This brand new Endura ZDP-189 sadly had a less than optimal factory edge, and since this beautiful steel deserves better i reprofiled & sharpened it myself.
Before sharpening.
My guess is that these knives are belt sharpened and then have the burr stropped of on a buffer.
On this knife however it seemed like the buffer ran out of cutting compound (or the sharpener just did a sloppy job), as through my loupe i could see remains of a burr almost along the entire edge. (some of it is partly visible in picture 2)
Due to this the sharpness was of course severely lacking.
I also measured the edge angle to be 35 degrees inclusive, which i think is a bit too large for a folding knife in ZDP-189 steel.
![Image](http://s29.postimg.cc/4039rbblf/GEDC8621.jpg)
![Image](http://s29.postimg.cc/utyrz21df/GEDC8625.jpg)
After sharpening.
First i removed the old apex by cutting a few times straight into a silicon carbide stone, then reprofiled the edge to a slightly convex +/- 25 degrees inclusive angle with a Paper Wheel coated with 15 micron diamond compound, and finally removed the tiny burr with a second Paper Wheel coated with 0.25 micron diamond compound.
This leaves the scratch pattern created by the 15 micron diamond particles intact as much as possible, creating an edge that with the naked eye almost looks like a mirror, but which has the bite of a coarser edge.
I call this a "bling & bite" finish, and i have found it to work very well in EDC use on harder high carbide steel types.
It's also quite difficult to show correctly in pictures, as the lens of my cheap camera has a tendency to show more of the scratch pattern than can be seen in reality with the naked eye.
With the reduced edge angle & the much finer edge finish the knife will not only cut in a completely different league, it can now also be kept sharp on the 30 degrees slots of a Spyderco Sharpmaker or Lansky Turnbox.
![Image](http://s29.postimg.cc/zepjrqagj/GEDC8630.jpg)
![Image](http://s27.postimg.cc/o7egis90f/GEDC8632.jpg)
![Image](http://s27.postimg.cc/kcb2g7pun/GEDC8634.jpg)
Specs:
Length open: 22,2 cm
Length closed: 12,7 cm
Blade length: 9,6 cm
Blade thickness: max 3,0 mm (ricasso)
Edge length: 8,8 cm
Steel: ZDP-189 powder steel
Hardness: 64-65 HRC
Weight: 103 gram
Handle material: British Racing Green FRN on steel liners