Convex to Wedge

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player1219

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Nov 14, 2005
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I'm wanting to buy a brkt recon 1 and am wondering if it would be hard to convert the convex edger to a basic wedge using a sharpmaker? if not are there places i could send it to get it done? i have my heart dead set on the recon 1 but would really prefer not to have a convex edge. thanks for any help you can give!
 
I'm assuming you mean the Bravo 1.... If you've not tried a convex edge, you might want to give it a shot. I had used only V grinds for years before buying my first Bark River, and now I find it pretty easy to maintain the convex edge. I've not done any side-by-side testing of a V-ground blade against a convex edge, but I'm very happy with my convex Barkies.

If you're dead set on doing that, you might be able to get BRKT to do it for you, or you can do it yourself with a stone or with the Sharpmaker (though it will probably take a while).
 
While you can get a v-grind done to the Bravo's convex, what's the point? Convex edges have proven themselves to be very sharp and strong.

It will actually be easier for you to sharpen a convex edge than v-grind. No pesky angles to maintain. But if you want a V-grind, do it yourself on a Sharpmaker, shouldn't be too hard but may take some time to remove all the steel.
 
I beseech you to try the convex edge. You will be amazed at the performance and ease of maintenance. Try it, you'll like it.
 
Youreally should try the convex edge before you decide to turn it into a v-grind.

And NO, BRKT will not grind in a v-edge for you! They are big on customer service, but Mike would probably tell you to buy another knife if you don't want a convex edge! :eek:
 
If the 20degree slots will hit the edge, just sharpen like that for touchups and it will eventually turn into a V grind in time.
 
I agree with the majority here, convex is a good edge, at least give it a try before you put a flat bevel on it. I've been a fan of the convex grind for a long time, really nice cutter, especially for a thickish utility blade, super easy to maintain, and has a lot of support behind the edge. For simple sharpening you can't beat a mouse pad glued to a block of wood, with some sandpaper over it. My standard convex sharpening jig has a mouse pad, split in half to go one on each side, with a different grit on each. I usually use about a 320 grit for course and a 600 for fine. It's not a super polished edge but it cuts like the dickens and takes just a few minutes to hone back to shaving sharp from fairly dull/well used. Great woodworking edge in particular, and good for field dressing and food prep as well.

Don't get me wrong, if you love a v bevel go for it, but really you should give the convex a try. You might end up convexing alot of your other blades.

And while it would work, a sharpmaker would probably take a bit to remove enough steel to get good flats for the v grind. I'd probably go for a diamond or a course stone to take most of the meat off, then go to the sharpmaker to refine the bevel and put the secondary, final bevel on.

Good luck, the Barkies are good knives with a convex or not, youy'll like it.

Syn
 
I know this is a hot topic but let me take the position against convex edges, which is the position I prefer personally.

A few givens. The more acute the bevel angle of the edge, the sharper the blade and the easier it will cut. The more obtuse the bevel angle of the edge, the tougher and stronger the edge. Every blade material and application will require an appropriate bevel angle.

Convex edges are put on knives mostly because they are easy to apply with a belt grinder and belt grinders are the primary sharpening tool in a knife factory. For any given width of bevel, the convex edge will have a more obtuse angle at the edge than a flat ground edge. That is why it is tougher. The curved edge of the bevel also promotes the separation of the cut material from the blade itself. So edge toughness and the curved profile are the selling points of the convex edge.

However, you can grind a more obtuse flat bevel, if you like, to achieve the same toughness. The width of the bevel will be less but the affect will be the same. Then, to promote ease of separation between blade and cut material, one can simply polish the bevels. So you can achieve the same kind of performance profile with a flat grind.

Why, then, use the flat grind? The answer for me is accuracy. I'm a firm believer in using sharpening fixtures to sharpen knife blades. I mean products like those from Edgepro or Lansky and others. These fixtures allow the user to maintain a perfectly consistent angle and that makes the best edge possible at whatever angle it is ground. I've been sharpening knives for a very long time and I can sharpen them extremely well with just my eye, my hands and a few bench stones. But I prefer to use a fixture because I can work faster. It is easier when I don't have to concentrate on holding that angle. I'm pretty good at sharpening by hand but I'm not perfect. The fixtures are pretty much perfect.

These fixtures produce flat bevels and they produce them better and more accurately than I can by hand or even by belt grinder. I can put a mirror polish on the bevels if I'm worried about easy separation between blade and cut material. So the flat bevel produced by a manual sharpening fixture produces the best edges I have ever been able to produce.

In my own experience, most knives come from the factory with a bevel angle that is on the conservative side in terms of angle. They tend to have more obtuse angles that I need for the steels and applications that suit me. So I grind new bevels right out of the box and enjoy better edges. I grind them with a fixture and the results are as good as a knife edge can be.

A convex edge will never cut quite as well as a more acute flat bevel and it can't be maintained with a fixture so inaccuracies will creep in over time.

That's my case for the flat bevel.
 
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