Help with filing jig

R

Rminton

Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Messages
9
Im a new knife maker. I'm just now graduating from kit knives to stock removal. I do all my work in a small inner city studio. I don't have room for many power tools and do most of my work by hand. I built a filing jig to bring bevels with a bastard file

o9nxhw.jpg


I am running into a problem and hoping someone can help. I'm currently filing bevels on knives that aren't completely flat on the cutting edge. Like this

1zdu3x3.jpg


The issue I'm having is the bulge in the body is thinning more than the higher points (such as towards the tip and towards the plunge).

Is there a way to fix this other than simply grinding more in the areas which are remaining thicker?
 
One of the problems is the angle of the file will not be the same at the ricasso as it is at the tip. You need to set the angle separately for the tip and the for the belly.

File one and then reset the angle and file the other.
 
On that top knife you should be able to get a flat bevel without moving the knife around. You just have to work at evening filing it. Keep the upper bevel line straight, work a little more in the areas where the bevel is sagging.

On that bottom knife, geometry is working against you. With the recurve (inside curve towards the handle) the outside edges of the file will hit before the belly of the file, its a little hard to explain in words but essentially you are trying to press something flat against a curved surface. I made the same mistake on my first knife and realized I had to switch to a small file (roughly 1/4" wide) in order to get the recurve part ground even. Here was mine as I was working on in. You can see I still don't quite have it following the blade edge yet. I'm switching between a 1/4" wide file and a regular file:

KUT3tFt.jpg
 
You could try using a Half round file to get into those contours. You will have to be more diligent about moving the file around so as to not cut a bunch of groves into the bevel, but it would let you get into those contours.
-Tanner
 
I would strongly suggest not to get hooked in filing jigs.
Just trace your marking lines and use the correct techniques for filing. If you are not yet familiar with draw filing i suggest you to google it.
Hand filing can get incredibly accurate with a bit of experience, and many of us actually prefer it vs the 2x72 when it comes to set the geometries.
 
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