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New Spyderco Bushcraft uneven grind- sharpening help

D

Danketch

Joined
Apr 27, 2007
Messages
583
Alright, so I have figured out how to sharpen a scandi- lay bevel flat on sharpening surface and move across. Fairly simple I think.

I just got a Spyderco Bushcraft that sucks. The right side I have gotten flat/fairly flat, but the left side has a "hump" more or less up near the top of the grind, not the edge, that is making it really hard to figure out how to sharpen this.

Affected side-

nDYuVW0.jpg


http://imgur.com/nDYuVW0


Opposite/good side-

RyEqZjI.jpg


http://imgur.com/RyEqZjI

Sorry, pics are huge here, link to see them smaller.

My question is, should I just keep laying the hump flat on the stone, and hog all that metal off? Is there a better way/solution?

I even contacted Spyderco and they said I could send it back, but they said they are unable to sharpen Scandi grinds (really??!), so I am stuck with fixing this myself.

Thanks
 
I am not sure I see a "hump". What I see (on the left side with Spydie Logo) appears to be a very uneven primary bevel grind. In the belly area the bevel appears to be rather flat, transitioning much steeper from about 1/4" left of the shine-reflection-line and continuing to the ricasso. Overall just looks like an uneven primary grind on the left-hand side. Looks like a Friday afternoon grind :-o

I would not worry about it cosmetically (as it would require a fair amount of grinding to even it out, and evening-out that side would mean taking the entire side to the lowest bevel - that area in the belly - which appears to be lower than the other side, etc.). I would suggest you simply use it, sharpen it, use it some more. If in use you decide there are performance based reasons to modify it, then decide how you want to modify the grind. at that point, I'd suggest you discuss what you want with a competent blade grinder and have them grind to your spec's. It's not to expensive to have this work done, except that it means taking off a fair amount of steel from the blade that can never be put back. If on the other hand it bothers you cosmetically ... :-[ you're gonna have to decide how much time and/or money cosmetics mean to you.

If you go the sharpen & use route, each time you sharpen have a plan to remove a bit more material in specific areas continually working towards an end goal (this is the most satisfying for me, as it is you making your own changes as you see fit for your purpose of use).
 
IMO, everything starts with looks, why? because if it looks good then it probably is.

If your bevel is sloppy and does not have even grind lines then its sharpness and geometry will suffer. If it looks good then there is probably very little wrong with the bevel and thus reduces variables to what may be wrong.

As it sits now I can see a large burr on the edge so any sharpness at all is compromised by that. The bevel needs to be ground correctly, that is your first step.
 
Not even sure where to start with Scandi grinds. I think I have had my share of hate-love with them. Many scandi grinds unless from "higher end" custom makers, are not flat or even, they also maybe different from side to side in grind height etc. The problem with scandis IMO is the large bevel so I think japanese waterstones (or similar abrasive stones, the diamond jointer stone that HeavyHanded discovered comes to mind, the crsytolon stone from Norton and others) are actually the best way to tackle that all. Some mud helps to keep bevels even. Trying to archive even bevels on diamond stones for instance is much more challenging. Often it takes a lot of elbow grease to get them flat by hand which in turn is counterproductive to keep thing nice and flat and even.

Also I don't know what your technique is tackling those scandis? Forth and back strokes (in sections) speed things up but may contribute to more rocking, forth and back strokes covering the entire bevel may be technically more challenging but may proof better end results.

Jason (Jason B., I hope you don't mind) has a video on youtube showing his technique on a Becker (BK 2 I believe), how he flattens the large bevels and convexed it at the end. You may get some info from that. Here is the link, the knife in question starts at 11:13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx4odmy3zc4. On second thought, this is exactly what you should do, you would just not blend in the secondary "convex" bevel!

I had some good experience with sandpaper on hard backing sharpening the scandi bevel longitudinal - this could also be done with a very hard vitreous stone (like a cut off piece of a Norton India comes to mind), if you don't have to remove too much material.

It seems it is time for a scandi sharpening video !!
 
Last edited:
Jason B. said:
IMO, everything starts with looks, why? because if it looks good then it probably is.

If your bevel is sloppy and does not have even grind lines then its sharpness and geometry will suffer. If it looks good then there is probably very little wrong with the bevel and thus reduces variables to what may be wrong.

As it sits now I can see a large burr on the edge so any sharpness at all is compromised by that. The bevel needs to be ground correctly, that is your first step.
Click to expand...

So, how would you grind the bevel correctly? That is mainly what I am trying to figure out, if I am slowly correcting it by laying the blade on the stone (DMT Coarse diasharp) on the bevel, flat, and stroking it.

Almost wonder if it might be better if I start at the top of the bevel, and stroke down with the stone, following the bevel down to the edge, or is that basically the same thing?

Thanks for input guys.
 
Danketch said:
So, how would you grind the bevel correctly? That is mainly what I am trying to figure out, if I am slowly correcting it by laying the blade on the stone (DMT Coarse diasharp) on the bevel, flat, and stroking it.

Almost wonder if it might be better if I start at the top of the bevel, and stroke down with the stone, following the bevel down to the edge, or is that basically the same thing?

Thanks for input guys.
Click to expand...

Watch that video!
 
Yup .. They screwed the pooch on that one. That is pretty high towards the tip. I don't know what angle they go for on there Bushcrafter look pretty high . Problem with trying to fix it by the time you walk that grind up to be even you will be so far off on the other side that you will have to do the same thing or your point will be all messed up and uneven . I would have sent it back when you got it. Probably should just send it back and maybe they will give you a new one.
 
When in doubt, make some lines with a Sharpie from shoulder to edge all along the length of the blade. Then as you work on the stone, work from the shoulder to the edge, removing that Sharpie as you go. Is very difficult to make a true flat Scandi by hand, but is not really necessary as long as the deviation is very slight. If you just have a go at it, there is a tendency to float between the shoulder and the apex and not make it much more flat or efficiently work out any defects. Working from the shoulder out allows you to recalibrate by lowering the spine every so often to get the feel of the shoulder skating on the stone. You feel that and just elevate the spine till it lets off and you are able to maintain a reference point.

It is a lot of work to correct big flaws in Scandi, is a lot of steel to come off. I'd recommend doing it in a number of sessions and put a serviceable edge on it in the meantime.
 
I would not recommend using diamond plates on large flat bevels, Waterstones or sandpaper over glass is a far better option. In my experience I have never really needed much more than a 1000 grit waterstone to sharpen a Scandi blade. Any coarser and you can screw up the geometry quickly.

What do you have beside a DMT coarse?
 
@Marko3 +1
The problem with "fixing" this grind is this leads to more problems because the belly grind is so shallow (can't put steel back). There is no reason a good sharp working edge can't be put on that blade the way it is. The fact that it is a Scandi grind makes following those uneven primary grinds much easier. Yes, it would be nice to send it back and get another, but sounded like Spyderco did not give that option due to it being discontinued (and I think they closed out a lot of that model as factory seconds already).
 
I have a 220/1000/and 4000/8000 waterstones.

I will try on them next time. Just got off the phone with the huge online retailer of everything, and even though my order was 2 months old, they are sending me a replacement at no cost, so hopefully new one will be better. This was a pain, and I wanted my first expensive Scandi to be in decent shape. Besides the hugely uneven grind, I was happy with the knife and look forward to getting one that is closer to being right.
 
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