Putting a Zero Edge on your knife...

H

hawkinsa21

Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Messages
543
Hey guys,

I saw this post by VTW... nice pics BTW.. :)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=454878


He mentions here that he has a Zero Edge on his CGFBM...


I've tried searching for threads about creating a zero edge, but the search facility either isn't working for me, or there aren't any...


Search criteria: zero edge


VTW - fancy writing up a thread or sticky on how you did it??


That was super :cool:


If there is already a thread for this, please can someone put the link into this post?? I just can't get the results in the search facility... :(


Cheers guys
 
I Am Not A Very Good Instructional Writer...... But Later Today If Someone Hasnt Explained It I Will Give It A Try...lol
 
Well, basically a Zero edge is a full convex edge where there is no noticeable transition from the edge to the blade. It is actually an edge that is not to hard to put on if you can get past the fact that you have to lay the blade nearly flat against the sharpening media.

The way I have done this in the past. This may or may nt work for you. I start off with about 220 grit sand paper on a 1/8 inch thick used mouse pad. I Lay the blade down so that the spine of my BM is about 1/3 of an inch above the pad. I then draw the knife from spine to edge so that I am scrubbing away from the edge. I do this until I get a felt burr on one side. Then I turn it over and do the same to the other side. I then go up to 400 to 600 grit and do the same. I then go up to one more grit usually 1000 to 1500. After this I strop it with leather or canvas for several minutes.

You must remember to keep the blade very low to the pad. When the blade appears to be too low, then you have it right. The biggest mistake is raising the spine which makes the tip round like a cheap 10 dollar hatchet. The other mistake is not getting rid of the burr.

I have seen people simulate this style of edge with an edgepro by making a triple angle edge. It looks cool and is super sharp.

If your knife doesn't already have this type of edge, then it will take you sometime to do it. I have done this on some knives and had them razor sharp and have done this on others and could not get them sharp to save my life. It may have been the steel or maybe I was not concentrating well enough. :eek:
 
Cobalt said:
Well, basically a Zero edge is a full convex edge where there is no noticeable transition from the edge to the blade. It is actually an edge that is not to hard to put on if you can get past the fact that you have to lay the blade nearly flat against the sharpening media.

The way I have done this in the past. This may or may nt work for you. I start off with about 220 grit sand paper on a 1/8 inch thick used mouse pad. I Lay the blade down so that the spine of my BM is about 1/3 of an inch above the pad. I then draw the knife from spine to edge so that I am scrubbing away from the edge. I do this until I get a felt burr on one side. Then I turn it over and do the same to the other side. I then go up to 400 to 600 grit and do the same. I then go up to one more grit usually 1000 to 1500. After this I strop it with leather or canvas for several minutes.

You must remember to keep the blade very low to the pad. When the blade appears to be too low, then you have it right. The biggest mistake is raising the spine which makes the tip round like a cheap 10 dollar hatchet. The other mistake is not getting rid of the burr.

I have seen people simulate this style of edge with an edgepro by making a triple angle edge. It looks cool and is super sharp.

If your knife doesn't already have this type of edge, then it will take you sometime to do it. I have done this on some knives and had them razor sharp and have done this on others and could not get them sharp to save my life. It may have been the steel or maybe I was not concentrating well enough. :eek:
Click to expand...

Great post Cobalt:thumbup: Which sharpening stones did you used?
 
be careful, its easy to both round/dull a true convex edge by raising the spine as was described and to also over-thin your edge if you remove too much. This is the middle ground makers strive for in competition cutters...as thin an edge as possible while not over thinning to the point it is damaged by the most heavy use intended.

I think youre taking about a true convex edge rather than a zero edge. I thought that usually a zero edge is referred to as a flat grind with no secondary bevel at the edge. They are usually absrudly sharp but used for finer cutting chores as a true zero edge would not usually hold up to heavy chopping due to their thinness...that may just be semantics
 
hawkins, you might want to post this in the Toolshed forum, lot's of good sharpening discussions over there.
 
David Schott said:
be careful, its easy to both round/dull a true convex edge by raising the spine as was described and to also over-thin your edge if you remove too much. This is the middle ground makers strive for in competition cutters...as thin an edge as possible while not over thinning to the point it is damaged by the most heavy use intended.

I think youre taking about a true convex edge rather than a zero edge. I thought that usually a zero edge is referred to as a flat grind with no secondary bevel at the edge. They are usually absrudly sharp but used for finer cutting chores as a true zero edge would not usually hold up to heavy chopping due to their thinness...that may just be semantics
Click to expand...

yes, the zero edge on the zero tolerance knives is a true convex edge as you state.
 
from what i have read a zero edge simply means there is no shoulder, i have never heard of a zero edge being a full flat grind....


however me and cobalt have a dif method for achieving this grind, i acually use a homade 'strop' ...... i am going to do a pic instructional and post it before the weekend is up...
 
Thanks Cobalt for that post, appreciate the clarification... :)

valleytinworks said:
from what i have read a zero edge simply means there is no shoulder, i have never heard of a zero edge being a full flat grind....


however me and cobalt have a dif method for achieving this grind, i acually use a homade 'strop' ...... i am going to do a pic instructional and post it before the weekend is up...
Click to expand...



Top man VTW, that would be great, I've wondered about making a strop before... They aren't the easiest things to get in the UK, without spending quite a bit of money, but hey, the UK is just a rip off full stop :(


Cheers,


Alex
 
So from what I have gathered, this mostly refers to a convex edge. But let's say you had a knife that went from the flats to a flat grind and that carried all the way to the end on both sides, no relif edge, no shoulder, etc. aside from screwing with the finish whenever you sharpened it, would this produce a good cutting edge ?
 
JurT said:
Great post Cobalt:thumbup: Which sharpening stones did you used?
Click to expand...
to get that kind of edge you need to use softer stones. It may even be better to use well dished stones.
Technique is very important.

There is an easier way to go about it, get a grinder with high grit belts to convex the edge without removing a lot of steel. Then strop on a leather belt.
 
valleytinworks said:
from what i have read a zero edge simply means there is no shoulder, i have never heard of a zero edge being a full flat grind....


however me and cobalt have a dif method for achieving this grind, i acually use a homade 'strop' ...... i am going to do a pic instructional and post it before the weekend is up...
Click to expand...
it means there is no bevel.
All buse with full height convex grind are also zero edge geometry blades. The ones I have from those types all are: SAR6, NMSFNO, NMFBM. Also Jack Hammer CBT version, INFINDU, Scrap yard War Dog. I bet there are others that I am not aware of, I am new to the Busse madness.
 
Ballon Corp said:
So from what I have gathered, this mostly refers to a convex edge. But let's say you had a knife that went from the flats to a flat grind and that carried all the way to the end on both sides, no relif edge, no shoulder, etc. aside from screwing with the finish whenever you sharpened it, would this produce a good cutting edge ?
Click to expand...


Wow, necrothread!

"from the flats to a flat grind and that carried all the way to the end on both sides, no relif edge, no shoulder," That sounds like a scandi edge, no? They can be very sharp.
 
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