Question about beveling file edges

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ciliatus

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Feb 1, 2010
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I will be undertaking my first knife project soon and I've been taking in as much info as possible recently. In Aaron Gough's filing jig video he mentions rounding off the file edges for the sake of the plunge line. I completely understand why he recommends this but I'm wondering how "vital" it is. Only because I'm a bit nervous about screwing up my file, having never done this before. Is the difference well worth it? I'd be using a dremel if I decided to round the edges. Is it easy enough that I shouldn't be too worried about screwing up?

Thanks.
 
What happens is that when your edges are not ground down, it will grind into your stopper and creep it's way back. So yes, it is vital to do.
 
Alright, thanks for the input. I'll give it a go!

Edit: After re-reading your comment, I think I may have misunderstood. Aaron talks about just putting a radius on the corners of the file, not the entire edge. Are you suggesting that the entire side should be smoothed down?
 
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ciliatus said:
I will be undertaking my first knife project soon and I've been taking in as much info as possible recently. In Aaron Gough's filing jig video he mentions rounding off the file edges for the sake of the plunge line. I completely understand why he recommends this but I'm wondering how "vital" it is. Only because I'm a bit nervous about screwing up my file, having never done this before. Is the difference well worth it? I'd be using a dremel if I decided to round the edges. Is it easy enough that I shouldn't be too worried about screwing up?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

What's to screw up ?

You don't have to own just one file.



it's easier to keep it straight with a larger grinder like a belt sander, or angle grinder.

I have I think three Dremels, still don't use them for knife work


I have one file with two smooth short edges

I have another with two smooth flat faces
 
Sweeping plunge lines are all the rage these days. This is why he recommends it.
I prefer crisp, sharp plunge lines.
 
12345678910 said:
What's to screw up ?

You don't have to own just one file.



it's easier to keep it straight with a larger grinder like a belt sander, or angle grinder.

I have I think three Dremels, still don't use them for knife work


I have one file with two smooth short edges

I have another with two smooth flat faces
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I agree. I'm just on a very shoestring budget so every penny counts. My wife and I just had our first baby two weeks ago so I'm fortunate to even have a little bit of extra cash to give to this project.

Also, I hadn't even thought about an angle grinder. Good call. Thanks.
 
I have not seen he video that you are talking about but I think what he might be saying is radius your sharp angles. If you have sharp 90* angles you run a higher risk of cracking your blade during the heat treating process.
 
One thing is to grind all the teeth from one face of the file: it will be the safe edge that won't do unwanted cuts and could be butted against a guide stop.
Another thing is to kill the sharp corners of the file to avoid digging bad gouges on the piece being worked.
DFK refers avoiding sharp cuts in the blade as they will be stress risers at the quench and during knife life... choils, shoulders and plunges better have inside radiuses instead of sharp angles whether 90° or not.
 
stezann said:
One thing is to grind all the teeth from one face of the file: it will be the safe edge that won't do unwanted cuts and could be butted against a guide stop.
Another thing is to kill the sharp corners of the file to avoid digging bad gouges on the piece being worked.
DFK refers avoiding sharp cuts in the blade as they will be stress risers at the quench and during knife life... choils, shoulders and plunges better have inside radiuses instead of sharp angles whether 90° or not.
Click to expand...

I believe Stezann meant ..."Grind the teeth off one SIDE of the file"... ( the narrow side, not the flat face) This is called a safe edge, and many files come with one or both sides safe.

As for killing the 90° corner, I don't do that. If you wanted to, all you would need do is file on a sharpening stone with the file held at 45°. Just a few strokes would kill the sharpness. You don't want to remove all the bite there.
 
As others have said, it's more about creating that safe edge so that you don't cut into your stop guide. I am also making my first knives on a budget using Aarons jig, for just a guy making a few knives it is great!
 
OK, I have a much better understanding now and I'm a bit less intimidated to knock down the edges a bit. Thanks so much for all of the help, everyone. This forum is such a tremendous resource.
 
Yes Stacy is right...you don't want to remove much from the corner, otherwise the file won't "sink" properly in the cut if i'm wording it right.
Regarding the safe "face" Stacy is right again, but i said so because i actually have a safe face file i use to dress the sides of guard slots...one by one...this way i have more room and i can't hit the opposing side by clumsy rocking.
Point is: better to have different files for different specific tasks
 
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