My first convex edge

[paustin]

I decided I would give a convex edge a try on my Benchmade 943. I used one of the leather strops on my wicked edge and used 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper. I stropped with the leather afterward. It turned out great and will pop hair. Do convex edges offer any advantage over normal sharpening. Are there any improvements to help with using my wicked edge and getting a convex edge?

 

[stoffi]

Yah, make your own "stones" out of something flexible and then mount a strip of sandpaper on that with double-sided tape.
I've done that on my Edge Pro and it works great!

 

[Sharpski]

I decided I would give a convex edge a try on my Benchmade 943. I used one of the leather strops on my wicked edge and used 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper. I stropped with the leather afterward. It turned out great and will pop hair. Do convex edges offer any advantage over normal sharpening. Are there any improvements to help with using my wicked edge and getting a convex edge?

Well this could be debated all day long, I think convex vs convention "v" vs micro bevel all have their pros and cons. I personally like convex edges for some of my bushcrafting knives. It protects the edge from damage longer and in the case or cutting wood it will push wood away from the edge so that when you are making a cut your blade is less likely to get "jam up" or "stuck" during the cut. Basically you can cut deeper into the wood before getting stuck, hence why axes have convex edges. Needless to say the convex edge will lend itself better to chopping tasks. I don't use convex edges for slicing generally I think microbevs or the conventional v type edges work better for this function. Blade thickness, type or steel and blade shape, and intented use are all factors.

When I do my convex edges (ranging from 16-20 in this eg) on the WE this is what I do:

When I get up to about 1000 I take strokes at the following angles: 16,20,19,18,17,16. Then strop up to as high as you want and do one of two things: 1) with each stroping grit go through the same angle progession or 2) strop at the lowest angle (in this eg 16). Option 1 is more refiined but also takes longer so it really depends on how much time you want to invest. This will get a nice working convex edge. If you have more questions I would suggest heading to the WE forum it is THE place to go for sharpening conversations in my humble opinion.

Good luck and enjoy!