baby Ganga vs. greasewood

From what you eelate above you probably ave way too thin of an edge. I use a scandi edge on several of my knives but not on my kuk's. The scandi edge just doesn't hold up to heavy chopping. Your blade exhibits rollover; that happened on my M-43 when it hit a piece of steel. Mine didn't really take any damage for I was able to use a hammer and chakma and tap and press the metal back into alignment. I would convex the edge.
 
I'd get a little better picture and then go on one of the knifemaker forums and ask them whether it was heat treat or not. If they make blades for a living they should be able to tell.
 
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I know the tip is treated to a lower hardness than the sweet spot--but if it's so soft that it's getting that banged up just hitting wood, I'd say it's too soft. You ARE going to want to do some cutting with the edge near the tip, and it's just never going to work too well if it's that soft. Some softness is good, but I'd guess that if the edge gets that many dings, I'd imagine it's a bit too soft for any knife edge.

I've fire-hardened wooden points before. While it makes some difference, I have never regarded fire-hardened wood as being as hard or tough as steel or re-bar. I can always cut fire-hardened wood with a knife, fairly easily--something I can't say about mild steel or re-bar.
 
Hi All,

One thing to clarify, because it doesn't show in the picture: all of the dings are at least 1" back from the tip, and only the front-most (to the right) is outside the heat treat area. It doesn't look that way in the first picture because the blade falls steeply away from the dings. I've got plenty of dings in the front of my sirupati (usually from hitting a rock with the tip while trying to take a weed off at the base), and I'm perfectly aware of the soft tips on khuks. That's not what happened here, although I understand why some might think that.

TWBryan--good suggestion, but since I've already cleaned up the blade, I'l have to try it next time.

I've heard from Steve Ferguson, and I'm seriously thinking about shipping the blade to him for re-edging. After that, I'll test it again, and if it keeps denting, I'll probably end up replacing it.

Thanks all,

F
 
hey steve,

none of my blades are chipped but could you convex all of them for me too? ;)
 
Here's another vote for having the blade convexed.
I have done a couple of working khuks, and it does make a difference.
Steve's convex edges are almost legendary. It will be worth the postage!

--Mike L.
 
Hi Mike,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll be shipping baby Ganga out to Ferguson for convexing.

Fearn
 
Hey Ferguson!
Sorry if I missed it but what is your method of convex sharpening? How do you do it? Thanks!!!!
 
Steve, what do you do to keep the blade from overheating and drawing the temper too much? How do you gauge when you're about to get too hot, and what do you do about it? I like using a belt sander for reprofiling, but I'm always concerned about overheating the steel.
 
fearn said:
Hi Mike,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll be shipping baby Ganga out to Ferguson for convexing.

Fearn
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Received the Ganga today. Since it is a villager and not highly polished I did a light etch to see where it was hardened. There is only a small area that is partially hardened. I outlined it in the picture. I took a file to the edge, and it's really soft. I sharpened it up, but this one needs to go back to Yangdu. She'll take care of it for you. Sorry bud. I'll ship it back tomorrow.

JD, when sharpening, I run the belt on the slowest of the 3 pulleys, don't apply a lot of pressure, quench after each pass, and use fresh belts. The tips are the easiest place to get too hot. Gotta be extra careful there.

Steve

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Hi Steve,

You received a ganga from someone, but not mine. I haven't been able to get to the post office before it closed this week. If I'm lucky, I'll get it off tomorrow. Look for mine next week.

F
 
ferguson said:
Received the Ganga today. Since it is a villager and not highly polished I did a light etch to see where it was hardened. There is only a small area that is partially hardened. I outlined it in the picture. I took a file to the edge, and it's really soft. I sharpened it up, but this one needs to go back to Yangdu. She'll take care of it for you. Sorry bud. I'll ship it back tomorrow.

JD, when sharpening, I run the belt on the slowest of the 3 pulleys, don't apply a lot of pressure, quench after each pass, and use fresh belts. The tips are the easiest place to get too hot. Gotta be extra careful there.

Steve

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Hi Steve,
How do you etch to see the temper line? I should know this by now. Thanks!
 
fearn said:
Hi Steve,

You received a ganga from someone, but not mine. I haven't been able to get to the post office before it closed this week. If I'm lucky, I'll get it off tomorrow. Look for mine next week.

F
Click to expand...

Oops. That one is from forum member BennyJenkins. That's the problem with forum names vs. real names. My bad.
Steve
 
Not a problem. At least I have the box now. Your diagnosis on the edge will be interesting.

F
 
Dave Rishar wrote an excellent post on etching here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415325&highlight=etch


I like ferric chloride, available from Radio Shack as "Printed Circuit Board Etchant". Dilute with water 3 or 4:1.


Just be sure to neutralize the etch after you've rinsed it off. Ammonia works great. You can also use cheap window cleaner with ammonia. After I neutralize with ammonia, I mix some baking soda with a bit of water to make a paste, and rub it on the blade. Rinse, dry, and oil the heck out of it.

Steve
 
I'm always very careful when I use my Steve sharp blades. They are scary and they stay that way. Definitely let him convex it if you decide to keep it.
Mark
 
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