Edge Grinding / Spearpoint

S

Sabo

Joined
Apr 8, 2000
Messages
1,464
Hello hip-cats,

I have a spearpoint HMF that I am about to play with. I got it for my birthday last year and I am just now getting around to it. (Thanks S )

Being that the spearpoint is kind of nasty to manipulate anyway, I thought that I would put a 17 degree grind on the "ole boy" just to make it more devilish. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A DOUBLE EDGED RAZOR!!!
smile.gif


Question to the forumites...What degree do you sharpen your daily "bali" to and why. If you were to edge a Bali for self defensive purposes, what kind of grind would it have.



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lokai.gif

Sabo 29
"Catch you on the flip side"!
 
22 degrees for just about everything. I keep my PST's blade at 11 degrees. Now that's a razor. But, you pretty much have to sharpen it after every use. I hardly ever use the blade on my PST since I have my AFCK and often a balisong with me at all times too. That's why I took to sharpening it at 11 degrees. I only use the PST in special situation requiring a razor-sharp edge. When I really need it, I've got it.

For defensive use, sharpness is good, but you still want a durable edge.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
When it is said 22 degree, is it overall edge geometry, i.e. the angle between one side of the blade to the other side?

I use the CROC stick which gives about 40 degree overall that still cuts well and do not need resharpening that often. That depends on the edge holding char. of the steel though. If it is better, I can have thinner edge without having to often resharpen.
 
There are several ways to grind a blade, but the three most common edges are the "chisel grind," the "flat grind," and the "hollow grind" A chisel ground blade is ground from only one side. The other is flat. A flat ground blade is ground on both. In most cases, both sides of a saber grind are ground to the same angle. The 22 degrees I mentioned is for one side. So, the total angle between the two edges would be 44 degrees, about the same as your 40 degrees. A hollow-ground blade is also ground from both sides usually at the same angle, but the edge us hollowed-out, curved inward. This must be done by hand, so it's found only on hand-made knives.

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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com

[This message has been edited by Gollnick (edited 05-29-2001).]
 
sabo,

what can one do in terms of manipulation with a double-edged bali? it seems to me that such a feature would cut down on the number of techniques you could safely perform...

aleX.


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why do i carry it? *sigh* i guess you'll never understand...
 
I don't know about edge retention issues. That's a question you might want to ask in one of the other forums. But, I'll bet that if you search a bit in the archives, you'll find that topic discussed before.

One of the balisongs that I manipulate regularly is a spearpoint. It just adds to the fun. There are certain types of manipulations that I have not yet figured out how to do on the spearpoint, finger twirls, for example. But most everything else is just a matter of moving the knife's energy around without ricochets. Since finger twirls are one of my personal favorites, I have to be very careful to keep in mind that this is a double edged blade and I can't do those. Someday, I'm gonna forget.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Chris Anagarika:
Thanks Chuck,
Is it true that a convex ground blade would have better edge retention?</font>
Click to expand...
Edge retention has more to do with heat-treat and the steel/material used than edge geometry. A convex edge has more strength than a flat ground or hollow ground blade because there is more material supporting the edge; less chance to chip out. A properly ground and heat-treated convex blade made out of a high carbon alloy steel is, IMVHO, the best of the best. I do like the flat ground 154CM stainless blade on my S.W.A.T. Tiger after a good touch-up on my ceramics; it slices like nobodies business but is too thin for any heavy duty work. It flexes nicely but would snap off in a second if abused. Long live the Bali-Song USA customs and their 3/16th inch blade stock!!!
 
Chuck is correct when he mentions that a full double edge adds to the fun.
I don't do the ricochets,so I haven't bothered to find a way to safely do any of those.Some finger twirls can be done no matter what style of blade you have,although you'd have to be careful with one of mine,since you have to trap the blade into the handle for a split second before the safe handle can come in to close.
For most of the standard manipulations,it's easy to drop the blade speed by extending the wrist a little further at the end of a swing (before it's reversed to another direction).A full double edge is great for teaching you how to use your wrist a lot more.Most of my normal techniques rely on finger dexterity,and *very* little wrist movement.But,when doing them with a double edge,I have to add more wrist movement.
If you're not sure how you'd use a double edge,just use a single edged blade (taped of course),and just use the lock handle (on a Batangas style).Watch the spots where your edge would normally hit you,then find ways to minimize the hits.I've found many ways around the problem of the edge cutting into me,some just barely tap the skin,others drag across the skin,which doesn't hurt at all.You just need to learn how to cut down on the blade force when it's about to come into contact with the skin.


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*The* Lunatic Puppy
It wasn't me...It was my *good* twin..
My "inner puppy" made me do it..
 
Chuck, Dawkin and MacCanine,
Thanks!

Is the flexing of wrist if done right and smoothly will seem to be Perrin's technique mentioned somewhere else?

I seem to go off tangent a lot, don't I?
smile.gif
 
Chickened out on the spearpoint so far. Been putting a hand grind on a Utility blade off of a HMF I took from JohnR7. Alot of work so far but HOLY CAT what a nice edge.

My spearpoint does not exactly show even on the sides. Gonna be hard to do that one.

!???Does anyone have a thought as to how one might secure a spearpoint into a Lansky sharpening system? Tried shims without much luck!
frown.gif


Regards,


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lokai.gif

Sabo 29
"Catch you on the flip side"!
 
To mount spearpoints and other similarly troublesome blades in my Gatco Edgemate, very similar to the Lansy, I clean the blade throughly and then apply a layer of electrical tape down the center of the blade. The soft, plastic electrical tape helps the clamp hold on.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Thanks Chuck! Will give that a shot after I finish the utility blade.

Best regards,



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lokai.gif

Sabo 29
"Catch you on the flip side"!
 
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