How Important Are Factory Bevels?

T

Tonie Nichols

Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
277
I've been trying my hand at sharpening for the last year and even had a little help from a professional knife maker. I'm using Norton Carborundem and India (aluminum oxide) stones and finishing up with the Sharpmaker sticks, a 6000 grit Japanese Water Stone and a green rouge impregnated strop.

I've been getting pretty good results on the cheap knifes, my Cold Steel and even a well used Spyderco Goddard. But now I wanted to take on a brand new knife, a Byrd Wings.

When I got this knife, brand new, the plain edge blade was just plain old duulll. So I thought I’d touch it up.

Now I am the first one to admit that I'm still learning, but no matter how I try, I just can't get an edge on that thing. Up until now, I've been trying to maintain the factory bevel angles, but I've gotten to the point where I think that the angle is just too obtuse for the way I'm sharpening.

But before I start changing the bevels, I wanted to get some opinions from you who have been there done that. Is there really any reason to try to maintain the factory bevel on a Byrd? Or on a user Spyderco in general?

Thanx for any info you care to share.
 
Sounds like your not sharpening all the way to the edge. Mark your edge with a sharpie and give her hell until you remove all marker. This may take awhile, but until this happens and you feel the burr you will be stuck at step 1. Sorry.... factory bevels mean almost nothing.
 
Seconded. Factory bevels are irrelevant, except inasmuch as they dictate how much effort you're going to have to put in to get the blade how you want it.
 
Thirded.

You should put the proper angle for your use on your blades. It is nice when it comes really close from the factory, though. Less time spent reprofiling.

I usually go to 15-degrees per side for edc use. Some knives are more or less acute depending on steel and intended use.
 
Thank you all. Glad to hear it, I suspected as much, just wanted a little back up.

'Preciate ya'll for chimin' in.
 
230grains said:
I convex all my knives, initial bevels are irrelevant.
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I have a few convex knives and my best friend is really into convexing, but at this time I want to master regular bevels, then I'll get into convexing. I've done a little sharpening for guys at my mill and I hope to eventually make a few dollars to support my knife habit.

I've got a small belt sander and will be looking forward to learning how to use it.
 
Yes there are basicly 2 ways to get a knife sharper. Thin the edge. Polish the edge. Or, do both. Don't worry about the factory edge hardly any factory edge is even worth keeping.
 
For the most part, the only real value to a factory edge is that it reduces the amount of work needed to apply a proper edge. :)
 
Dog of War said:
For the most part, the only real value to a factory edge is that it reduces the amount of work needed to apply a proper edge. :)
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agreed, though sometimes you had wished they never even touched it.
 
S30V and D2 will wear out a lot of sandpaper before you get the edge you desire. Stick with the sharpmaker or some diamond stones unless you have a belt sander.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Dog of War said:
For the most part, the only real value to a factory edge is that it reduces the amount of work needed to apply a proper edge. :)
Click to expand...
agreed, though sometimes you had wished they never even touched it.
Click to expand...
No kidding. I haven't had a burned one in awhile, but I've had a few that were so one-sided -- usually to correct a funky overall blade grind -- that it would have been less work if they'd never applied any edge at all.
 
If you have a Sharpmaker already and want to use that take coarse sandpaper and wrap that around the SM rods. If your looking to buy something the DMT hones are hard to beat. You can always rest the DMT hone on the Sharpmaker also if you like useing the SM. :)I still have and use often a cheap $5 black silica hone found at almost any hardware store. It will dish out and need to be flattened but works just fine to grind in edges.
 
I exclusively use DMT benchstones because of their speed and effectiveness. Also using the same type of abrasive from start to finish makes the learning curve much shorter, each type of abrasive has its own technique and trying to get that technique while switching from stone to stone will only cause confusion and frustration even for a experienced sharpener.

The size of the stone needed has little to do with the size of the knife, though the bigger the stone the easier it will be to sharpen any blade. I like the 8x3 stones because it allows me to have more working area and the EEF stone that as of now is only offered in the diafolds, aligner stones, and 8x3 benchstones.

If you like good steel like me then I highly suggest investing in diamond hones,
 
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