Blunted the tip on my Endura - best way to fix?

W

wk5h

Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
3
Ok, to start off... Yes, I was stupid, and didn't read up and learn enough on how to sharpen my knives properly on my spyderco sharpmaker before I went to town on putting an edge on my Endura... You don't drag your knife tip off the stone at the end of the stroke...

Here's what I've ended up with -

6sqm84.jpg


ih37t0.jpg


As you can see, it no longer has the nice point on the end like it did from factory; I can shave my arm with it, but, not sure if I could stab a slab of half melted butter....

I have see how you can bring the tip back to point by grinding down the spine of the blade, but... I don't want to trade a blunt tip for a roughed up spine.

Is the only solution to work the tip on a good stone and bring the bevel up to the spine (which would involve removing a bit of metal at the tip)? Or, is there an easier and better way?
 
Another alternative is not to worry about it. It looks fine to me. :) But I think you are right, if you want it more pointy, you'll have to work it over on a stone.

Welcome to Bladeforums, btw. :thumbup:
 
You don't necessarily have to leave a roughed-up spine, by grinding/sanding it down to meet the bevel. Use a progression of grits of wet/dry sandpaper on hard backing, like glass, perhaps from 220 through 600/800 or so. The 220 will do most of the grunt work; then use the remaining grits (320/400/600/800, for example) to refine the finish on the spine. The 600/800 should leave a pretty refined satin finish on it, which should come close to the original finish (I'm looking at the finish on my Endura4 right now).

Draw a guide line on the blade with a Sharpie or equivalent, to give you a smooth transition from spine to tip. Then sand it to the line. If you take your time with it, it can end up looking very good, and will restore a nice, pointy tip at the same time.

And welcome to the forum! :)
 
with a little more work you can even make it pointier by taking away the final drop, this will require flattening the spine higher toward the handle.
 
As another option, if you've got a buddy with a belt grinder, that's the work of seconds to fix. I see tips like that ALL the time when I'm sharpening down at the shop. I just kiss the spine to bring it to a needle tip again, then pick a grit that matches the finish on the spine and run it parallel to the blade to smooth everything out and blend it in. Easy as pie. Same deal with sandpaper on glass, just takes a bit longer and more elbow-grease. :)
 
If you have a coarse stone reset the edge profile, with correct technique a tip with that little of rounding would be a quick fix.
 
.......with correct technique.........
Click to expand...


And that would be?
I've seen both examples held out as being "correct". Grinding the spine down to meet the edge. Or, grinding the edge on a right angle, up to meet the spine. Then thinning the new tip, to match the rest of the edge. I'd vote for the latter but, what do I know!

What say you?:D Edited for PWET: And I mean in general, not for this particularly very small example.
 
Last edited:
no need to flatten the edge to fix such a small loss. just sharpen the whole edge just like you would to take out a chip but long enough for the edge to catch the spine again, this will keep the edge profile intact, just take care to stop just shy of your "new flat tip" to keep the future tip crisp. or ... focus on the tip and readjust the belly from, say, the last third of blade to avoid sharpening the whole blade, this way you'll have a little more belly but still a new fresh point.


anyway i almost always prefer grinding by the spine, not that i think it's the correct way, just that you have already lost some blade lenght, i prefer avoiding edge wear, if you grind from the spine, you maintain the edge thickness along the whole edge, if you grind by the edge, you start thickening your edge.

not sure if i made myself clear on this one ... but anyway for such a small tip loss i really doubt it's important.
 
Last edited:
pwet said:
no need to flatten the edge to fix such a small loss. just sharpen the whole edge just like you would to take out a chip but long enough for the edge to catch the spine again, this will keep the edge profile intact, just take care to stop just shy of your "new flat tip" to keep the future tip crisp. or ... focus on the spine and readjust the belly from, say, the last third of blade to avoid sharpening the whole blade, this way you'll have a little more belly but still a new fresh point.


anyway i almost always prefer grinding by the spine, not that i think it's the correct way, just that you have already lost some blade lenght, i prefer avoiding edge wear, if you grind from the spine, you maintain the edge thickness along the whole edge, if you grind by the edge, you start thickening your edge.

not sure if i made myself clear on this one ... but anyway for such a small tip loss i really doubt it's important.
Click to expand...

.....+1
 
Harpoon1 said:
And that would be?
I've seen both examples held out as being "correct". Grinding the spine down to meet the edge. Or, grinding the edge on a right angle, up to meet the spine. Then thinning the new tip, to match the rest of the edge. I'd vote for the latter but, what do I know!

What say you?:D Edited for PWET: And I mean in general, not for this particularly very small example.
Click to expand...

Basically what pwet paid, correct technique in this case would be stopping at the tip to prevent rounding.
 
I've frequently used a tip-first stroke (tip-to-ricasso), when using the Sharpmaker. Place the tip flush against the rod, and 'push' the blade away and down, to finish at the ricasso. This, instead of starting at the ricasso and trying to apply the brakes at the tip, before slipping off the hone. A lot easier to keep from blunting the tip that way. You can use this to focus on the tip portion specifically, while still utilizing the standard ricasso-first stroke for the rest of the blade, if you prefer.

I've found a tip-first stroke works well on my other hones too, for the same reason.
 
Last edited:
If you decide to bring the edge up, an tip maintenance in general, always sharpen while maintaining same edge bevel set perpendicular against the curve of the edge/belly, up to the tip. To maintain this angle, you'll likely raising the handle higher when nearing the tip.

This way, it will not round nor thin down the tip. I've been having problem thinning down the tip too much, and this imaginary angle/plane helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top