Odd Sharpening Result

[FlyingMuskrat]

I am trying to sharpen a Warncliff blade that I made myself. It is thin (a little less than 1\16 of an inch) and made from an old band saw blade. I left whatever heat treatment\temper that it had alone because I don't have the knowledge or tools to do heat treat (and I have no idea what kind of steel it is).
I thinned the edge with a file and then ground them at 30 degrees included (course bench stone leaned against Sharpmaker rod). It sharpened up pretty nicely push cutting paper easily but there is a place towards the front of the blade where it won't get nearly as sharp, and it seems to reflect a little bit of light no matter how much steel I grind off. Another odd thing is that the edge bevels turned out rather noticeably different in size, which seems odd for a flat piece. What do you think is the problem?

 

[Cliff Stamp]

The flat spot could be due to a spot which was overheated and the temper damaged you could see this easy under magnification because the scratch pattern there will be highly irregular and the steel will flake/crack off.It could also be due to a patch of segregated carbide.

If you are just grinding edge bevels on flat stock, no primary grind, then if they are the most likely cause is you ground on one side far more than the other. Just hone on the small side until it evens up if the cosmetics are a concern.

-Cliff

 

[FlyingMuskrat]

Thanks for the speedy diagnosis; cosmetics aren’t really an issue right now, though in the future I will probably hone it mostly on the small side.