Ancient TC Barlow wavy bevel?

[btb01]

So I recently acquired an Ancient TC Barlow, and had a question about something odd I noticed with the edge grind/bevel. In one spot (just to the right of the light glint you can see in the picture below), the bevel seems to have a wave in it, where it's shallower than the rest of the edge, then it widens out a little before narrowing back to "normal" as you get towards the tip. I'm someone adept at sharpening (I use Arkansas stones and a paddle strop), but haven't done much as far as reshaping an edge, so I'm hesitant to throw it on the soft Arkansas stone and really go at it to "fix" it.

All that being said, the actual cutting edge seems straight and razor sharp, slices well, etc. (I've touched it up a bit on a black hard Arkansas stone and run it on the strop, but that's all).

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with the Ancient TC Barlow, or had any suggestions or thoughts. This was my first GEC (followed within a day by a Beer Scout Knife, which has no such issue, perfect edge on that one). I love them both so far, but was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this with this particular knife. Thanks guys!

(Sorry if my terminology trying to explain this isn't exactly right; hopefully it makes sense.)

 

[supratentorial]

The edges are honed by hand on a large stone wheel. So this sort of thing can happen. I've received GEC knives that barely had any signs of a bevel at all and some that I suspect were never honed at all.

In my opinion, it's not a big deal. I always put an edge on my knives anyway. More importantly, GEC has been able to put some very nice primary grinds on their large blades. That's much more important to me since there's no easy fix for a bad primary grind. A bad edge is easy to fix.

Some of the worst "wavy" edges that I've gotten were on the buck 301 and 303. But they sharpen out eventually.

 

[jmarston]

My GEC 72 is the same way. The bevel is slightly uneven but doesn't affect cutting performance so I try not to let it bother me. Even though deep down in my knife nutty head it always will. I have seen this on some older knives I have picked up as well. I have an Boker 494 Barlow that is particularly poor.

 

[idahoguy]

Take a FLAT piece of steel, or other material, and rub a black crayon all over it, and even it out with your fingers. Then rub that on the flat of the blade. It'll show you high and low spots in the flat grind, for what it's worth. I have some blades like this, doesn't bother me.

 

[somber]

It's only bad if Queen does it, am I right?

 

[screened porch]

it's only bad if queen does it, am i right?

:d....
I was trying to do a grinning emoticon.

 

[knifeswapper]

I see edge miscues from nearly every maker, with GEC being fairly common. But if the fault is one that can be remedied in a few minutes it doesn't aggravate me nearly as bad as old fashion poor craftsmanship. But, I guess the first question is - where did you "acquire" this knife. One would assume straight from one of the dealers distributing them since it is also assumed it is a factory edge. But the edge doesn't look like a belt edge, just too many transitions.

It is funny how this forum is like politics.

 

[Jsega51]

I noticed it on all three of my Ancients but chalked it up to them being not fully finished....to give them that ancient look and feel (hence the name) so it doesn't bother me one bit.

 

[Txjohn]

Noticed the same on the one I got too. Assumed it was on purpose.

 

[Jack Black]

Mine are great! Best out-of-the-tube edges I've had in fact :thumbup:

 

[Halfneck]

Had a couple GEC like that. Was annoying, but after some sharpening they are fine now.

 

[btb01]

I see edge miscues from nearly every maker, with GEC being fairly common. But if the fault is one that can be remedied in a few minutes it doesn't aggravate me nearly as bad as old fashion poor craftsmanship. But, I guess the first question is - where did you "acquire" this knife. One would assume straight from one of the dealers distributing them since it is also assumed it is a factory edge. But the edge doesn't look like a belt edge, just too many transitions.

I did not buy it directly from a distributor, but from a seller on eBay I've bought from before and trust (as much as you can, I guess), so I feel fairly certain it was as it came from the factory, but I guess you never know. Some of what you see could be from my touching it up on the black hard Arkansas stone, I don't know, but the "wave" in question was definitely there when I got it. (I'm no pro when it comes to sharpening, by any means, but for the most part I can get 'em sharp and keep 'em sharp, and like any of us I'm always learning more...)

