Primary Bevel VS. Secondary Bevel

AVigil

AVigil

Adam Vigil working the grind
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Feb 17, 2009
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I just received "Bladesmithing with Murray Carter" at $6 it was a steal :) While reading it he calls the cutting edge the "Primary edge" and I see many others refer to that as the "Secondary edge"

What say you?....

Personally I have always referred to the cutting edge as the primary edge.
 
This can be very confusing, and I am certainly no expert. This is how I see it, and I may be wrong. What's good about forums is we can get the right info. We have the terms "bevel" and "edge" to clarify in a given discussion. Usually, a primary "bevel" is not the "edge" at all, but the part of the blade that forms the overall "V" shape. The primary "bevel" is what we use our belt sanders (or files) to make by removing steel from the spine down towards the edge. The secondary "bevel" would be the cutting edge. However, a secondary "edge" would be a micro "edge", one that is added to an already existing primary cutting "edge". Secondary "edges" are usually done by raising the sharpening angle just a tad bit more, and passing over the stone very lightly a few times on each side.
 
I am not gonna look it up but Stacy was talking about this in a thread a while back. I think it depends on where you are at. If I remember correctly here in the west the primary bevel is the large flat/hollow grind and the secondary is the sharp edge (and the micro bevel for those particular blades). In Japan the primary bevel is the cutting edge and the secondary bevel is the large flat/hollow grind.
 
So here is a question....

In a Zero grind what is the cutting edge called since there is only 1 bevel?
 
Quint is correct.
In the western world, the primary is the first bevel you form, The secondary is the next one you form....which is the edge.
In Japan, the primary is the cutting edge.

In a true zero grind, there is only one bevel, so it would be called.....wait for it......The Bevel.
Since it is unlikely you will actually make a true zero grind, the main bevel would be the primary bevel, and the tiny bevel formed to break the wire and strengthen the edge by one stroke on a fine stone or by stropping, is called the micro-bevel.
 
That's funny... I never had thought about this before. I always just went with main/primary bevel as being the bevels put in on the grinder when making the blade, and the secondary bevel being the bevel put in on stones when the blade has already been finished.

But since that is the part of the blade that leads in cutting... :confused: LMAO

Great post Adam. :)
 
And that friends, is why I just refer to "main bevel" and "edge bevel". :)
 
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