Chopping with a lightly damaged edge?

DanR217

DanR217

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I broke my $30 camera from wally mart (surprise, surprise) so I can't take pics, but I dinged the edge on my NMFBM on a hidden wood staple nail in the oak log I chop at. With KC and Blade I know the shop is swamped and rather than send it in right now (figured it would be about the same wait if I waited till the gang is back and rested from Blade), I was wondering, basically, if I'm going to make it any worse by continuing to use it to chop wood? There are three small rolls and they were glancing hits to the wood staple nail so it's very minimal damage.

I have a wicked edge, but I want to keep it convexed. I ended up not liking the V edge on my KZII and sent in to have it Beefed up (I never get tired of saying that :D ) and I've never tried to 'vex an edge, so my beautiful Battle Mistress XL is not going to be the guinea pig. I'm also not going to trust anyone else with it, so service providers are out, I keep the satin finish beautiful even under heavy use and although it's a sin to admit it, I don't want it scratched unnecessarily.

I don't think it will be a problem, the rolls will probably steel out over a little time, but I just want to make sure I'm not going to make physics mad at me and cause an accident (if there's a one in a million chance something will go wrong, trust me, I'll accidentally exploit it...) or damage the knife more.
 
Steel out the rolls as best you can with a big, smooth, screwdriver shaft, then go back out there and beat it like a rented mule.
 
D-Bo, I don't think that you will have much problem If it is just rolls, those can be dressed out rather easy and your back in business. I knocked the edge up pretty good on a WAKI when I over swung and clocked some rocks:mad:. I pulled out my SPEEDY SHARP and got jiggy on the edge. It reshaped the edge in no time and back to work. The key is just take your time and always be vigilant of your blade angle. I have been free hand sharping my entire life, (I don't use gadgets) and it just take time and patience.
 
Same as Russ, I free hand sharpen .....mine is some old broken x-fine or fine lansky style stone. It was part of a kit, but never cared for the set angles as it always extended the grind near the tips. But after a while it seems to naturally convex the edges of my most used blades.

Don't worry about nicks and small dents, they work themselves out and WILL happen wih any dedicated chopper. It will in no way hinder performance.
 
You know you could fix it right? Wet dry paper on a leather strap. Easiest way to sharpen honestly. I also understand not wanting to learn on a expensive knife, but this is a skill you should look into learning, especially since you use em.

The ding won't hurt anything except performance as you get more.
 
A properwhooping may work the dings out. Personally i would use the large screwdriver method to smoosh the dings back straight and let the good times roll.
 
Thanks gang, seems I'm over thinking it and I just need to get back to choppin :thumbup::D:thumbup:
 
I didn't overlook your suggestion gixxer, I was going to post more last night, but I got a little sleepy.

You're right, as soon as I finish the project I'm working on now I need to learn how to care for my 'vexed edges. I'm not even really sure I'm steeling right... Jody said something about smooshing the rolls out... I have a butcher's steel and I use it like a freehand sharpener, pushing/drawing the edge of the blade against it like I'm trying to shave bits off. The things I read say to set the steel vertical, on the ground, and push down, but I'm not comfortable doing it that way with my left hand. I'll give it another shot here in a second...

The only reason you guys are saying a screwdriver is because it's harder steel and it's round, right? My butcher's steel should work fine?

I have a grinder and a set of those paper wheels that I've been saying I'm going to set back up and learn to use well. There's some way you can convex with those, but I need to learn the basics first.
 
Only use the butcher's steel if it's smooth, not grooved. The grooved steels act like a file.
You can use a steel railing, the spine of a satin blade, smooth spot on a pair of pliers. . .
The possibilities are endless. It doesnt have to be harder than the knife.
 
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