I have a Case Trapper with the CV blades. This is a EDC that is used for everything from cleaning deer to cutting zip ties. What angle would yall suggest for this knife, when I get redy to sharpen? Also a buddy of mine asked me to sharpen his knife. It's a Topps bush crafter probably somewhere between a 7"-8" blade. I'm assuming this blade will be used for pretty much everything. What angle do you all sugget I use for this knife? Thanks for any and all advice.
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Case trapper
- Thread starter cjordan
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Case's CV is at it's very, very best when ground THIN to a razor's edge. I've favored anything around 25-30° inclusive for it; I have a 1990s-era CV trapper with (likely) a sub-25° inclusive edge on the clip blade, and it's a wicked slicer for appropriately-selected tasks. The steel isn't really hard enough to avoid some deformation or rolling in things like zip-tie cutting, though a 25-30° inclusive edge can still be restored very quickly. I've decided it's better to sharpen for the better slicing at sub-30° angles and touch it up a little more often, instead of maintaining a thicker edge that never really cuts all that well in the first place. Even at 40° inclusive, the steel will still dent/deform somewhat in cutting harder materials, like zip-ties. Only difference is, a thinner geometry can still cut reasonably well, even if the apex has dulled a bit; a thicker geometry will become instantly blunt and essentially useless when the apex isn't crisp anymore.
For most any knife, I'd still favor 30° inclusive or lower; most any decent steel should hold up reasonably well at 30°. For the other knife you mentioned (the bush crafter), I'd start there. If it turns out to be a little fragile in use, just add a slightly wider microbevel (35-40°) to the edge. I'd never go any wider than 40° on any knife edge; cutting performance really degrades above that, even when the edge is new and crisp.
David
For most any knife, I'd still favor 30° inclusive or lower; most any decent steel should hold up reasonably well at 30°. For the other knife you mentioned (the bush crafter), I'd start there. If it turns out to be a little fragile in use, just add a slightly wider microbevel (35-40°) to the edge. I'd never go any wider than 40° on any knife edge; cutting performance really degrades above that, even when the edge is new and crisp.
David
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I carried a Case Trapper for many years and I must say it threw me for a loop sharpening wise for a long time.
Obsessed with edges above is correct, I came to the same conclusion after a couple of years experimenting with different angles and methods with mine.
I had a hard time keeping the angle constant thought the belly and tip on that knife, so be careful with that portion. It didn't help that the factory bevel was pretty terrible, uneven angles on either side and very coarsely ground.
Obsessed with edges above is correct, I came to the same conclusion after a couple of years experimenting with different angles and methods with mine.
I had a hard time keeping the angle constant thought the belly and tip on that knife, so be careful with that portion. It didn't help that the factory bevel was pretty terrible, uneven angles on either side and very coarsely ground.
Thanks guys I think I'll try somewhere around 15deg per side, and see how it goes from there. The edge on this one is a lot like you describe, coarse, uneven, and not much to desire. I'll see what I can't do about that tho. Again thanks for the advice and input.