Fast re-profiling of Queen D2 edge

F

Frisky

Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
495
In reading posts on Queen knives and their D2 edges, it seems many folks have difficulty getting these knives sharp. I picked up an early 2000s Queen fixed blade in D2, new old stock, and saw the steep edge angle people speak of. My edge was fairly sharp, but I didn't like that steep angle at all. If you're looking for a 25-30 degree angle, you won't be able to do things like I do, but those of you who like 20-21 degree or so angles might want to try this method. Just run an Accusharp over the edge, 12-15 times, and it will lower that steep edge and not hurt the blade in the least. I'm not a fan of the Accusharp for sharpening, but it's a great tool for edge re-profiling. Next, I used my steel on the edge and followed it up with light stropping on a leather belt. I probably spent 7 or 8 minutes total and hair flies off my arm! There's still a sticky sharp feel to the edge, but it will be great for deer skinning. It would take more work to polish the edge, but I prefer sticky sharp. The bottom line is it doesn't have to be a long, hard process to put a shallow angle on a Queen D2 blade. You just need the right tools for the job.

Joe
 
Are you talking inclusive angles? The Accusharp will give you a 20 degree inclusive angle on the edge? And pulling your edge through the sharpener will tear off 20 degrees inclusive in just 12-15 passes?
 
I use the DMT Aligner Jig from E course to E Fine with great success
A little longer than eight minutes
 
Twindog said:
Are you talking inclusive angles? The Accusharp will give you a 20 degree inclusive angle on the edge? And pulling your edge through the sharpener will tear off 20 degrees inclusive in just 12-15 passes?
Click to expand...

My thoughts too!
 
Sorry for the delay in answering. I couldn't find my original post, lol! I'm not knowledgable on edge angles beyond the basics, and I do all of my sharpening freehand. After over 40 years of sharpening, I got good at putting on wicked edges, but with simple technique. The Accusharp is not something I like to use. My understanding of it was it put around a 20 degree angle on the blade. I took that to mean 10 degrees on each side. Is that correct? My Queen had a fairly wide edge angle. By applying light to medium pressure with the Accusharp, it brought it down. Maybe it took it down to 20 degrees on each side? I can't tell. It doesn't look that much different from the factory edge, but it sure helped me get the edge up to snuff. Now, the edge put on by the Accusharp was not good enough. Really, I think the device puts no better than a rudimentary edge on the blade. However, follow-up steeling and stropping really gave me an edge! I'm a bowhunter and prefer a sticky sharp edge for skinning. However, I like an edge that smoothly cuts paper with no fuzziness to the paper cut at all. I seldom polish an edge for maximum sharpness. What appealed to me about D2 was the talk of a long working edge life. That's what I like in a deer hunting knife. Anyway, go ahead and educate me on edge angles. I'm not certain what inclusive means. I figure it's the sum of the angle on each side?

Joe
 
I doubt the Accusharp is set for a 10° per side angle (20° inclusive); more likely it's 20° per side (40° inclusive). The carbide scraper pull-thru sharpeners seldom go much lower than that; the 40° inclusive angle is almost a defacto standard in mainstream sharpening devices like these (and some are even wider), and many or most of them will reference a 'per side' angle value in their documentation (meaning multiply x2 to get the inclusive value). Especially likely, if you're noticing the new edge doesn't look much different than the factory edge; 10° per side angle would make the bevels appear MUCH wider as compared to the factory's bevel width.


David
 
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David: I think you're right. I thought I was going to get a 20 degree inclusive, but the edge did not look much different from factory. The tool did help me get a much better edge on the knife than I got from just steeling and stropping the factory edge. To be honest, when I first got the knife, I started to work the edge on a fine water stone. It nearly immediately shaved hair! I might go back to the stone and slowly bring the angle down.

Joe
 
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