Grinding Spyder-Edge To Plain Edge

V

Vivi

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http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419331

Originally posted in the Spyderco forum.

I had an Endura 3 that no one wanted to trade for, so I decided to go with my original plans. I just don't have anything I do with a knife on a regular basis that is done best with serrationss o the knife was of little use to me.

I'm roughly 50% done at this point. The knife, near the rear where I've grinded most, is nearly a straight edge. Dimples still remain in the blade and I'm going to grind away at them more. I'm using a 3 inch by .75 inch stone of medium grit, so it's fairly inefficient. Notes so far:

-The over-heating issue mentioned in the thread has not been applicable. I'm holding the knife in one hand, stone in other, and using forceful up and down presses with the stone on the blade, going side from base to tip. The blade has failed to even become warm to the touch.

-This is my first time working with any type of ATS blade (ATS55 specifically). It seems to take a while to grind. It would be interesting to repeat this procedure with a Byrd knife and an S30V Spyderco for comparison.

-The roughly shaped edge that's near plain edge at the very edge is already rather sharp. Pushing through cardboard with much ease. I think the experiement will turn out most favorably, providing me with a new solid plain-edge working knife with an acute grind. I'm undecided at this point if I'm going to give it a more traditional microbevel or grind it flat to the main bevel like a Mora once the serrations are gone.

Here's a photo of the progress made. More will be posted as the knife nears completion:

*Photo pending USB drive driver re-install
 
Photo Update.

Before:

24wve6t.jpg


In-Progress:

33tjgk6.jpg


After:

2hed0gj.jpg


(Backside - Still needs much grinding)

440k5fk.jpg



Rough edge in place. Majority of the grinding was done on a cinder block. The edge still has slight traces of the serration scoops on some parts and is rather chisel ground as well. It shaves roughly as is, so the edge is quite functional. More work will be done to get a more proper V edge, moving away from the chisel style of the serrated knife of before. Very pleased with how it's turned out so far, it works well and I know with some more work to the back side of the edge it will be very sharp and extremely usable. I feel my knife has been given new life.
 
Looks like a lot of hard work! If that's what it takes to get the knife the way you need it, more power to ya. At least it won't languish in a drawer somewhere!
 
A knife is a tool, not a collector car or a painting. Make it how you want it! Good work.
 
Trihonda said:
Just how many hours has this taken so far to get the serrations off? lol
Click to expand...

What I've done so far with a combination of small sharpening stone and cinder block took about 1.5 hours. I was kind of surprised with how long it took, but it was enjoyable.
 
Wow, that origional thread was pretty absurd. Cut off the serrations by cutting into the concrete. Grind the primary down to full then resharpen at the appropriate angle. No danger of overheating, the blade is fully hardened so you are not moving into softer metal, and you will maintain a high level of cutting ability with the drop in the primary grind. Nice job on maintaining the edge curvature, that is the hardest part.

-Cliff
 
Yep, it is silly to think that grinding the serrations off by hand will affect the heat treat. You could do it with a grinder and unless you were stupid about it, it would be fine.

Knifemakers do the basic grinding, heat treat, and then do the final grinding.... On a grinder. During the basic grinding you are applying a lot of pressure and hogging off a lot of steel (which means a lot of time). The steel will be affected by the heat and will get "work hardened". But the final grinding (which does make the knife very hot to the touch) doesn't require as heavy of a hand and doesn't require as much time. The knife does get very hot during the final grinding (as the higher grit belts generate a lot of heat), but the temper isn't affected. A lot of steel is remove by the final grinding. It isn't *just* finishing work as the primary grinds are often brought down as well (since they are often left thick for the heat treat).

So anything you do by hand will be a LOOOONNNNGGGG way from affecting the temper.

One thing a lot of the people in that original thread were not counting on: In undertaking this project, you gained experience that buying a PE knife would not have. It looks like you did a good job. You got to practice grinding and forming a knife edge. And you did it yourself. That is *your* work.
 
Seems like a lot of folks had a problem with you taking the serrations off this knife. I agree with Hair's assessment above. You learned something, and got a knife you like better. Way to go.
 
Vivi , will you polish it up after you've got your desired shape ? That and the actual re-sharpening would be the most daunting tasks , IMO.
Good job though :)
 
Thanks for the kind words.

I currently just have the cinder blocks, my sidewalk, some griptape for a skateboard and my small stone for grinding. I can't put a very polished edge on my knifes if I put a new edge on them. This is one of the reasons I usually just use a rod to touch up the edge on my EDC's, that and it doesn't remove as much material.

Hair, your assesment is right and it's one of the original reasons I wanted to do this. I thought if I could form a nice, functional plain edge, that would give me a lot of satisfaction. As it is, I've only re-profiled 3 knives in my life I think, so it was a pretty fresh experience for me.

Tomorrow morning or later tonight I'm going to work on the backside some, then try to find something around the house I could use to put a more polished edge on. I might take a walk and look for fairly smooth rocks to use, since I think that'd work. I would of done more to it but I've been exhausted the past few days. Been skating to the point of having my leg muscles twitch and cramp just sitting still. :p
 
You can pick up small fine stones at flea market for really cheap, often like $0.50 or more. They will usually be in a sad state but nothing that a little work won't fix.

-Cliff
 
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