False Edge Grind Question

Greg Covington

Greg Covington

Joined
Oct 28, 1999
Messages
1,563
Excuse my rough drawing.

I was just wondering everyone's method for grinding the false edge?

I have several Bowies whose false edge is ground to pretty much "sharp" but the geometry is awful confusing.

In the pic where the arrow is shown, several of my Bagwell Bowies have a slight inward curve which causes the tip to have a little lift. Any ideas on the best way to grind this and keep a centerline to a point that is relatively sharp?

Most of the time I will grind a false edge just like a primary...edge into the belt. But it seems like it can be done lengthwise on the face of the contact wheel too. Seems like it would give more control as to where the centerline it.

Any comments?
 

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Ususlly I grind the false edge first then grind what will be the cutting edge and bring it up till the lines meet. How are you doing it? I guess that you could do it on a platen holding the blade vertically, just keep a good grip on it.
 
I used a pair of visegrip flatters to keep from drifting over the plunge area on my last knife. It worked very well and I plan on using the same techniques on my next one which will hopefully feature a false edge. I wish some of the more experienced makers here would chime in on the specifics of hollow, flat or convex grinding their false edges. How do you control the lineup? By hand? With a jig? Details Please!!! :)
 
I (flat) grind the primary bevel first. Then, I grind the false edge on the contact wheel holding it vertically (in line with the belt). I tried grinding it on the platen like you would the primary bevel, but found that was the hard way (at least for me).

Brett
 
Thanks Kaos.....that is what I was thinking. I have done the false edge before by grinding vertically. I can't see any other way to keep the edge even when the clip has a concave curve to it.

Thanks to everyone else too!
 
Normaly my blades have very few recurves, this makes the false edge harder to cut. I use the corner of the belt and finish with a hand file. It sound dangerous and it is, but it works well and fast. On blades without a recurve I just grind them with the plate on the grinder. I always grind my false edge last, don't know why though.

:cool:
 
Well, when forging, I always forge the desired shape of the clip in at the anvil. That's where I get the curve to the clip for raising the tip. I then grind the clip to it's rough dimension on the belt grinder during profiling using the method you mentioned. I orient the blade point down and with very good lighting I 'wing it' by tilting the blade at the approximate angle I want the grind to be and grind each side at the same angle using the same number of strokes until I have an even blunt edge left from the top of the clip to the point. I check my progress after each series of passes to each side just to make sure I'm not getting off track. I do the sharpening after the heat treat during the polishing/scratch removal phase and during the final line shaft edge finishing procedure.

The only thing you really have to be careful of when grinding your clip like that is the tip. You can lose that tip in a heartbeat if you don't follow the same grind path and angle and vary the angle of the blade during each pass. The same as with the primary edge when finish grinding on a flat platen. I flat grind all of my blades unless I'm making a big brute chopper. Then I use a combo edge or one with a flat primary bevel left thick at the edge. Then I roll the edge on a belt sander blending the edge up into the flat grind without ever touching the flat bevel area. Works for me. But I always do my clip the same because it's really a moot point anyway. Just mainly for looks except in the case of a fighter. That's the way it looks from Paris, Arkansas anyway. :D
 
I did the false edge today with the blade held vertical and got a great centerline and even bevels.

Worked real nice!
 
on my rose fighter and buchwacker model i flat grind, then HT then i grind the swege against the palten. i find it easier to get a crisp even grind on the swedge. after HT i am started to vertical flat grind the swedge no opions yet. Xrayed i beleive bagwell dishes the top of the swedge before bringing it in for the final edge. on a large contact wheel,to achive the up raised tip. i have gotten smialar results.
 
That's what I did with the swedge.....it worked great and the bevel was easy to clean up with a 500 grit belt after the heat treat. The lines stayed nice and sharp.

Thanks everyone!
 

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If the clip is a straight line from tang to tip, I scribe a center line and grind perpendicular to the contact wheel. If the clip is not a straight line, I mark a center line and grind parrallel to the belt. Then I very carefully slack belt the bevel to blend in any stray marks. both ways seem to come out very slightly convex.
 
I always grind in my back edges after heat treat and as the last thing I do.This cuts down on warpage during heat treat also.Depending on the type of clip I have or the type of back edge I want tells me the way I will gind it in,Most are ground in flat on the platten with either a plunge cut first or at the angle necessaru to just give a even grind from the back to the tip,on most of my curved clips I will grind against the wheel length wise so I get the grind even in the curve,And I just eyeball the sides until they are even.
Bruce
 
I feel like Shultz in Stalag 17, aahhhk soooo, ahhhhhhhhk soooo, dats how its done!!!
 
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