Convex reprofile of a Perrin Street Beat

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Apr 28, 2007
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I'm about three hours into turning the Street Beat convex, about 80% done at this point.

Took it about 60% of the way with a DMT fine, but due to the recurve and my lack of skill, I couldn't get as much metal off the tip and in a region between the choil and belly as I would have liked without eroding the hell out of the belly with my flat hone.

Thus I decided to take it the rest of the way with a strop (BRKT black compound) where I'd have more control and treat it as a multi-hour Zen exercise.

The blade is getting progressively sharper as I test with paper from time to time, and it's already decently better than factory. I haven't even begun the green compound yet, still trying to remove a lot (relatively speaking) of metal quickly (also very relatively speaking).

The tip area is still not fully rounded, but the rest of the blade is pretty much done. I'll try to put in a little bit of time every day after tonight's marathon session and git 'er done without developing arthritis.

All in all, I think the strop is an awesome tool, and the convex edge kicks ass. I can appreciate the speed and practicality of maintaining a v-edge on a daily worker blade, but for special-purpose cutters such as your primary hunter or a SD tool like the Perrin, I think it's worth it to spend the time and develop an exceptional edge.

I think this Perrin is going to come out scary sharp. Spyderco VG-10 is good stuff.
 
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My automatic point-and-shoot is a bear to use for macro at night, but here's one look at the tip that remains to be done. The scratches are very much amplified by the flash, and can surely be buffed out later if need be.

No green compound polishing took place at this point, as there's still a bunch of metal to be removed from the tip area. I've been stropping with more pressure than you'd want for sharpness, just to speed up metal removal. Once the tip is good to go, I will ease off and stop molesting the edge, and proceed to the green compound.



Maybe in better light I can photograph the Dremel-based cleanup of the manufacturing unevenness that I'd posted about a couple months ago.
 
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Try using wet/dry coarse sandpaper backed by cardboard or leather. You'll achieve the same results with less time.

Just a thought to consider ...

NJ
 
It's basically done. There is perhaps a tiny area at the tip where the convex curve doesn't reach quite all the way to the edge, but it will be gone in the course of a few maintenance sharpenings.

Did a pass with green compound; the edge is gleaming and push cuts like crazy. I would have to say the convex Street Beat experiment is a success!
 
What a great project! I bet it's a 100% improvement on an already great knife.

I will second Native Justice on the sandpaper. In fact, you would use it the same as your strop, you could even attach it to the strop, and get the whole job done (next time!) with the same basic tool.

But zen is good too.
If it gets the job done right,
how doesn't matter.​
 
Thanks for the sandpaper tip. I think the "wax on, wax off, Daniel-san" routine I just followed has improved my stropping technique enough to use sandpaper safely next time around.
 
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