Am I expecting too much of the KME sharpening tool?

[mgh24]

No, it shouldn't be moving like that. Try clamping something flat in the jaws and see if it hold it tight for you. I also noticed from the pic that your knife has a slight recurve to the blade, at least it looks like it. Not sure if it came like that, or you sharpened more of the middle of the blade, but it's going to be a little more difficult to get a good edge now. Anyway, first thing you need to do is get it to hold a knife without it moving in the jaws. Just going to be chasing your tail if it keeps moving on you.

Oh no! I thought it was my uneven bevel , but you are absolutely correct, I have managed to put a recurve on the center of the blade. Not good.

What can I do now to fix the recurve? I'm supposing that I just need to spend time working on the outside and inside edge of the blade until I eliminate the recurve?

The cheap Gerber I have does have a flat side, and if I put it deep into the clamp it is more secure, but not solid by any means, and you can see in the photo that it places the bevel so close to the clamp that it limits the angle I can use.

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Thanks for the help!

 

[kane22]

I'd use a cheap paring knife to mess with for now. I bench stone as wide as the flat edge of the blade would be best for getting that recurve out. One problem at a time though. Still have to figure out why it's not holding a knife tight.

 

[kane22]

If you can post a pic of your KME from the side without a knife in it. Each half of the clap should look parallel to each other. The last 1/16 of an inch on mine are touching, then just a slight gap the rest of the way back in the clamp.

 

[mgh24]

Here is a picture of the clamp.

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I cried uncle on the Civivi and took it to a professional to true the blade.

With the exception of the Civivi that I put the recurve in, I have had decent results with the KME, even with the clamping problems I have had. It takes extra care, and I will start marking the blade in someway so I can see if it has moved while I am working on it. Need to find some "practice" blades to work with.

 

[kane22]

Looks good to me. It should be getting tight for you. It's not covered in oil is it? That's about the only other thing I can think of.

 

[mgh24]

Update:

I still can't get what I would describe as a rock solid clamp, but getting a good clamp. That, along with being more careful when rotating the knife, and not applying too much pressure to the stone, I have been getting excellent results.

The Civivi Brazen with Tanto blade is still a struggle to get extremely sharp. I can get it sharp, but not what I would describe as excellent. When practicing on two cheap folders, I was able to get excellent edges on both of them. I wonder if it has something to do with the blade geometry of the Brazen?

This morning I took the plunge and put my Spyderco Para3 on the KME, and got an excellent edge on it also!

In summary: I am wiping every blade and the clamp with alcohol before clamping, I am penciling in where I have it clamped, so if it does move I will know, and just to be extra careful, I do not rotate the clamp by grabbing the knife handle, I grab the clamp itself when rotating.

I have never acquired the skill necessary to get edges like these with a flat stone, but am now getting extremely nice edges using the KME.

 

[SCTorrero]

Update:

I still can't get what I would describe as a rock solid clamp, but getting a good clamp. That, along with being more careful when rotating the knife, and not applying too much pressure to the stone, I have been getting excellent results.

The Civivi Brazen with Tanto blade is still a struggle to get extremely sharp. I can get it sharp, but not what I would describe as excellent. When practicing on two cheap folders, I was able to get excellent edges on both of them. I wonder if it has something to do with the blade geometry of the Brazen?

This morning I took the plunge and put my Spyderco Para3 on the KME, and got an excellent edge on it also!

In summary: I am wiping every blade and the clamp with alcohol before clamping, I am penciling in where I have it clamped, so if it does move I will know, and just to be extra careful, I do not rotate the clamp by grabbing the knife handle, I grab the clamp itself when rotating.

I have never acquired the skill necessary to get edges like these with a flat stone, but am now getting extremely nice edges using the KME.

The lapping film is a nice upgrade, if you have not tried them. Stropping made simple.

 

[scottc3]

I do not rotate the clamp by grabbing the knife handle, I grab the clamp itself when rotating.

I discovered our rotation spring was way too tight early on, by watching videos of others flipping knives.
Maybe try loosening the rotation spring so it is easier to rotate knife, along with rubber or tape on blade as others have mentioned.
That particular Civivi Brazen tanto blade has much more primary grind angles then anything I have ever had. So far I have never needed to tape or rubber pad blade to get KME to clamp. Though certainly, a rubber pad that is at least, half as thick as primary grind symmetry, top to bottom, should go a long way to eliminating clamping problems.