Bussekin Convex Edge Porn (updated pics!!!)

[SpyderPhreak]

As these both are Rat blades, you'd think this might fit better over in the Swamp (I'm still too broke for the beautiful Pork over here). However, I know most of the convex edge PROS that inspired me to try my hand at this hang out over here instead, so that is why I am posting it here.

I have been practicing convex sharpening for a few months now, and have gradually worked my way up to some of my largest and most expensive blades. The guide posted by Jerry Hossom (and related forums threads) along with Youtube were paramount in my learning. I started out with a bunch of cheapy old kitchen knives I bought at Goodwill for about $1 each. I think that practice paid HUGE dividends in the end. I am currently using the cheapy Harbor Freight 1" x 30" belt sander (which I just happened to already have), along with belts purchased online from TruGrit. I am using an old, basic, worn out 220 grit Aluminum Oxide belt to initially reprofile, then Trizact 65 micron (~300 grit), then Trizact 30 micron (~600 grit), next moving to 15 micron Norax (~1,200 grit), and finishing off by polishing on a leather belt (SurgiSharp) with green Chromium Oxide compound. All the belts I am using are cloth backed (except for the leather of course). I plan to buy some 5 micron (~3,000 grit) belts and some white compound with my next order to get that extra bit more out of the process.

For the record, the top knife is a Battle Guard, and the bottom one is an EH3 Mini Mojo (from Knoboganza Spring 2007 I believe). I bought both of these second hand here. These are my big game and small game hunting knives, and both sport sweet, sweet leather sheaths from Dwayne at Armoralleather.

The knives are sharp enough to literally shave off my finger prints, especially the EH3. They can chop pieces off of free hanging hair quite easily as well. FREAKIN INSANE!!! I put a slightly more obtuse edge on the Battle Guard, to help it hold up better to chopping tasks. The results can be seen here.

A couple Busse forum appropriate shots with some of my favorite libations (man, looks like I'm getting low... The AlaskaGanza killed 'em! ).

One thing I learned is that these reflective edges are a pain in the rear to photograph! I might try tomorrow to get some out in the daylight and see if they turn out better. Hope you enjoy!!!

 

[HandofCod]

Nice work! :thumbup:

I'm a big fan of the convex edge myself.

 

[SpyderPhreak]

Thanks! It took some chutzpa to take these to a belt sander! I love the results though! Can't wait to try it on the Rucki!

 

[magoo48]

Awesome stuff. Mini light sabres ! Those edges glow !

 

[<Flux>]

Just beautiful!!

Two things, is there a particular step-by-step thread you used?
And...
How far did you need to take the egde up to get it perfect? In other words, when you reprofile the edge, how much blade height do you lose?

Also, good idea about using some less expensive blades to start out with. I did the exact same thing to learn how to sharpen correctly; I went to a local army navy store, and bought like 4 different size blades for a total of $40 or something like that. I'd much rather destroy an 8$ blade than a $400 one.

You did a fantastic job!!! I can see that I have to go brush my teeth after looking at those edges! Thanks for the pictures, and any more insight you can share. This is a project I've been putting off for a while and I'd love it if I could find a step-by-step rather than just trying to wing it.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to this fun little corner of the Internet. You are more than welcome to pull up a chair and stick around in this here part of the forums in my eyes, with pork or not. However, I will say that a good piece of INFI is well worth the money and that I highly encourage you to eat 1 meal a day and skimp on other essentials to save up and buy one .

 

[Contained]

Very nice! I need to start practicing some convexing.

 

[richstag]

Convex is where its at for a larger knife IMO. Nice work.

 

[resinguy]

is there a particular step-by-step thread you used?
.

While there is plenty of good info on using the HF belt grinder here on the Maintenance forum, I think that the OP is referring to a Jerry Hossom moderated sub-forum over on a different knife forum.

 

[Flatsman007]

Nice job. I convex all of my users by hand on a mouse pad and sand paper and finish with a leather strop. I know it takes alot more time I just like the hand finish. Anyhow great work!

 

[OldPhysics]

You have a very steady hand.

 

[SpyderPhreak]

Just beautiful!!

Two things, is there a particular step-by-step thread you used?
And...
How far did you need to take the egde up to get it perfect? In other words, when you reprofile the edge, how much blade height do you lose?

Also, good idea about using some less expensive blades to start out with. I did the exact same thing to learn how to sharpen correctly; I went to a local army navy store, and bought like 4 different size blades for a total of $40 or something like that. I'd much rather destroy an 8$ blade than a $400 one.

You did a fantastic job!!! I can see that I have to go brush my teeth after looking at those edges! Thanks for the pictures, and any more insight you can share. This is a project I've been putting off for a while and I'd love it if I could find a step-by-step rather than just trying to wing it.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to this fun little corner of the Internet. You are more than welcome to pull up a chair and stick around in this here part of the forums in my eyes, with pork or not. However, I will say that a good piece of INFI is well worth the money and that I highly encourage you to eat 1 meal a day and skimp on other essentials to save up and buy one .

If you google "sharpening my way" along with "Jerry Hossom", you will find the thread I mentioned. I think that LONG thread has the most information consolidated into one location. You can also google "belt sander sharpening" for a lot of other info. Some good stuff to be found here as well. Just about every possible question about convexing this way has been asked and answered at length already if you just search.

If you are careful when reprofiling, you won't lose any real measurable blade height or length. If you do, you are going too fast! If you go slowly and watch for the wire edge to form, I can't imagine losing more than about 1mm absolute MAX. Since I was moving to a more acute edge geometry, all I was doing was removing the shoulder and ideally no metal at the edge. One hint is to use a coarser grit to reprofile, as while it removes steel faster, it also won't heat the edge as quickly while doing it. My worn out 220 grit is just about perfect for this task. Again, go slowly, but keep the edge moving. I'd say no slower than about 1" per second, and check the edge after each pass, while also cooling it in some water.

