Learning how to convex on Izula.

A

awad

Joined
Oct 16, 2009
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306
My poor little izula. I was bored a few weeks ago and decided to try convexing my knife. I did a lot wrong. a lot. I ended up with the most dull knife ever and while at it, ruined the coating on the blade. Feeling dejected I put the knife in my drawer and tried to forget about it. Two days ago I was bored again so I decided to try to fix my mistakes. I watched those convexing videos on knivesshipfree.com again and started to realize my mistakes. I was putting entirely too much pressure on the knife. I checked the edge with a sharpie to make sure i had the angle right, then proceeded to spent the better part of two hours sharpening and stropping.

Well, it worked. But i wanted my knife to look better, so I decided to strip the coating off as well. I didn't have any paint strippers available so i did the blade by hand. starting at 150 grit, then to 400, then 600, then finally 2000. The blade looked nice, but the black coating on the handle was a little unbecoming now. So i went out and bought some "citrus strip" and let it go to work for an hour. The knife was a great dull gray and i was very pleased. Then came time for the patina. I soaked it in heated apple cider vinegar, then let it dry, and did that a few times, then i applied mustard only on the blade and rinsed. I did that a few times.

I finally ended up with something that is pleasing to me.

izula.jpg


phew.
 
smustian said:
Glad you like it. Looks like a knife begging to be used to me.
Click to expand...

yeah, it's definitely my user. i also sanded down the spine a bit to help when striking the firesteel and it works phenomenally for that.
 
That poor knife. Box it up and PM me for my shipping address so it can have a better home. :D
 
I actually like it. Looks like the perfect brother to a WWII-era 1911 - a battered, ol' workhorse. :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing the experience, BTW. I plan on convexing my Izula this summer and realize that it'll probably take longer than I expect. As long as I can get a good cutting edge, I have no problem with how long it may take.
 
looks brutal. i like it! have you noticed any major cutting differences with the blade convexed? i'm tempted to try it out, but wanna get my hands on another izula first, just in case things go south.
 
awad said:
My poor little izula.

I finally ended up with something that is pleasing to me.

izula.jpg


phew.
Click to expand...


That poor little Izzy is from the ones I have seen, a favorite! :thumbup:

That is beautiful

For me and my artwork it takes reaching a point of failure, a point to which possible destruction is of no concern for you, to bring the peice into fruitition.
That one way to learn to sharpen; just do it. Props and a +5 on the post well done sir.
 
Now that is character. Bet she'll look even better (nastier) after a couple months of use.:thumbup:
 
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