BK15 Observation

[Galeocerdoshark]

Yes, I used ken onion Work Sharp, it flexes and convexes the edge. That's interesting but for there to be contours to the blade, means that they have to be high points and the ones that sit lower are just that, hollow.

Otherwise I'd end up with a convexed blade, like an axe or khukri.

You'll only end up with a full high convex if you'd grind long enough to take out the flat. The blade really isn't hollow, see for yourself and put it on a flat surface. With a worksharp, you will end up convexing the EDGE, just not the entire blade (well, you will if you do it long enough, resulting in quite a lot of loss of material).

Or try picturing this: draw a cirkel and connect one inner end of the cirkel with another with a straight line. Even though the line is flat /straight, you'll only have two connections points because of the bending nature of the cirkel.

EDIT: I just went ahead and made a paint impression of what I mean. The red band is the flexing material. If the blade is flat or hollow, that doesn't really mind. A surface that gives will always flex around the extremes, in this case: the edge on the one hand, and the highest part of the grind before the swedge starts.


This is what either a flat or hollow ground knife would look like on a FLAT surface, like a stone:


I don't think a flexing abrasive like a belt would let you tell the difference between a flat or hollow ground knife. A flat abrasive can.

 

[stvpourciau]

And Galeocerdoshark, that's exactly what I thought I was trying to explain, so thanks for doing it better than I did . Grinding on a slack belt will make it pull away and grind more on the spine/shoulders and the edge, if anything, which could make the grind look "more" hollow than if the grinding was done on a stone.

You'll only end up with a full high convex if you'd grind long enough to take out the flat. The blade really isn't hollow, see for yourself and put it on a flat surface. With a worksharp, you will end up convexing the EDGE, just not the entire blade (well, you will if you do it long enough, resulting in quite a lot of loss of material).

Or try picturing this: draw a cirkel and connect one inner end of the cirkel with another with a straight line. Even though the line is flat /straight, you'll only have two connections points because of the bending nature of the cirkel.

EDIT: I just went ahead and made a paint impression of what I mean. The red band is the flexing material. If the blade is flat or hollow, that doesn't really mind. A surface that gives will always flex around the extremes, in this case: the edge on the one hand, and the highest part of the grind before the swedge starts.


This is what either a flat or hollow ground knife would look like on a FLAT surface, like a stone:


I don't think a flexing abrasive like a belt would let you tell the difference between a flat or hollow ground knife. A flat abrasive can.

Thanks guys, I'm starting to understand this

 

[stvpourciau]

I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question but what about removing the handle scales and holding the blade area in-line, longitudinally with a polishing wheel or some such device?

I also tried this

 

[stvpourciau]

Rotary tools operate at very high RPM (even at a low setting) and the sanding drums/wheels are very abrasive (even the finer grits) so you combine those two together coupled with too much pressure in one spot and a small bit size then KABLAMMO! you've got a divot/mark/notch/indentation/whatever on your blade making the process head backwards at a rapid pace. Like the other fellas have said, just put the arm joint lubricant into it, it'll take longer, be harder to do but it'll also be harder to eff it up. It will work and it will look great. That's my reckoning anyway..

And learned this

 

[BeeKayNutCase]

Just as a point of interest, the KABAR catalogue has the specs of every blade in their current line up as a spreadsheet at the end. Steel type, length, thickness, RC number AND country of origin. You'll notice quite a lot of them are indeed from Taiwan. Some that'll actually surprise you..

 

[Survivormind]

I can't argue with anything you posted, other than what I bolded. I've read this sentiment about Taiwan before, an it's an unfounded bias IMO. Taiwan is NOT the same country as China, and do not hold the same philosophies/policies/outlook on life. A knife from Taiwan does not necessarily equate to a lesser quality product, and Kabar could very well be using Taiwan because they need to keep production levels up and can't exclusively use US labor while keeping their CQ where they expect it to be. Just a guess because I'm not looped in with anyone at Kabar.

Taiwan is not China. Taiwan is also not the US. It seems though that US manufacturing's quality in decreasing, probably in an effort to compete.

Survivormind

 

[Survivormind]

Just as a point of interest, the KABAR catalogue has the specs of every blade in their current line up as a spreadsheet at the end. Steel type, length, thickness, RC number AND country of origin. You'll notice quite a lot of them are indeed from Taiwan. Some that'll actually surprise you..

Thank you.

Survivormind

 

[Survivormind]

Hey Survivormind,

Have you contacted KA-BAR and voiced your concerns?

