How hard would it be to change a D2 RAT7 to convex grind by hand?

Hawk45

Hawk45

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Jan 28, 2005
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I have an old RAT7 I was thinking of doing a little work on just for fun. I'm going to reprofile the grips and was thinking of changing the blade to a full convex grind. I wanted to do this as a project and I don't have a grinder so will just be using a strop and sand paper/mouse pad.

I've heard it take a LONG time on 1095... so figure on D2 will be 5x as long. Thoughts? Tips/tricks?

Thanks,
John
 
Pay the few bucks to send it to richardj if you are determined to go convex. D2 is a bear of a steel and it may run you more in sandpaper to convex than just sending it out.
 
yeah D2 can take a long time to re-profile with sand paper. It is one tough steel depending on the heat treat. I would send it to a pro and save your self the time and sand paper. :) if u do decide to go it by hand u should take pictures and keep us updated.
 
Sending it out would be best, however.... I have sharpened a number of non-convex knives using sandpaper and allowed the process to "naturally" occur. I have never had great results (nor "finished" a blade) but if it is a user why not play?
TC
 
Took me 4 hours to do a D2 sodbuster from Queen. It's fun. The next one was met with a DMT diamond kit and convex is pretty much a thing of the past. Made my shoulder sore.
 
Hawk45 said:
changing the blade to a full convex grind.
Click to expand...

if you're not talking about convex sharpening but actually full convex grind from spine to edge, i'm not even sure if it's possible to do this by hand with sandpaper over soft mat. don't think so, even with 1095, even with any steel if you ask me.

that's even more crazy than the folks i have seen mirror polishing a whole blade on flat bench stones from coarse all the way to 10K.
 
Do you mean to convex just the EDGE, or fully convex the BLADE? ...because those are two VERY different things.

I have reprofiled several V edges into nice convex ones using only sandpaper and strop, and YES it can be very time consuming. Especially if you are new to the process and still learning.

But it is very doable, and an extremely valuable skill to learn if you are into blades. I say take an old cheap knife and try it. Keep at it until you get the hang of it before doing it on your good knife.

....Kind of like the old teach a man to fish thing, once you learn how to do it your self you will love your knives that much more, and never have to rely on someone else to keep your knives sharp. :thumbup:
 
pwet said:
if you're not talking about convex sharpening but actually full convex grind from spine to edge, i'm not even sure if it's possible to do this by hand with sandpaper over soft mat. don't think so, even with 1095, even with any steel if you ask me.

that's even more crazy than the folks i have seen mirror polishing a whole blade on flat bench stones from coarse all the way to 10K.
Click to expand...

You beat me to it! I was goin to say the same thing about making a FULL convex blade. ...haha. :D
 
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