Bevel Advice?

Chris Lyons

Chris Lyons

Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Messages
89
So I have my first blank created and I am about to start the bevel. I searched through the internet, youtube, and this forum, but I cant seem to find a real answer.

My question, to you experienced knifemakers, is this:

When setting my initial bevel, what angle (how many degrees) should I be shooting for on a camp knife? I realize that the secondary bevel is going to be based on what the blades use will be, but I am referring to the initial grind.
Since it is going to be a rugged camp utility knife I am going to sharpen it between 25-30 degrees, but I am setting up a file jig for the initial bevel and I am not sure if I should go like 25 on the grind, 30 on the sharpen or what.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I am a new guy, and this is my first knife.. I dont wanna screw it up.

Thanks in advance!!
 
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I like doing big deep bladed thick spined knives like that with a full flat grind or near full flat. It thins the blade out enough for them to still be very good cutters while retaining a bit of weight and stiffness in the spine. The actual angle depends on the height of your grind and thickness of the spine. On these it usually works out to be around 4-5 degrees per side.

WHdYQd5.jpg
 
I guess what I am looking for is just basic guidelines on what angle to set the initial bevel, before sharpening.
 
I've only made one knife (under a lot of supervision). It seems like you're asking what angle should your primary bevel be (not the angle of the cutting edge, or secondary bevel).

If that's what you're asking, then from my experience, there isn't a target angle you measure out. You just start with your design - what kind of grind you want (full flat, high flat, hollow, Scandi, etc.), then you decide how thick a stock you want, then you just grind down to the centerline.

So, let's say you designed the knife to have a flat grind. You decide how wide the flat should be (let's say 0.5" inches from the spine), then you mark the centerline on the edge side, and start grinding away, trying to be symmetrical on both sides.

Basically, your knife design (grind choice, blade shape, blade height, etc.) and the stock thickness determine what the angle should be.
 
Your steel is 0.156 thick. Lets say you want an edge thickness of 0.010. Lets say you want the grind line to be 0.2 from the spine.

That makes a right triangle with the following dimensions:

Opposite length = (0.156 - 0.010) / 2 = 0.073
Adjacent length = 1.5 - 0.2 = 1.3

Tangent (angle) = opposite / adjacent
angle = inverse tangent (0.073 / 1.3)
angle = inverse tan (0.0561)
angle = 3.2° per side
 
THe angle doesn't matter. it is whatever the angle is for the blade height and the spine thickness.

Mark the centerline with two marks that are about .04" apart. The way to do this take a drill bit the thickness of the steel and clamp it on a flat surface. Run the steel edge down it and it should make a mark. Flip the blade over and repeat. This will usually make two marks. If they are not .04", use a smaller bit and repeat. It really isn't important that they are an exact distance apart, just that they are parallel and centered.

File the bevel so it goes from spine to the outer marks.

Sand the bevels until they get smooth. If the edge is too thin, sand it back a tad to end up around .03". (.02" for stainless steel)

HT.

Clean up and sand to the finish desired.

The edge should end up around .01" thick.

Put the secondary bevel on at about 20 degrees per side for a camp knife.
 
Great, thanks all.
Stacy, I thought I may have been overthinking it (like P.Brewsters explanation lol) but "just make the lines meet" seems a lot simpler. Thank you
 
It is much simpler. Even if you had equipment that could give degree accuracy in tenths or hundredths of a degree, the angle changes as you move down the blade .
 
Turned out pretty well. Making a helle fire ish knife for my first try.

d9bc2e47b0dca47e05a77728853dbafd.jpg


Made a little mini keg forge, got it heat treated (successfully!) and sanded it down. Ready for the handle.

bc948ef7a197b693bfed5d2e7ae95c3c.jpg


Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Just grind away everything you don't want to be there.
That's your angle.
Click to expand...

i was waiting for this, lol... it's like carving. i never measure any of that stuff, just mark the thickness you want at the edge and grind until you're where you want to be as you go, then fix everything with files and sandpaper, lol... worked for me for the last 25 years.
 
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