaining the angle though. Maybe it's time to go ultra slow under a magnifier to get this blade sharp. https://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/food-processing/knife-sharpeners/pc/104791680/c/104723280/sc/104560380/work-sharp-guided-field-sharpener/1434522.uts?slotId=12

 

[rhino]

I have a Worksharp Field 2.2.1 with diamond plates. It's a nice little backpack sized sharpener. I was having trouble maintaining the angle though. Maybe it's time to go ultra slow under a magnifier to get this blade sharp. https://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/food-processing/knife-sharpeners/pc/104791680/c/104723280/sc/104560380/work-sharp-guided-field-sharpener/1434522.uts?slotId=12

Given the geometry of the blade, a Ken Onion model WorkSharp (the powered version) would probably be a good choice for that knife. And your axes.