factory edge

swimmerdude1127 said:
another dumb one... obviously an edge pro is a sharpener, where is a good price on one, and is it easy to work for someone who isn't a sharpening pro? (for example, the sharpmaker makes it easy for basically anyone to put a nice edge on a knife)
Click to expand...

I don't know where it is cheapest to get a edge pro as I got mine from Ben many many years ago. It is far superior to the Sharpmaker in getting ridiculous sharp edges and is also much faster. For me it is one of the best sharpening systems out there. The penetrator tips are not at all hard to do. Just use a nice flat stone and you should be fine.
 
swimmerdude1127 said:
wow, thank you all for the help... if i wasn't so busy buying knives, i would invest in an edge pro soon...
Click to expand...

If you have some experience with sharpening, then before investing in Ede-Pro, try Green Rouge ($7 - lifetime supply) on some thin leather screwed to flat piece of wood, and then you may decide do you need this investments or not...

This tools usually need same skills and attention as normal sharpening to achive good results and limited for some things - tip sharpening for example.

Biggest Busse challenge is thick edge with too big angle and for this you need steel eating beast - DMT Extra Extra Coarse D8XX, which is currently only solution. Edge pro will not help here. When you have good edge, best was to sharpen it to hair splitting state - Green Rouge on leather.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
There's a lot of variation in Busse's factory edges... from pretty dull up to quite-sharp-but-can-still-be improved-a-bit-with-home-tools, in my experience.

Some of the mid-weight knives benefit greatly from having the secondary bevels laid back, or even a compound secondary bevel. BAIII comes to mind there. Personally, I think most of the smaller knives need work on the primary bevels to really cut well as EDC tools. I have a re-ground Leaner that cuts like friggin' mad.

The big choppers seem to come with edges pretty well suited to their purpose, although INFI is plenty chip-resistant to allow for some thinning there too.

Remember that a blade's ability to shave is not necessarily the greatest indication of its ability to perform as a general-purpose tool. Although I guess all well-sharpened knives do shave reasonably well.

I like to sharpen my small knives up to about 180 and then strop over that, rather than taking the whole edge way up to a very fine surface. They seem to cut better and last longer that way, presumably owing to the "micro serrations". If shaving were the only criterion, I'd sharpen the edge all the way up to a polished finish before I started stropping.
 
The only knife I've ever bought that I didn't feel the need to improve the edge on was my NWA forum knife. Terrific edge - I just stropped it a little out of habit.

All my Busses have needed edge work in my opinion. None of them were what I consider truly sharp and only one (FBM) had an edge I would even consider close to right for its use - I still thinned it out. However...

I am quite happy to reprofile and sharpen them - it makes them mine. As Ban said, no-one knows what edge I want better than I do. I'm learning to make them still look pretty, too, as well as being screaming sharp.

Another way to look at it: If you wanted a thick edge for a chopper say, but it came with a thin edge, you would have to lose a lot of edge to make it thick. But coming with a thick edge means you have the option of thinning it out if you want without losing blade height.

I tend to think that a lot of Busses never see use (poor blades), so for those the thick, clean edge makes sense. And for those of us who use them, we are are generally more than capable of putting a good user edge on there.

I think my Hell Razor is approaching the sharpness of Death's scythe (for the Terry Pratchet fans). It's cutting things almost before you see the edge touch... I would swear my finger bled a few days ago just by holding it 1/8 inch away!

So, while I'm generally not particularly impressed with the factory edges, I don't see it as a problem.
 
Biggest Busse challenge is thick edge with too big angle and for this you need steel eating beast - DMT Extra Extra Coarse D8XX, which is currently only solution. Edge pro will not help here.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. The coarse (120 grit) Edge pro stone eats INFI like crazy. And I should know because I reprofiled my FBM LE using it. You do need to wet it and clean it often during use though.

Cheers,
Rok
 
Rok said:
Nonsense. The coarse (120 grit) Edge pro stone eats INFI like crazy. And I should know because I reprofiled my FBM LE using it. You do need to wet it and clean it often during use though.

Cheers,
Rok
Click to expand...


I fully agree with Rok on this one. The extra coarse stone that comes with the EdgePro will remove metal like nobody's business. In my opinion it is faster even than the XXDMT. Any faster and it would be hoggin metal like a belt grinder. The only downside is that it needs to be maintained to keep flat and messy. It also wears fairly fast but that is also the reason why it cuts so fast. New cutting media is always exposed. Believe me, those XXcoarse water stones cut damn fast!

Ban
 
Okay, so I've tried sharpening the BATAC several times now.... it just is not getting sharp on the Sharpmaker like my Swamp Rat. I am doing nothing different sharpening wise than I have on many other knives where it worked to a hair-popping edge without too much trouble.

This knife just feels like it will not get sharp... it barely slices paper. My 1/4" thick Mini Mojo outslices it by far...

What is going on?
 
Are the rods actually touching the very edge? Try marking the whole edge with a pen (sharpie, whatever will stick) then do a stroke on the rods, either side. Look at the pen mark and see where it touched. If it's not taken the pen off the edge, it's still reprofiling the edge and could take some time on a sharpmaker.

I sometimes profile with a stone to match the sharpmaker angle, then I can use the sharpmaker to maintain the edge. Never done a Busse like this though.
 
Mark the edge as and re profile the edge until you feel or see a burr. Do not continue onto the other side until you get that burr. Do the same for the other side. When the burr is achieved for both sides repeat the whole process with a finer grit. Towards the end I like to increase the angle slightly and do a couple of light quick strokes with the finer grits to remove the burr before stropping. The first sharpening/re profiling takes the most work. Subsequent sharpenings should be much faster and easier to maintain the edge.

BTW, this process applies whether you are using Edgepro, Sharpmaker, or Freehand Sharpening.
 
After working the edge on the Sharpmaker try stropping it with a piece of leather. I use a fairly large piece of shoe leather that I found at the dump (hey, you'd be amazed...).

I clamped it into place on my desk (rough side up) and that works wonders to put an even better edge on a knife. Just strop it back and forth a few times, keeping the angle as consistent as possible.

I sharpen all my knives (and one GB axe) with a Sharpmaker and so far results have been good. Sometimes I use the rods freehand though (like with the axe). Just a few quick strokes and some stropping on the leather should do it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top