Is 1095 especially difficult to sharpen?

[fireincairo]

I've spent a few hours convexing a Becker BK11 (made of 1095 steel). I've been able to adjust the profile to smooth transition from spine to blade edge, thereby eliminating the original bevel that is typical on a BK11.

I am now at a point, however, that I can't get this thing sharp. I've gone from 320 to 600 to 1,000 to 1,200 to leather strop. It's as dull as can be now.

Then I figure I will try convexing a cheapo made of 440C and it's going a lot quicker than the becker and I went from the 320 to the leather strop and this sucker is poppin' hair. The profile isn't quite as smooth as it should be, and I will need to put more time into that. But the blade is sharp as I've gotten a knife to be in my short time getting acquainted with knives and knife sharpening.

Is 1095 especially hard to sharpen? Or am I just failing at

 

[knarfeng]

I don't know jack about convexing, but 1095 or 1095 Cro Van (which is what KaBar uses) is easy to sharpen. If you can sharpen AUS 8. you can sharpen 1095.

 

[Mossyhorn]

1095 has to be one o the easiest steels to sharpen. I really do not prefer a convex edge on any knife.

 

[Noctis3880]

If you raise a burr, it should be sharp enough to slice paper. If you didn't raise a burr, you shouldn't be moving to the finer grits. If you raised a burr but it's still "dull", your sharpening angle is too obtuse.

 

[HeavyHanded]

1095 - easy to sharpen. Initial conversion of any knife to a full convex - difficult. It's very easy to make the terminal bevel angle very obtuse. Another problem that can crop up is the incomplete grinding of the bevel. Because you're using a conformable backing, it might appear that your scratch patterns are going all the way to the apex, but in reality not so much. If you have a loupe, make sure your grind pattern at the edge stops crisply. If it kind of just rolls over into the edge then you need to keep at it and/or use less pressure. The angle you hold the knife should be very low, 10-12 degrees. Use a Sharpie frequently. Once the initial conversion is done, it's (IMHO) much easier to maintain a convex edge. Getting it right out of the box is not easy, my Bark River Bravo Necker2 had to be redone on one side. Whoever did the job at the factory rolled one side of the bevel into the beltsander a bit too much and never made it back to the apex on subsequent finer grits. Under magnification it appeared to have a largish microbevel on one side - even the folks that do these for their bread and butter can screw 'em up. I just finished the switch over on a thick-spined TOPS knife in 1095 and it took much longer than I expected. In fact, every initial conversion takes longer than I expect to get it perfect, and I've done four or five knives, two machetes and a hatchet.

HH

 

[fireincairo]

1095 - easy to sharpen. Initial conversion of any knife to a full convex - difficult. It's very easy to make the terminal bevel angle very obtuse. Another problem that can crop up is the incomplete grinding of the bevel. Because you're using a conformable backing, it might appear that your scratch patterns are going all the way to the apex, but in reality not so much. If you have a loupe, make sure your grind pattern at the edge stops crisply. If it kind of just rolls over into the edge then you need to keep at it and/or use less pressure. The angle you hold the knife should be very low, 10-12 degrees. Use a Sharpie frequently. Once the initial conversion is done, it's (IMHO) much easier to maintain a convex edge. Getting it right out of the box is not easy, my Bark River Bravo Necker2 had to be redone on one side. Whoever did the job at the factory rolled one side of the bevel into the beltsander a bit too much and never made it back to the apex on subsequent finer grits. Under magnification it appeared to have a largish microbevel on one side - even the folks that do these for their bread and butter can screw 'em up. I just finished the switch over on a thick-spined TOPS knife in 1095 and it took much longer than I expected. In fact, every initial conversion takes longer than I expect to get it perfect, and I've done four or five knives, two machetes and a hatchet.

HH

Yes, this is probably what the problem is.

 

[HeavyHanded]

One last bit of advice, if it takes multiple sessions to fully convex the edge, and it probably will, make sure to use the Sharpie and come in at a very shallow angle to start. It becomes difficult very quickly to reestablish a more acute angle when convexing, and very easy to make that edge more obtuse. Start shallow and find the edge that way.

HH

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

One last bit of advice, if it takes multiple sessions to fully convex the edge, and it probably will, make sure to use the Sharpie and come in at a very shallow angle to start. It becomes difficult very quickly to reestablish a more acute angle when convexing, and very easy to make that edge more obtuse. Start shallow and find the edge that way.

HH

I agree with this. I've 'cheated' the convexing process occasionally, by deliberately putting an acute V-bevel on first with a coarse diamond hone (works faster). Then, it's pretty easy to gently convex it from there, using 400 or higher grit wet/dry sandpaper on leather backing. This has an added benefit over starting from 'scratch' with very low grit sandpaper, in that a diamond-honed V-bevel is less likely to leave heavy scratches all over the face of the blade, as could easily happen when trying to maintain a shallow angle using coarse sandpaper on soft backing.