Blockbuster to Bushwacker

Horn Dog

Horn Dog

Joined
Sep 9, 2005
Messages
4,363
I noticed yesterday that my BW did not quite sail through the brush like my really sharp machetes and other bush blades do. It did not concern me, as those knives have very sharp convex edges. My BW came with a perfectly fine factory edge, suitable for chopping wood and even harder materials and very strong. But I plan to do a comparison between the BW and some other big blades on another forum, and to keep things fair, all the knives should have comparable edges. Rather than dull all the others, I convexed the BW. So I had some time this morning to start taking off some steel. Here you see the factory edge and how I am grinding down to it.
BW002.jpg

BW005.jpg

BW006.jpg

This took a while. Now time to go to finer grit belts. This should do it.
BW008.jpg

I have been saving this hard dead Bay wood for just such an occasion. Before I start slashing brush and palmettos, I need to test the edge on some hard wood. I did thin it out a bit.

BW012.jpg

BW013.jpg

BW014.jpg

No problem. You can take INFI down pretty thin and it is still strong. Now to do a little bush wacking. One test I use on machetes and other bush blades is to slash through a free standing leaf. Any knife that can do that is good to go for my purposes.
BW017.jpg

Oh yes! Busse perfection. Bring on the competition.
 
Looks great, Vic. We knew we could count on you. :thumbup:

That third pic is really good, you can see how high the reprofiling goes. I might have to wait till spring to strip and reprofile mine.
 
HD: I drool every time I see your vexing art. I wish I had the skill to do that to my blades. I am working on it, but am not any where near that capability, yet.

Can't wait to see the competition!
 
Compared to some of the true artists on this forum, I am a hack. But thanks anyway. I go more for function than looks. I cleaned up some of the deep 40 grit scratches, and the BW is ready for action.
BW018.jpg

BW019.jpg

BW020.jpg

It may appear that the Busse is ground thinner than the others, but it really isn't. Both the DFLE and RTAK are flat grinds, so I didn't have to remove as much steel to get the same edge angle. The Browning is full convex ground from the factory, but it is a flatter grind than the Busse convex.
 
oeser said:
+1 on that. I would really like to see it satin with a zero edge convex like that, which I'm sure HD's will be eventually.:D
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It would definitely look better stripped and satin finished. Leaving the coating on and grinding that much looks funky. But it works. I tried to get some better pics of the edge just before dark.

BW3005.jpg

BW3012.jpg

BW3004.jpg
 
Horned, how long does it take you to put an edge like that on a blade of that size? It looks really nice.
 
Thalestin said:
Horned, how long does it take you to put an edge like that on a blade of that size? It looks really nice.
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I lose track of time when I grind, but I would guess two hours. Maybe a little less. I take breaks from it. It requires a lot of concentration for me.
 
Awesome edge as always Vic.:) I have had the pleasure of watching HD sharpen.:eek: The man has icewater in his veins.:D
 
chickenplucker said:
Awesome edge as always Vic.:) I have had the pleasure of watching HD sharpen.:eek: The man has icewater in his veins.:D
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Your blade was flat ground pretty thin anyway, so it only took a few minutes. I could feel a lot of thickness behind the abrupt edge on this one. I tried to blend the factory convex grind to the very edge (zero edge) for no secondary bevel.
 
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