Kershaw Outcast...edge a bit thick...

J_Curd

J_Curd

Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
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I recently purchased the Kershaw Outcast in D2 steel. The edge is pretty thick, and for a big chopper, it doesnt take as large a bite as I would expect.

I havent done any "serious" edge reprofiling and I was wondering what my options are...my only quasi-viable power tool is a dremel, and I am pretty sure I would mangle the blade with it. A relative has a grinder, but again, Im not that brave.

Would a local sharpening service be able to help me? Should I contact Kershaw about custom grinding?

Any help is always appreciated!
 
The edge is spec'ed at 0.050-0.070" before sharpening, it has been measured at 0.080" after sharpening. This was intentional by Kershaw to compenstate for the lack of toughness in D2, this is a really bad idea because it lowers cutting ability, ease of sharpening, edge retention and durability because the knife tends to take more shock in use.

D2 has a low grindability so it will take awhile to regrind on a benchstone. However it has been reground by a file which is probably the fastest non-power way. A dremel with a really coarse drum would be faster. Forget about cosmetics and just hack the bevel down to a sensible angle and lay in a heavy relief. It is pretty difficult to overheat that massive an amount of steel with a dremel unless you keep it stationary.

-Cliff
 
When you have a knife where the edge is too thick and obtuse, the optimal solution is to bring down the primary grind. However, unless you have power grinding equipment like a large belt sander or a lot of patience on banchstones (hours), your only real option is to work on the edge itself.

So, you sharpen at a more acute angle which relieves the stress on the edge as the knife is cutting. This lower angle is thus called the relief or a relief grind. The exact angle you use and how close you take it to the edge depends on your strength/skill and the steel and the wood type.

A starting point for large chopping blades on a decent steel is a 15:0.030"/20 degree geoemtry. This means the very edge is at 20 degrees until it is 0.030" thick at which point the angle is reduced to 15 degrees. On steels optomized for that type of work then you can use a 10:0.015/15 degree edge grind.

-Cliff
 
I was planning to essentially double the width of the edge grind, and halve the grind angle...making a wider edge at a more acute angle, which will make it harder to sharpen, but reduce the edge width without weakening the structure of the knife substantially.

I hope we are talking about the same thing...I can post pictures if I have not properly explained myself.
 
J_Curd said:
I was planning to essentially double the width of the edge grind, and halve the grind angle...making a wider edge at a more acute angle, which will make it harder to sharpen, but reduce the edge width without weakening the structure of the knife substantially.
Click to expand...

Yes this roughly what I would do as well. You can compensate for the wider bevel making it harder to sharpen by just raising your sharpening angle a little to hone the final edge.

-Cliff
 
My current sharpener allows for a 20 or 25 degree angle...I was thinking 25 for the Outcast....would that be viable?
 
If you want to reduce the angle significantly you would need to go lower. I'd cut most of the bevel at 15 degrees freehand and just leave 1/8" wide or so at 20 degrees. You should be able to go lower for most wood work, but that is a decent place to start. Generally you only need really large angles like 25 if you are doing really hard work like cutting up lumber full of nails or cutting roots in rocky soil and such.

-Cliff
 
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