Thread: Advice for killer edge on friodur

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

You can do penance by buying two for every one that you sell.

Amen! Preach it brother!

I just won a Friodur on eBay. It has never been sharpened so I will have to set the bevel and start at the beginning. Are they difficult to sharpen? I notice with my stainless steel knives that the edge chips easily if I use a DMT diamond hone, but is fine with my waterstones although waterstones have difficulty cutting SS. Does Friodur have this same chipping problem?

Hello Kristoffer,

the Friodur can be very frustrating but mustn't be. Start with the 1000 (japanese norm), then when you have one, the 4000. Then as a finishing stone the blue belgian or the Thuringian, that's it. Then strop it with chromoxid and leather, that's it!

For stainless i.m.o it is no good to take a finer Grit as about 6000.

For the strokes you need about the half ob usual with carbon steel, that's why the Friodur has a Rockwell hardness from "only" 56 (carbon steel about 61 - 64)

Hmmm, but the chrom ox is a still abrasive you know.What would be the difference to putting some high grit hones between the 6000 and the chrome ox? Are you refering to microchipping?
As for the amounts of strokes, my experiense is the opposite.It took a lot of strokes to set the bevel.

Thanks Kristoffer

Originally Posted by Paysbas

For the strokes you need about the half ob usual with carbon steel, that's why the Friodur has a Rockwell hardness from "only" 56 (carbon steel about 61 - 64)

Really ?!?? Such a gap in Rockwell hardness between SS and HCS ?? I read here that some vintage CS had 58-59 in the Rockwell hardness scale.

Hello Kristoffer,

with a lot of strokes the Friodur will be overhoned. I wrote about my experience what was good for my Friodur. The Chomoxid creates the second angle, this will be more durable. With a finer hone there is no second angle.

Hello Leon,

in the german forum someone has tested the Rockwell hardness of the Friodur. A lot of people expected it would have a very great hardness. But after the test it was "only" 56 on the Rockwell Scale.

Thats the Reason why the Friodur doestn't need so many strokes.

Originally Posted by Paysbas

Hello Leon,

in the german forum someone has tested the Rockwell hardness of the Friodur. A lot of people expected it would have a very great hardness. But after the test it was "only" 56 on the Rockwell Scale.

Thats the Reason why the Friodur doestn't need so many strokes.

very, very interesting. when i get my friodur i can put this to the test whether or not the Friodur's are twice as easy to hone than the carbon steels. HRC 56 seems soft. I would imagine that the newer Friodurs would be harder than the older ones?

Originally Posted by cotdt

I just won a Friodur on eBay. It has never been sharpened so I will have to set the bevel and start at the beginning. Are they difficult to sharpen? I notice with my stainless steel knives that the edge chips easily if I use a DMT diamond hone, but is fine with my waterstones although waterstones have difficulty cutting SS. Does Friodur have this same chipping problem?

That's the exact same problem I was having with my SS razor on DMT hones. I just couldn't get a bevel without microchipping the edge.

I haven't been able to try this technique on a SS blade yet, but yesterday and today I managed to take some more harshness out of the DMT's by using about a 45-50 degree heel-leading stroke, and using quite a bit of dish soap in the water I was spraying down the DMT's with. I was able to get a much finer edge on the blade I was working on doing this. Hopefully, it'll also prevent the microchipping.

Originally Posted by FloorPizza

I haven't been able to try this technique on a SS blade yet, but yesterday and today I managed to take some more harshness out of the DMT's by using about a 45-50 degree heel-leading stroke, and using quite a bit of dish soap in the water I was spraying down the DMT's with. I was able to get a much finer edge on the blade I was working on doing this. Hopefully, it'll also prevent the microchipping.

Dish soap? Why not use a better lubricant like shaving soap? Based on your experience, I won't use my DMT diamond stones on the Friodur then, but I've always had good results using pastes. I think I'll go up to 8k and from there on finish on diamond pastes on balsa.