I've been aware of Busse (and kin) for many years now, but Rat knives have been able to fill my needs thus far. I would have a hard time actually using a Busse like I use my rats, especially if it were a custom shop piece. Don't get me wrong, there are some FANTASTIC Busse blades out there, I just can't bring myself to buy one and actually use it just yet. Maybe later in life when I don't have three little kids, a mortgage, student loans, etc. weighing me down. I've got to spread the little money I have out over a lot of outdoors hobbies right now, so Rats fill my needs.

Nice job. I convex all of my users by hand on a mouse pad and sand paper and finish with a leather strop. I know it takes alot more time I just like the hand finish. Anyhow great work!

I tried that method ONCE. It took WAY too long, and I just don't have that much free time or patience. Using the HF belt sander works just as well (maybe even better) than the sandpaper method, and is a LOT faster! I think each of these took me an hour at most from start to finish, including reprofiling the new angles on them. What is even better, now I can touch up my my kitchen knives (and my Dad's, and my in-law's) in a FRACTION of the time it used to take me with my Spyderco sharpener (which I am extremely proficient with).

 

[Slider817]

Kirkland Whiskey, never saw that one before. How is that?

 

[Al-Sheikh]

Okay. Convinced. I need a belt sander. Great job on those edges!

 

[SpyderPhreak]

Got some better pics in the sun today, but I'm headed out the door to take the kids fishing for a bit. Will post them later. Also, I forgot to show you guys my version of the penetrator tip, so got pics of that too.

Slider, the Kirkland Sig. Scotch is fantastic! I'll tell you more about it later as well.

 

[SpyderPhreak]

So here are the better pictures I promised! BEAUTIFUL day here today!!!

Here are pictures of my version of Busse's "penetrator tip". I have a VERY expensive diamond coated grinding wheel from back in my days of working in the optical business which was used to edge lenses for eyeglasses. I worked for a cookie-cutter chain optics store for a short period (when I got layed off from my lab job at the largest one in Denver), and they threw these things out regularly when they got new ones in, whether they were used up or bad or not (these wheels cost thousands of dollars!!!). The wheel I have is heavy bronze 10" in diameter, 2" wide, and has about a 1/8" layer of diamond grit coating on it (~700 grit), with a small 75 degree V-shaped groove in it for putting the edge on a lens which then holds it in an eyeglass frame. This groove is PERFECT for adding a small bevel to the tip of a knife to aid in penetration. After adding the bevel, I buff it a little bit on my leather belt with green compound. The bevels on these two knives gradually taper back to about an inch from the tip. Here are some close-up pics of my penetrator tips on these, to give you an idea of what they look like:

Now a bit off topic, with a bit of alcohol discussion. The Kirkland Signature Single Malt scotch shown earlier is from a few years ago. For those that might not know, this is a product available only at Costco, where some of their stores do sell liquor, and they even have some other spirits of their own private label. Their tequila and recently introduced Kentucky straight Bourbon are both pretty good, especially for the money. Their Vodka is basically private bottled Grey Goose (I'm not a fan of GG though).

This single malt is something that is only available at a certain time of the year, usually right around Halloween. This particular bottle was bought at a store in Kalifornia a few years ago (yes, I'm nursing this one - it's GOOD!). I have not been able to score any the last few years here locally in CO, as it seems my store (the ONLY one in all of CO that sells alcohol due to some of our stupid laws) has only gotten a couple cases per year, and some guy buys it ALL everytime before I can get some (this year, I swear!).

This particular bottling was "new make spirit" distilled by Macallan back in 1989, privately bottled in old Bourbon casks and aged for 18 years, then finished in Sherry casks by Alexander Murray & Co. It is extremely good and some of the best I've had for any amount of money, even though this bottle only cost me about $35. If you have a Costco near you that sells liquor, be on the lookout for this in your store pretty soon! Each year is something a little different, and it goes fast! I really hope I can get some this year.

 

[vpfree]

I have been considering the harbor freight 1x30. I think this post is going to push me over the "edge." Those knives look great.

Laphroaig... you have a sophisticated pallet. That stuff tastes like old-school mouth wash from the 1950s to me, but my buddy that lived in Scotland for 4 years swears it's very good!

 

[SpyderPhreak]

I have been considering the harbor freight 1x30. I think this post is going to push me over the "edge." Those knives look great.

Laphroaig... you have a sophisticated pallet. That stuff tastes like old-school mouth wash from the 1950s to me, but my buddy that lived in Scotland for 4 years swears it's very good!

Get the belt sander, you won't be sorry! Watch for the 20% off coupons you see in a number of the car and outdoors magazines, then buy it on sale. Mine was a whopping $24 after that. It looks as if the base price has gone up $10 recently though, so you might not be able to get it quite that cheap. Convexing this way takes a little practice, but it is NOT hard.

Laphroiag is certainly a different single malt. It doesn't taste like any other Scotch. You can taste the sea, the smoke, and I get a bit of a bitter wormwood flavor out of it. The 10 year is the sharpest flavor, but it mellows nicely after that and the very unique flavor is not as potent. Unfortunately any "La-froyg" older than 10 years gets pretty pricey.

 

[marthinus]

You have one very steady hand to do those grinds so even! Well done!

 

[shunsui]

Great stuff. Got this page bookmarked in my Mods folder. :thumbup:

 

[SpyderPhreak]

You have one very steady hand to do those grinds so even! Well done!

Thank you! The Mini Mojo's recurved edge was especially tricky! I swear, it was like dancin' with it the way I had to keep it movin'!