KME troubles

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nick_30

Joined
Aug 21, 2011
Messages
616
I have a problem with my kme setup. It seem's to only happen to my ZT knives. I make sure to get the blade strait in there and on the flat part of the blade but for some reason it sharpens at a different angle on each side.

It did it first on my 560 and then now on my 562
My guess would be about 2-5 degrees off. On the wider blades you also can not go by the aliment markings they have so it is a little bit of a guessing game.
I have sharpened a BM 808 loco and did not have the problem.
Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem or has any ideas.

Edit: it has done it to the 808 as well. I think after careful examination, I believe it is a design flaw.
 
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2-5 degrees seems like a huge difference. Are you talking about one bevel being 20 degrees and the other being 25? Thats massive. Make sure the clamp is in the middle of the blade with equal amount of space from the clamp to the tip and from the clamp to the heal. Factory grinds can be off a degree or so and uneven but 2-5 degrees seems huge..
 
Wow. I have never had that problem. Can you post some pics? Is it an issue with the clamp?

You are correct that the angle markings are not always accurate. That is because different blade heights will result in different angles. This is common to most sharpeners.
 
Unfortunately I do not have any pics. Let's say for example if I set it at 17 degrees the bevel will be .175 of an inch on one side and .250 inch on the other side going up from the cutting edge. That is an extreme case like what happen to the 560 but most of the time it is probably closer to 2 degrees off. I have also noticed that when sharpening, it will sometimes change in the middle of profiling. I have checked to make sure the aliment was good and I was not putting to much pressure on the stone. Just wish there was a more secure and consistent way of mounting the blade

The other factor is how far in or out you position the blade will change the actual bevel angle a lot to. For the 17 degree I put on the 560, I compared it to other knives I had seen here with the same bevel and it was huge, looked more like a 10 degree or something close to that
 
The degree marks are meaningless, to get a actual degree you need a angle cube, as far as the problem your having, I haven't had that issue, I would contact Ron, really nice guy to talk too, I bet he'll take care of ya
 
Both of those suggestions were on my list to do next.
So I guess the only real way to get the right bevel is to get the cube and set it by hand and possibly have to change it on each side. That sucks.
Wicked edge doesn't have this problem does it?
 
nick_30 said:
Both of those suggestions were on my list to do next.
So I guess the only real way to get the right bevel is to get the cube and set it by hand and possibly have to change it on each side. That sucks.
Wicked edge doesn't have this problem does it?
Click to expand...

I recently got a KME sharpener to mess with... I've only done ½ dozen knives or so, but I can tell you there's no significant difference in angles when flipping the blade over... and I've checked it with an angle cube. So if you're seeing a big difference, something else is going on.

And yes, the Wicked Edge works the same way... although it is calibrated for an edge that extends 5/8" above the clamp, any change from that and the angle markings are no longer accurate.
 
nick_30 said:
Both of those suggestions were on my list to do next.
So I guess the only real way to get the right bevel is to get the cube and set it by hand and possibly have to change it on each side. That sucks.
Wicked edge doesn't have this problem does it?
Click to expand...

Any sort of fixed angle system won't have 100% accurate angle markings. Angle cube/phone app/etc will let you measure out the angle you want it at, particularly if you're aiming to reprofile at a specific angle (say 15DPS, no more no less).

When you do set up your KME in the future to sharpen, a few pictures posted could go a long way for the more seasoned on this board to give you more comprehensive feedback!
 
Ask and you shall receive
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This is normally how I set it up for most knives (I like bigger folders so no small blades here)

On this one I had to do 20 degrees for one side and switch it to about 18 degrees for the other side to get it close. I was trying to get a 20dps edge
 
I still don't get how your bevels are that different. Are you counting your trips up and down the blade and making sure your doing it to the other side? Heal to tip back to heal would be one trip. Do this 5 times or so and flip. Do 5 trips and flip and so on. If your loosing track of how many trips you are doing you can end up with uneven bevels.
 
Hmmm..usually when reprofiling I just grind until I get a burr on both sides, then start edge leading stroke with the finer grits, say lIke 3 to 5 trips, then I go one pass per side and flip on the finish grit until I reach the level I am trying to get
 
nick_30 said:
Hmmm..usually when reprofiling I just grind until I get a burr on both sides, then start edge leading stroke with the finer grits, say lIke 3 to 5 trips, then I go one pass per side and flip on the finish grit until I reach the level I am trying to get
Click to expand...

When I first got my KME I would grind to a burr on one side and I would forget how many trips it took and I would have uneven bevels. Depending on how dull the knife was I would spend a lot of time on one side vs the other.

Try making it a point to repeat the process in both sides even when one side is more finished than the other. Also don't spend extra time on areas that need to have more material removed ie. the tip and heal. Go up and down at the same speed and count your trips and your bevels should be dead on.
 
I see. I have noticed it doesn't matter how much I grind the bevel widths are still not the same
 
Most manufacturers, and I've seen it specifically on Kershaw (ZT), buff one side at a higher angle to remove the burr. So if you do what you did... (grind one side to raise a burr, flip and repeat), you'll end up over grinding one side of the knife. Once you do this, it takes a while to correct (best done over several sharpenings).

It would be beneficial if you had an independent way to check the angle on the KME, to see if that's the issue. Another way to check... you could take a blade that you've sharpened, make pencil marks on the knife showing exactly where it is in the clamp, remove the knife, flip the clamp, then reclamp the knife in the exact spot. Mark the bevel with a Sharpie...if the KME is damaged somehow, this will show when you swipe the edge and see where the Sharpie is removed. (There might be a slight difference, but it should be close.)
 
That is a good idea. I also have a angle cube on its way. That make sense about the grind from the factory, always have something to learn.
 
Turns out it was a bad grind from the factory that I had to profile first. I was on the phone with ron AS I was sharpening and he was walking me threw the hole process for about an hour. What a guy, I have never seen anything like that in customer service at all. Truly a testimony to ron's passion and knowledge about his equipment.
 
nick_30 said:
Turns out it was a bad grind from the factory that I had to profile first. I was on the phone with ron AS I was sharpening and he was walking me threw the hole process for about an hour. What a guy, I have never seen anything like that in customer service at all. Truly a testimony to ron's passion and knowledge about his equipment.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that you had a good experience with Ron. I think the KME is a great system. Mine works great, and it is easy to get a crazy sharp edge on a knife with almost no skill (I should know). I think Ron is among the best customer service providers I have ever encountered in any industry. I always hesitate to post about KME because I sound like such a fanboy. However, the product and the man behind it are really good enough to deserve fanboy level accolades.
 
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