Centered edges.

sph3ric pyramid

sph3ric pyramid

Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
861
Doesn't it drive you nuts when you have a knife that doesn't have a nicely centered edge?

Maybe just me, but I always try to get edges on all my knives nice and flat, and at a nice angle so I can touch it up on a Sharpmaker very quickly and with the best results. But a lot of knives come with uncentered edges either OOB or from their previous owner, and I then spend time "chasing" the bevels up the side of the blade in an attempt to get the edge centered. An example, I just spent 5 *hours* (!!!) trying to get an even grind on a MT SOCOM. It shouldn't be taking so long, but I worry about the aesthetic aspect as well ( :rolleyes: ).

Am I nuts? :confused: Maybe I'm just too picky about it. Maybe I should just buy an EdgePro. Maybe I should take up freehand sharpening on diamonds. Maybe I should just say screw the aesthetics and just file away at the blade.
 
We just had this debate on another thread. Like you, I what my bevels uniform, front to back and right to left.

Another knut said that he got good performance if the bevels were uniform front to back, but the right and left bevels could be of different widths. I thought about it, and yes, the bevel would be straight down the bar-stock, just off center.

Today at Barnes-Nobel, I read a knife magazine about a new collaborative knife from CRKT. It's a Lightfoot design, I believe.

It has a large bevel on one side, a smaller bevel on the other, so much so that the author referred to it as almost a 'chisel grind.'

A knife that is not uniform can still cut, but like you I think it looks cheesey. Yes, an Edge-Pro fixes this cosmetic problem quite easily.
 
Tourist,

I wanted to ask you if you are using an Apex or Pro model. I always enjoy your thoughts and experience on sharpening, especially with an Edge Pro. I use my grinder for most sharpenign chores, but I am considering and Edge Pro, if anythign just for having something portable that I can take with me when visiting family and such.

Spheric:

I don't think you are nuts! I don't worry too much about the cosmetics of edges, but I worry more about them than a lot of other folks! If you want to spend 5 hours doing it, all the power too ya! I'd suggest something like the Edge Pro for you though, as you can get the perfect edges in a fraction of the time you have been spending doing that job.
 
If you're crazy, then so am I. I'm fanatic about symmetrical edges, thankfully my Apex makes them easier to achieve. It can still take quite a while, but it's much easier than doing it freehand. The coarse stone is a real time saver.
 
Hah. Finally got the knife shaving sharp, although the angles are still a bit off.

You would not believe the number of times I had to clean those brown Sharpmaker hones. It's definitely time for an Edge Pro.
 
I just got a CRKT Hawk with the D.O.G. lock and it's ground almost chisel. Big bevel on the front side of the blade and almost a pocketknife sized edge on the back side. Seems to work okay though.

DaveJ
 
Crayola,

I have the professional model Edge-Pro. Like everything else I buy, I usually buy over my head.

With the Professional model, you 'suction' the main support to a level surface. There is a set-screw type support on the front of the main surface. You place a bit of tension on this support, and then secure the set screw. The entire machine is now supported by 'dynamic tension.' You can feel the machine go 'clunk' when you release the front set-screw when you breakdown for storage.

As for cosmetics, let me tell you that I am OCD, really, I take medication, no laughing matter. I set aside quiet Sunday afternoons, and loving polish my favorite knives. I have a light touch, and I use the finer stones. If I have a singular flat spot, I will polish with tapes and strop beyond your patience.

I once polished my not-so-dull Strider SnG to a mirror, and cosmetically uniform edge and was surprised to see that THREE HOURS were gone. I felt it was 30 minutes.

I once sent a CQC7 to Lynn to broker a sale. I put a fresh edge on it, nothing spectacuar; I just made sure that all of the grind surfaces met 'at that little pyramid' on the main surface. Lynn freaked that all surfaces could be straight, but all meet.

This ain't brag, it's an illness. My Dad was an over-bearring profectionist engineer for a security company. I was taught to hate boogered threads, rounded screws and cross threaded fasteners like I hated the concept of sin. Even now I walk down the hall of our house, straightening pictures and re-hanging towels as I go!
 
I've always been surprised by the importance knife nuts put on sharpness and edge condition from the factory. Knife nuts seem to see it as an indicator of quality. Personally, I sharpen every new knife before I use it so I can have it the way like it. I encourage knife nuts everywhere who are not practiced at sharpening to improve their sharpening skills or sharpening equipment. Not only will you enjoy your knives more but you'll quit worrying about how the edge is "out of the box." What matters is how it is after you need to sharpen it, not how it is "out of the box." Take care.
 
Fred, I agree to a point. A dull edge with a set of decently thin and uniform bevels doesn't bother me. A dull edge with a set of 50 degree bevels annoys me to no end, becuase it takes me hours, sometimes days to fix it. It should just be thin enough in the first place.
 
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