Bevel height and angle help

D

DustinCT

Joined
Aug 2, 2015
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4
Good evening blade Smiths and Artisans.

My question revolves around bevel angle and bevel height in relation to blade thickness. I am only a hobbyist and a fairly new one at that, so please forgive me if my terminology is currently incorrect. Is there a formula or method to determine how large or small the bevel will be based on the thickness of the piece of steel that the blade will be made from? Basically how high or shallow the grind will be from cutting edge to spine. I would like to eliminate some of the guess work selecting a grind angle for my blades and prevent wasted material if at all possible. I am currently only attempting flat grinds and Scandi grinds. If there is a video explaining this that would be great but all and any help is greatly appreciated.

ThanK in advance for the help,

The new guy
 
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I would check out Fred Rowes "Bubble Jig".It's a grinding aid that work pretty close to the angles in that chart. Good luck,Lu.
 
This is something people overthink. The bevel on a Full Flat Grind (FFG) is whatever angle it is. The actual angle will vary as the blade tapers, and the difference between one blade made in 1/8" steel and another made in 1/16" steel is almost insignificant. All you need to do is file/sand/grind the bevel from spine to almost the center of the edge side and the bevel is done. The final edge angle put on in sharpening is what is more important.

If the blade is 1" high and 1/16" thick, the bevel angle is 1.8°. In an identical 1/8" thick blade the angle would be 3.6°. The difference is 1.8°...., as I said, nearly insignificant. The edge sharpening angle can vary from 6° to 25°. That is where the cutting ability and edge stability is determined. A change of just a few here can make big difference in the knife's performance.

Fred Rowe's Bubble Jig and ERU sharpener will help a lot in getting consistent angles when sharpening and shaping bevels. He also has great video tutorials on their use. Check him out in The Exchange or on his website.
 
I will just mention 2 simple words...

Trigonometric formulas for triangles
facepalm.jpg
 
Hey guys, thank you all for your wisdom and input. The chart that Sloan provided in conjunction with a self fabricated jig and modified grinding table has work beautifully. The knowledge that you all posses collective is invaluable. Especially for a simple hobbyist such as my self.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
This is something people overthink. The bevel on a Full Flat Grind (FFG) is whatever angle it is. The actual angle will vary as the blade tapers, and the difference between one blade made in 1/8" steel and another made in 1/16" steel is almost insignificant. All you need to do is file/sand/grind the bevel from spine to almost the center of the edge side and the bevel is done. The final edge angle put on in sharpening is what is more important.

If the blade is 1" high and 1/16" thick, the bevel angle is 1.8°. In an identical 1/8" thick blade the angle would be 3.6°. The difference is 1.8°...., as I said, nearly insignificant. The edge sharpening angle can vary from 6° to 25°. That is where the cutting ability and edge stability is determined.

A change of just a few here can make big difference in the knife's performance.

Fred Rowe's Bubble Jig and ERU sharpener will help a lot in getting consistent angles when sharpening and shaping bevels. He also has great video tutorials on their use. Check him out in The Exchange or on his website.
Click to expand...


I t hink that chart has its uses in the design phase

In that example, it's not insignificant, it DOUBLES

If you can look at the chart and see a useful small knife can have maybe a four degree angle;

then you look at the 1/4" stock with the scandi grind (that seems ever popular here with the newest makers) and see that

that 45 degree angle is thicker than a firewood splitting maul, maybe it will help keep designs reasonable and useful
 
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