I have in the course of a return. They actually replaced it, which I was a little surprised at. It lived a short, glorious life (9 months). That said, it's probably worth giving them a call. I've got a pending review on my blog for the 1/4" knife I broke and I can't say anything bad about the way they handled it other than they didn't tell me what may have caused the breakage and addressed none of my concerns regarding the heat treat.

Personally, I think it was way too hard. I sharpened it once a month. It took a while, and it was still scary sharp after battoning it through a quarter cord of wood that month. That's not normal in my experience. It was great until I broke it. Naturally, they kept the broken pieces so I'll never know exactly why it failed.

Another thing I noticed... They discontinued the knife I broke after I sent it back and mentioned a forthcoming review. I'm not saying I'm responsible for that, just that there may have been a good reason which I suspected may have been a design flaw before I made the original purchase.

Look guys, I might ruffle a little feathers on here but I really have a hard time doing anything other than being honest. I'm not a knife maker. I have a very limited understanding of the voodoo that goes into heat treating a blade. I haven't tested any of my Ka-bar's with whatever tool you'd even use to test the HRC. All I am saying is that IN MY EXPERIENCE, and I use my knives A LOT, I've noticed some inconsistency among my Ka-bar's and what I consider to be a substandard fit and finish out of the box for the price paid when I can't even shave a thin hair on the inside of my forearm and no, I'm not a monkey man straight out of the planet of the apes. I'm "regular" hairy.

I'll give Ka-bar a call and see what they have to say regarding my heat treat concerns.

Survivormind

 

[ocnLogan]

I have in the course of a return. They actually replaced it, which I was a little surprised at. It lived a short, glorious life (9 months). That said, it's probably worth giving them a call. I've got a pending review on my blog for the 1/4" knife I broke and I can't say anything bad about the way they handled it other than they didn't tell me what may have caused the breakage and addressed none of my concerns regarding the heat treat.

Personally, I think it was way too hard. I sharpened it once a month. It took a while, and it was still scary sharp after battoning it through a quarter cord of wood that month. That's not normal in my experience. It was great until I broke it. Naturally, they kept the broken pieces so I'll never know exactly why it failed.

Another thing I noticed... They discontinued the knife I broke after I sent it back and mentioned a forthcoming review. I'm not saying I'm responsible for that, just that there may have been a good reason which I suspected may have been a design flaw before I made the original purchase.

Look guys, I might ruffle a little feathers on here but I really have a hard time doing anything other than being honest. I'm not a knife maker. I have a very limited understanding of the voodoo that goes into heat treating a blade. I haven't tested any of my Ka-bar's with whatever tool you'd even use to test the HRC. All I am saying is that IN MY EXPERIENCE, and I use my knives A LOT, I've noticed some inconsistency among my Ka-bar's and what I consider to be a substandard fit and finish out of the box for the price paid when I can't even shave a thin hair on the inside of my forearm and no, I'm not a monkey man straight out of the planet of the apes. I'm "regular" hairy.

I'll give Ka-bar a call and see what they have to say regarding my heat treat concerns.

Survivormind

If the knife is the one that I think it is, I think at least the bit about them discontinuing it isn't likely related to the review you mentioned. Its been on closeout prices for the last... 9 months to a year or so, and I believe it was announced at BLADE last year that that lineup would be dropping that model, and at least one of the others. From what I hear it just wasn't a good seller. Similar to how the BK15/5/4 are on closeout (meaning, the fact that they're being discontinued has nothing to do with the performance, and everything to do about sales volume).

And I'm with you, if there IS a problem, I'd like it discovered, talked about, and fixed. I've got no problem with that. I do know in the other thread that Ethan mentioned he thinks that their HT is still up to par, but, the knife you're talking about is in a different "lineup", and I have no idea if things are separated like that at Kabar.

Also, I laughed at "regular hairy" . Even though I'm not super concerned with factory edges, as I always end up sharpening them away anyway.

 

[daizee]

I've found the Kabar factory edges to be ground reasonably well, but with a coarser abrasive than I prefer. They work out of the box, but waving a little hand-held diamond hone across the factory edge makes a world of difference. Takes about 3 minutes. For the price, and the whopping length of some of these edges (BK-7 most recently), I'm ok with it. On a little precision folder I'd expect a finer edge.

 

[Tdhurl1103]

dremel? you'll make it worse... You need a tool that is bigger than the blade, no the other way around.
Some leather will help your sanding block conform to the surface. But there's a reason I always recommend against sanding hardened steel. Get some hard wax on that thing and go play in the woods.

Yes. Can you recall the name of that wax Tradewater suggested at one point? I'd like to pick some up but can't remember the name of it.