Interesting that some saw the same thing I have while others had perfectly straight edges. Jsega51 and Txjohn I had initially thought along the same lines as you guys, that maybe it was part of the "Ancient" finish, though it seems a bit odd, so I wanted to ask.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

 

[btb01]

Had a couple GEC like that. Was annoying, but after some sharpening they are fine now.

Yeah, I plan on carrying and using the knife, so I figure after a few rounds of using and sharpening, it'll even out.

 

[Modoc ED]

Much ado about nothing really. Just sharpen it (the wave) out of the blade and drop it in your pocket.

It just goes to show what many of us have known all along - not all knives coming out of GEC are perfect. They've always been good solid knives, just not perfect. They've stepped up their sharpening quite a bit since their early days.

 

[sitflyer]

I see edge miscues from nearly every maker, with GEC being fairly common. But if the fault is one that can be remedied in a few minutes it doesn't aggravate me nearly as bad as old fashion poor craftsmanship. But, I guess the first question is - where did you "acquire" this knife. One would assume straight from one of the dealers distributing them since it is also assumed it is a factory edge. But the edge doesn't look like a belt edge, just too many transitions.

It is funny how this forum is like politics.

Politics, religion, and commerce

 

[jmarston]

I figured mine would sharpen out. In fact the waviness was not on the factory edge but the grind itself is not perfectly flat. My best guess is someone got a little enthusiastic buffing the blade at the factory. Again, it does not affect performance but it does irk my nutty eye.

 

[supratentorial]

You can see how they hone the blades on a stone wheel starting at 5:36 in this video. An unskilled or weary hand will not make a perfect edge. Perhaps the OP's knife was honed around lunch time. The knives are honed by hand and people aren't perfect. The knives aren't clamped in a Hair-Popper-2000[SUP]TM[/SUP] constant angle sharpener.

In my opinion, it's not a big deal. I sharpen my knives and it would be fixed with my very first sharpening.

[youtube]yPzgOs6JEyg[/youtube]

It's only bad if Queen does it, am I right?

:d....
I was trying to do a grinning emoticon.

More importantly, GEC has been able to put some very nice primary grinds on their large blades. That's much more important to me since there's no easy fix for a bad primary grind. A bad edge is easy to fix.

A real problem with Queen's knives is the primary grind on many (most?) of their knives. Their 1095 knives seem to be an exception. A bad edge is easy to fix by sharpening but a bad primary grind can only be fixed if the entire surface of the blade is reground by a skilled knife maker.

 

[screened porch]

Point taken.

 

[Campbellclanman]

I cant see a problem - a knife assembled by hand, Sharpened by hand - for the price its an amazing deal,

 

[pertinux]

So I recently acquired an Ancient TC Barlow, and had a question about something odd I noticed with the edge grind/bevel. In one spot (just to the right of the light glint you can see in the picture below), the bevel seems to have a wave in it, where it's shallower than the rest of the edge, then it widens out a little before narrowing back to "normal" as you get towards the tip.

...All that being said, the actual cutting edge seems straight and razor sharp, slices well, etc. (I've touched it up a bit on a black hard Arkansas stone and run it on the strop, but that's all).

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with the Ancient TC Barlow...

(Sorry if my terminology trying to explain this isn't exactly right; hopefully it makes sense.)

Your post makes perfect sense, not least because I've seen many examples of this in person. It was somewhat of a running joke, or at least a running musing, at the time of the Ancients' unveiling last August at GEC. So many of the released knives' edges sport(ed) the phenomenon you've pictured and described, we did wonder if maybe GEC had done it on purpose(!). (No conclusions, and they weren't Saying).

Some people made a point of trying to choose knives with the least wave-ery edges, while others more readily accepted whatever vagaries were present as part of each knife's 'distressed' character. I heard a lot of talk about what it would take to properly dress/fix the wavy-er of the various blades, but most agreed that the edges themselves were sharp-- as you have noted with yours.

So: no conclusions, nor a definitive answer regarding whether or not the generally wave-d edges were purposeful and/or problematic, but to answer your question? Yes, I have seen this before!


[Because this characteristic seems widespread among the released knives, I don't consider it a flaw or problem the way I would if it were a marked, small percentage, if that makes any sense?]

~ P.