Choppers regrinds, refinish (TOPS,KH Khukri) lots of pics

[andico99]

Hi,

I decided to regrind and refinish some of my heavy choppers.

Almost everyone agrees the the TOPS Knives are notorious for obtuse grind and the ugly tacticool black epoxy coating that prevent smooth cuts.

Some of the blade design are nonetheless unique. I got myself a TOPS PUNISHER M4X( I know, a movie prop), and 2 Steel Eagle 111a, due to their unique designs.

The knives are dull like wedges when i first received them. They can't cut, can't chop, can't slice. It's basically a prybar with a dull edge.

I got so fed-up with them, i swear i will never touch them ever again.

But everything change after I bought myself a belt sander. I striped their coating with epoxy cleaner. and reground the bevel.

The M4X, was a basicly a steel spatula.
I ground down all the fancy features (ie.tri-symetric grind :grumpy on that blade and convexed it. Now it is the sharpest tool in my shed. It push cut newsprint with zero effort.

The Steel eagle 111a, It is my favorite knife, but it was a prybar with an edge. You are better of crushing things with it, than cutting thing.
I convexed the edge and shoulder of the Saber grind. And sent it to bead blasting.

The second Steel eagle , I was horrified by the amount of tool marks and pits on the blade. Even the bead blast finished cannot mask the horrible marks on the blade.
So i bit the bullet and sand the damn thing on with wet/dry 80grit to 220grit.
After 10hours of hand sanding. I managed to remove huge amount of the tool marks but some marks are way to deep to be remove. I kept the default stealth jet like profile on this one. This is truly hell to hand sand 1095.

Finally, i reground the KH Khuhri to full convex. Result: chopping beast.

I would like some of your recommendations on the final touch on the second steel eagle.
The saber grind makes it difficult for me to put a satin finish on the bevel, what tools should i use to sand it down for a satin finish??

Should i put patina on these reborn beasts??

 

[Jason B.]

Very nice, is that a hamon line I see?

 

[C.S. Graves]

Should i put patina on these reborn beasts??

Unless you feel the aesthetic of a forced patina wouldn't suit any of these blades, I'd say go for it. Also, folk have put nice dark finishes on blades with gun blue if you have any.

 

[andico99]

Very nice, is that a hamon line I see?

HI KnifeNut,

I was wondering the same thing, i saw this line after removing the coating with the stripper (no pun intended:jerkit, and after the bead blast, the line became more obvious and visible. i am sure that tops will not do differential tempering with their knife. Maybe it is more of a defect that can be mask by the "tacticool black traction coating.


Hi C.S. Graves,

We have no access to these bluing material on this side of the world. it's a sheeple world i am in.
i am putting some serious thoughts in patinas.
I know that vinegar and mustard can achieve a patina, however, the shading effect is unpredictable.. i want a uniform shade instead of random shade with dark and white patches.


any idea on how to achieve that with common household items???

 

[Jason B.]

They do differential temper, even the small blades.

 

[andico99]

They do differential temper, even the small blades.

I guess heat treating is something they are good at, coz the edge is fricking HARD. I was sharpening the Steel eagle with the lansky. I took me forever regrind the profile with the extra coarse stone.

 

[C.S. Graves]

i am putting some serious thoughts in patinas.
I know that vinegar and mustard can achieve a patina, however, the shading effect is unpredictable.. i want a uniform shade instead of random shade with dark and white patches.


any idea on how to achieve that with common household items???

Hmm, well some folk have had success using white vinegar that's been heated up. Increased temperature seems to improve the patination process. Perhaps you could saturate some paper towel with it and wrap it around the blades and let it sit for a while.

I've had my best results with ferric chloride brushed on. If you're willing to go out of your way to get the stuff, it's likely available at electronics stores that sell individual components and the like.

Whatever method you use, getting the blades clean with hot water and a de-greaser of some kind will help prevent splotches in your etch.

 

[Jason B.]

Cut a lemon in half and rub the blade, the patina will come out very even.

 

[andico99]

knifenut1013, C.S.Graves,
Thankyou for the advices, i will do the lemon vinegar trick after i sharpen the blade.
However, i have another problem with sharpening the blade. I just realized that the bevel was ground unevenly from the factory.

This is the reason why the Lansky is not biting into the edge, the extra coarse stone is only polishing this bump while gliding on it !

How is this suppose to happen?
What can i do to flatten the bump?

Thankyou all for the help.

 

[nevermind35]

Unfortunately you'll have to continue grinding the bump down until it is flattened out. Just keep doing what your doing and make sure you clean your diamond hones with hot soapy water every half hour or so. It will make it go faster.