ION Blade Sharpening

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Anyone know of a place that will exchange dull ION blades for sharp ones?  I thought there was a place around St. Cloud or Clearwater, but I can't seem to find anything online.

Or better yet...is it possible to sharpen?  I have a Lansky knife sharpening set, but I'm not sure that is the right tool for the job.

[RebelSS]

They sure can be.....been doing for others for many years..just like a good knife. Somewhere I have a post on it...use a good hard Arkansas oil stone, (white one) honing oil, and hone just like a good knife blade, which is basically what they are. They'll be razor sharp. PM me if you want the full details on how to do it.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Thanks for the info!  I gave it a try tonight, and I'll have to wait till the weekend to test out my sharpening "skills".  

[RebelSS]

No prob! Just keep that blade flat on the FLAT side, lightly sweeping it across stone with the oil. If you do it after every use, you don't lose the bevel or angle....which then, yer screwed. Should be able to slice paper with it, if not, go back to it. I actually use my 4" stone and leave the blades right on the auger, sit in on the bench across the vise, and "stroke away". (The blades, guys!) 

Edited January 13, 2016 by RebelSS

[Surface Tension]

Red Rock Store in Ely or Search Fran Connelly .

 If you do it yourself, what ever you do don't do anything to the bottom of the blade.

 I've mentioned before about depth of cut,  drill rate,  and how it differs with different blades and mounts.  Here is a good example.  The Ion depth of cut is determined by the distance the blades sit below the centering ring.    The amount of material removed when sharping is subtracted from that depth.   Point is, take only as much material off the edge as is necessary to repair and sharpen the edge.   Knowing this you can understand that a sharpened set with this type mount can never cut as well as a new set of blades.   If your just removing small burrs then you should get acceptable results.  If you have a good sized nick then with this type mount and centering ring you'd be better off getting new blades.

From Ardisam's page and illustration.

Mid-Cut

The ION cuts smooth as it continues to move through the ice. The Spot-On™ centering ring evenly meters the amount of ice being shaved with each revolution. This ensures that the engagement of the cutting edge is consistent, and means that each turn is as smooth as the next—regardless of auger angle, ice conditions, or inconsistencies in the ice.

 

 

 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Interesting info.  I sharpened only the sharp angle side.  With my Lansky I wasn't able to match the angle perfectly, as it looked to be roughly 27.5 or so.  I used the 30, and was able to get a really good edge on it, and get out most of the nicks.  If it doesn't work, I'm not out much.  These were some old blades that wouldn't have been able to cut warm butter.  

The (or maybe just this set I have) ION blades have the sharp angle side, and no flat.  The opposite side has a very shallow angle, maybe somewhere around 5-10 degrees.  

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Would a leather strop have any impact on these blades?  I hit my knives after deer season with a little polish and a piece of leather and it brought a good edge back.  Wouldn't take gouges out but i've heard if you just hit blades with a little polish and leather every couple uses they maintain a good edge without having to worry about ruining the angle or sharpening to often.

[Surface Tension]

A micro bevel as you did is fine if all you had a was small burrs to remove.  Your looking to be 100% defect free along the entire edge.  Next time you sharpen you may have to grind the angle back to original but in this case the centering ring determine depth of cut so the angle can be flexible to a certain point.

 You can use the leather strop to remove the fine wire burr that should be on bottom but don't strop the bottom. You would have come down to 1000 grit for the strop to do any good.