• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Convexing Helga, any ideas?

oXide

oXide

Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
1,641
Whoops, I meant convEXing.

Anyhow, I'm working on the second mod to Helga (BK2 for those that don't know, which is probably most of you), and that's convexing her. I read a few threads ago that sandpaper and a soft backing would work, I believe Deadfall posted it, but I was wondering about 2 things, one specific and one open ended.


Specific: Does the foam pad on the back of an orbital hand sander work for doing this? No it will not be running.

Open Ended: Are there any other recommendations for doing this?
 
Well, I have no experience with the sander but, if I were to give any advice:

-Be patient

-Practice, practice, PRACTICE!

-Don't skip on grits and make sure that you are spending enough time with each grit

-Use less and less pressure as you move up the grits

-Experiment; remember, Lila (or 'free play') is what allows for the expansion of human creativity and innovative design. Sharpen like you have nothing to loose and don't go into it expecting anything. That is how true perfection is achieved

-Use what works for you



Hope that helps a little. If you ever need help just e-mail me; I'll walk ya through as much as I can! Any other advice/tips/whatever you need, do not be afraid to ask.

Good luck!
 
DeadFall27 said:
Well, I have no experience with the sander but, if I were to give any advice:

-Be patient

-Practice, practice, PRACTICE!

-Don't skip on grits and make sure that you are spending enough time with each grit

-Use less and less pressure as you move up the grits

-Experiment; remember, Lila (or 'free play') is what allows for the expansion of human creativity and innovative design. Sharpen like you have nothing to loose and don't go into it expecting anything. That is how true perfection is achieved

-Use what works for you



Hope that helps a little. If you ever need help just e-mail me; I'll walk ya through as much as I can! Any other advice/tips/whatever you need, do not be afraid to ask.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks, and your post from the 'Convexing BK2' thread (I forgot the OP's name) helped a ton, I wen't and dug that up from page 2 or 3 and rereading that helped alot, so far I think I've done half decent in making the shape on the belly, I can't find any more shoulder there, but it's dull as a hammer, where as closer to the tip still has shoulders and is sharper. What is a good indication of sharpness, I know on a standard V edge the 'stickiness' or 'gripiness' are decent tests without shaving hair or paper, but does this method apply to convex edges as
well?
 
Leather strop! A leather strop is by far the best backing when convexing. I've tried foam, mousepads, paper towels, books...Nothing is better IMO than a leather strop. I used 80 grit wetndry sandpaper for my BK-2 (wetting with WD-40 increases the papers life and help lubricate the blade) and eventually move down to a lighter grit paper (eg. 80, 120, 300, 600, 1500 and strop). My BK-2 took me about 9 hours to do so expect to be there for a while...If it takes alot shorter you've probably done it wrong or your a sharpening genius.

Here the results from mine (If you havent seen it already):
PS: This is right off the 80 grit paper, no other papers used.


BK-2 Convex Edge by CamH_16, on Flickr
 
You can always test the edge on your thumbnail. Hole it at a ~45 degree angle (I believe) and see if it sicks when you apply pressure. Feeling your fingertips also helps, but please do not slide them along the edge!

What grits have you done so far? When I first re-profiled my 2 at 100 grit, the edge was acceptable and could cut paper fairly well. As I moved up grits, it got progressively better and didn't shave 'til I hit the strop.

Focus on trying to knock off all of the shoulders if you haven't already , then begin to strop on the paper in full motions. Remember to lift your hand up to follow the belly going from heel to tip or lower your hand if going from tip to heel. I have found that going from tip to heel sharpens the belly more if I am not doing it correctly. Try going from heel to tip and see how that goes if you aren't already; that should help fix that problem.

Are you just convexing the edge, going up to the flats or doing a full-height?

-Don't press to hard or the paper will come up over the edge (I've rolled the edge on my 2 that way before)
-Use the sharpie method to have visual conformation that you are in fact hitting the edge
-Try to keep that consistent angle

With my 2 at 100 grit, the edge I get is just a good working edge so don't really worry too much if you can't shave or anything spectacular with it at that low of a grit range.
 
CamH_16 said:
Leather strop! A leather strop is by far the best backing when convexing. I've tried foam, mousepads, paper towels, books...Nothing is better IMO than a leather strop. I used 80 grit wetndry sandpaper for my BK-2 (wetting with WD-40 increases the papers life and help lubricate the blade) and eventually move down to a lighter grit paper (eg. 80, 120, 300, 600, 1500 and strop). My BK-2 took me about 9 hours to do so expect to be there for a while...If it takes alot shorter you've probably done it wrong or your a sharpening genius.

Here the results from mine (If you havent seen it already):
PS: This is right off the 80 grit paper, no other papers used.


BK-2 Convex Edge by CamH_16, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Listen to him; he knows what he is talking about :thumbup:
This is how my Opinel looked after 80 as well!

Very nice work btw my friend.
 
If you really want to see some impressive convexing videos look up virtuovice on youtube he has many really nice videos but they are lengthy.
 
So far I got about 45 minutes or so done on the 80 emery paper I have, not great stuff, but I'll pick up some wet'n'dry next time I'm at a hardware store, along with WD40 (gotta get a lot more of that stuff), and some stainless hardware for both my knives. The only grits of emery paper I have after 80 is 100, 150, and 220, so I don't expect a perfect mirror finish, I just want a decent edge, doesn't have to be shaving sharp till mid summer when I have no excuse for having anything lesser than that.
 
DerekH said:
Are you just convexing the edge, or are you trying to do more?

I ask because if you are trying to do just the edge, the method I posted here worked very quickly and was fairly easy to pull off. Used this method on my BK16 the other day (just the edge).

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...tory-edge-to-convex-with-the-BK2-(and-others)
Click to expand...

I think I'm just gonna do the edge, unless there is a huge advantage other than shiny cutting edges to convexing the entire grind.
 
oXide said:
I think I'm just gonna do the edge, unless there is a huge advantage other than shiny cutting edges to convexing the entire grind.
Click to expand...

I've been getting along just fine with just a convexed edged pretty well for quite some time now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top