BM 42 Balisong Bevels?

[Old Knife Guy]

My friends have brought me three of the new BM 42 titanium handled Balisongs to sharpen on my Edge-Pro. (This is more of a sharpening question than a Balisong question.) The angles seemed very blunt, for example, most over 23 degrees. Even when re-profiled, sharpened and polished, the edges just didn't glide through newsprint. I admit, they were perfectly good for routine chores, just "not like our other premium knives." Is this your experience?--OKG

 

[Gollnick]

I've never tried to sharpen one, actually. They seem to come out of the box plenty sharp for me. The last one I got left an annoyingly wide bare spot on the back of my arm with one easy pass.

The blade is 12C40 steel which, while not the current dance craze, is a very good blade steel. It is not as brittle as some newer steels are. That's important. In the hands of a skilled artist, the blade of a balisong takes a beating unlike any other blade endures. In the hands of an unskilled artist, these knives tend to be dropped a lot. When a balisong is locked open or closed, the blade endures a tension that is unlike that seen in any other knife design. Unfortunately, some of the current dance craze steels have tended to shatter or crack in this application.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com

 

[David2584]

I must have just got lucky or something because my 42 came very sharp out of the box. In matter of fact, it is sharper than any other knife I own including CRKT.

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Dave

My collection

 

[BalisongMan]

I am just a few days old when it comes to sharpening blades, I started on some of my FHM (Filipino Hand-Made) balisongs but only got one truely sharp, another one of my FHM's blade is way too thick and awkward to sharpen and the 3rd I just didn't sharpen correctly. I don't want to try sharpening any of my BM Bali-Songs until I know that I can put an edge on it without totally screwing it up.

Could someone help me with terminology pertaining to sharpening? ie: bevels, reprofile (apparently it doesn't mean turning a utility blade to a drop point blade type-of-thing) and anything else that is important when discussing sharpening, feel free to email if you want: balisongman@juno.com or post, it doesn't matter to me. Thanks

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Cameron

"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album

 

[Old Knife Guy]

To BalisongMan:
The bevel is the part of the knife that is ground to form the edge. By re-profiling, I mean taking an edge with a 23 degree angle and 'pushing back' or grinding off more metal to 22 degrees to make it 'sharper.' If done carefully with modest goals, most people won't even notice that the angle has been changes. I talked to Ben Dale at Edge-Pro and he claims to have modified a knife by nine (9) degrees. The most I have ever done was 1.5 degrees, and I did it in "three passes," or .5 degrees at a time.--OKG

 

[aflatfoot]

I have been interested in this post as a awaited the delivery of my BM42. I got it today and yes the grid is much steeper than any other knifes that I have. But, I also noticed that it was well honed and had a sharp edge, enough to put one hell of a bite on my index finger's knuckle!

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EXCUSE ME WHILE I WHIP THIS OUT.
**Blazing Saddles**

 

[BalisongMan]

Does it take a long time to learn how to sharpen a blade on a stone? I'm using something called "Norton abrasives Multi-Oilstone" it's a tristone and I think I am using the medium grit (is that correct lingo?) and I try to get a 20 degree angle (I'm sharpening FHM balisongs) is there a way to determine what angle you need for each blade or do I hold 'em at a 23 degree angle always?

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Cameron

"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album