KME Angle, match flat part or match angle from tip to heel?

[blendergasket]

Hi!

I usually sharpen my PM2 and Manix 2(s) with my KME, but I recently purchased a Gayle Bradley 2, which needs a sharpening. My PM2 and Manixes are mostly belly, so I clamp the knife down so the front end of the clamp is parallel to a line connecting the tip of the knife and the heel of the blade.

The GB2 has a long flat area, so if I do this I would be sharpening this long flat area at a strange angle. Is it best to do this? Or is it best to match the angle I hold the clamp to the flat part and then just let the stones follow the smaller belly to the tip. Will matching the flat cause me problems at the tip? I'd rather not trial and error with such a nice knife.

Thank you in advance.

 

[cbwx34]

Hi!

I usually sharpen my PM2 and Manix 2(s) with my KME, but I recently purchased a Gayle Bradley 2, which needs a sharpening. My PM2 and Manixes are mostly belly, so I clamp the knife down so the front end of the clamp is parallel to a line connecting the tip of the knife and the heel of the blade.

The GB2 has a long flat area, so if I do this I would be sharpening this long flat area at a strange angle. Is it best to do this? Or is it best to match the angle I hold the clamp to the flat part and then just let the stones follow the smaller belly to the tip. Will matching the flat cause me problems at the tip? I'd rather not trial and error with such a nice knife.

Thank you in advance. I may not respond for a couple days as I am heading out to the woods, but I will definitely get back to this when I get back.

The method of drawing a line from the tip to the heel and clamping parallel to it really isn't correct... it works mostly by coincidence. (Kind of a bummer that this has become "accepted" in the KME world).

Blades are set in clamp sharpeners primarily based on the belly to tip area (because the angle doesn't change in the straight portion). Wicked Edge has a good image showing how to set the blade in the clamp... the same principle applies to the KME...

... basically you set the knife with the straight portion parallel to the clamp, but then move the belly/tip area closer to or away from the clamp until the bevel is even. (You can angle the knife in the clamp to help achieve this, but has nothing to do with the line mentioned earlier, and probably not needed for this knife).

Don't have the particular knife you asked about, but in general it should get clamped parallel to the straight portion and closer to the belly/tip area... to achieve a consistent bevel.

If you have the time... here's a detailed thread on the subject... Angles on Clamp Style Devices

 

[blendergasket]

Brilliant. Thank you so much for this detailed answer and the reference to the other thread!!!

It makes perfect sense to actually use the knife itself as the guide instead of some one size fits all solution.