Problem near the ricasso

[awestib]

Hi guys
I have had a few knives, mainly custom made for some reason, where the edge was still "flat" the first few milimeters at the ricasso. That is particularly bothersome in bushcraft knives. So I will have to grind the edge thin, estalish a new apex there. However, the rest of the edge is o.k. So I am not sure how to do it. It is actually so "thick" that I may need a narrow diamond hone or so to just "file" that part out?? I tried it before with my 1 inch belt sander but it is quite difficult to do and I don't want to use a powertool on this one!

Any advice? I often see the small recurve at the ricasso which we have talked about before and I now raise the angle quite a bit for the first sharpening to get rid of that but with a remaining thick edge, that's another problem!

Thanks, Andy

 

[Jason B.]

Focus your pressure during grinding to the ricasso area and blend it to the rest of the edge. And yes, sharpening the whole edge is a must to do it correctly.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Focus your pressure during grinding to the ricasso area and blend it to the rest of the edge. And yes, sharpening the whole edge is a must to do it correctly.

That.^

It'll take a lot more time, but that's about the only way to do it. I have used narrow hones (Lansky; 1/2" wide) to focus more attention near the ricasso, but the danger there is in 'lingering' too long in one spot, which will allow the edge of the narrow hone to dig in. That'll leave an impossible-to-ignore and very ugly furrow on the edge, and will also introduce more 'recurve' into the portion near the ricasso. The edge will look better if the pressure is distributed over a longer section of the edge with a wider hone, but it will take more time. Just take a deep breath, relax and take your time.

 

[awestib]

Thanks guys!
Andy