How thin before sharpening?

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Feb 10, 2021
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I know in the stickies, there are thickness recommendations before HT, but I'm at the point where I'm grinding down the bevel edge to prepare it for sharpening. Any recommendations on how thin the edge should be for that? I'm using 1/8" 1084 and it's already been HTed.

Thanks for any feedback or links where I can read more!
 
I don't measure them, but on kitchen knives, I go between .005" and .001", depending on the function of the knife.
My standard method is to take the blade down to a nearly sharp edge on 220 or 400 grit belt, then sharpen at the desired angle. This makes a very sharp slicing edge. It also makes sharpening take only a few strokes.

Hunting knives are between .010" and .005". Swords and large chopping blades are in the .020" to .015" range.

1/8" is pretty thick for any non-hard use blade. Campers, choppers, etc. can be 1/8" and 3/16" thick at the spine, but most every knife made for cutting things is better at .09" to .06". Measure some commercial high quality knives and you will be surprised to find that some are only .040" thick.

For my kitchen blades I use .060" stock for most of them, and the heavier use blades, like chef's knives, are .090".
 
This is something I notice on my old knives, they are too thick.
They would start to look like knives and I would stop grinding.
My recent knives are much thinner and cut much better.
 
My standard method is to take the blade down to a nearly sharp edge on 220 or 400 grit belt, then sharpen at the desired angle. This makes a very sharp slicing edge. It also makes sharpening take only a few strokes.

This is great. I'm currently getting the bevel down with 80 grit sandpaper (by hand) and am getting to a nice thin edge. I'll switch up to a finer grit. Thanks!
 
If you are doing hand shaping and polishing, you might want to try some EDM stones.
These are great before switching to paper for the final finish.
The ones from Congress tool are good.
Search item #EDM1201126 to get on the right page. After that you can select some different grits.
I use a lot more of the 120 grit than the higher ones. My last order was 6 of the 120, 2 at 220, and 2 at 320...
 
If you are doing hand shaping and polishing, you might want to try some EDM stones.
These are great before switching to paper for the final finish.
The ones from Congress tool are good.
Search item #EDM1201126 to get on the right page. After that you can select some different grits.
I use a lot more of the 120 grit than the higher ones. My last order was 6 of the 120, 2 at 220, and 2 at 320...

Wow, those are nice! Thanks!

Not overly pricey either. What sizes do you recommend?
 
If you don't have a micrometer or at least some feeler gauges to check it with a standard
credit card is an OK reference. I'd go a fair bit thinner for most knives and about/almost that thickness for a camp knife. If you need more than a 220 belt to apex the microbevel it is probably too thick.

I think the standard .020" is way too thick for almost anything but an overbuilt chopper.
 
I know in the stickies, there are thickness recommendations before HT, but I'm at the point where I'm grinding down the bevel edge to prepare it for sharpening. Any recommendations on how thin the edge should be for that? I'm using 1/8" 1084 and it's already been HTed.

Thanks for any feedback or links where I can read more!
At my current skill level, I am getting the edge down to about 0.006-0.008 on the grinder (thinner and I tend to burn the edge). Recently I have been doing more hand sanding, and that can bring the edge down to 0.002 or less - without risk of burning the edge. :-)
 
How do you use them? As-is, or attached to a stiff backer of wood/metal/plastic?
The size I got are perfect to hold directly.
The 6" length lets you see the angle well which is good for polishing the spine.
I also use them as a block to wrap with sandpaper.
(I did have a mishap on a highly polished tanto last year when the 1500 grit paper wore through and the 120 block scratched my bevel...)
 
C Cushing H. just for some info, I bought a 4 foot long piece of 1/8th inch by 1/2inch steel and cut it into little pieces and use those as a backing for my sandpaper. Right now, the 3 inch long piece gets the most use. Works really well.
 
Just depending on the steel and heat treat but hard use bushcrafters around 15 thou, hunters 10-5 thou, kitchen from 5-1 thou. Example: I can take a 3v edge thinner on a bushcrafter than I can one in 1095. A yanagiba with urasuki will be thinner than a standard chefs knife and so on
 
At my current skill level, I am getting the edge down to about 0.006-0.008 on the grinder (thinner and I tend to burn the edge). Recently I have been doing more hand sanding, and that can bring the edge down to 0.002 or less - without risk of burning the edge. :)
Slow your grinder speed down and use a sharp belt. The abrasive belt should not burn the edge. It should cut
 
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