Question on bevels

N

nso123

Joined
Jul 19, 2015
Messages
13
First off, thanks to everyone who has so freely shared information on this forum. I have been overhwelmed by the amount of information that is available here. Having said this, if I have missed the answer to my question, I appologize in advance.

I am currently working on my first knife, a drop point hunting knife. I have my beveling fixture built, and can easily adjust my angles. My question is whether there are preferred angles to bevel? Also, do you make one cut for the bevel, or do you do multiple angles on the bevel to get to the plunge line that you want? I have followed Stacy's step by step so far, and this is one portion that I am looking for clarification on. I am beveling with files if that makes a difference. Thanks for any guidance that you can guve me.
 
Welcome to bladeforums! I'm by no means a pro...I'm sure others who are much more knowledgable than I will come on to help you. It all depends on the purpous if the blade. If your going to be hacking, a "scandi" grind is a great way to go, but that's really it's only use. Otherwise, a "hollow grind", comes quite a ways up the blade but not all the way, is strong, but will still slice nice. If you want a slicing machine, a full flat grind, comes all the way up, is ideal. I use one angle, no multiple angles. Look at the exchange at lots of others knives...check out the grinds and what they say the porpoise of the knife is, that should help you get a good idea.
Good luck!
 
Most flat grinds are from 5 dps down to 2 1/2 dps for a wide blade such as a Bowie or large camp knife. Keep in mind the flatter the angle the sharper the blade can be made. The area at the belly of the blade and forward to the tip is the most challenging part of the bevel to accomplish. New makers tend to rush this area and the forward radius ends up to thick. Take your time in this part of the process.

If you develop the edge first and get it centered it makes the rest of the process easier. I grind the edge at 5dps once the edge is set adjust the angle and move up the blade. This is especially true when filing bevels. Its easier work doing it in stages because the file is not taking as big a bight. Something that will help you access your progress is to spray the sides of the blade with lay out bluing, it will help you to keep track of your progress. Use the spray often. I use a belt machine to grind bevels and I have always used lay out blue.

Best of luck and enjoy the work, Fred
 
Thanks for the responses and info. I had considered going the 5 degree route and then working up the blade after, and have my lay out dye already beside the jig. Maybe I am not too crazy after all (although my wife might argue about that).
 
I think that you will encounter problems when using a fixed jig for grinding, if you only set one specific angle for the jig. The angle of your bevel will depend upon the height of your blade, and the desired grind height.

I would suggest scribing your center lines on the edge of the knife. Then grind an obtuse angle to the scribed line from each side. Then gradually decrease the angle of the grind until you get to your desired grind height.

If using a jig and you set your angle too acute, then your grind will get too high on the blade before reaching the scribed mark on your edge. I started out using grinding jigs and encountered this problem. I freehand grind now.
 
Last edited:
Shane has the real situation and solution.

The bevel angle is whatever it is. No need to try and calculate or control it. It is a factor of how thick the steel is and how high the grind is. All you need to do is file a flat surface that goes between the centerline of the blade edge and the top of the bevel. One reason a full flat grind is the best way to get started ( and the best type of grind for almost all knives in my opinion) is that you don't have to worry about where it starts and stops. It starts at the spine and stops at the center of the edge. Filing is slow, so there is no panic about overshooting things, Just change the file angle a bit to make the bevel move the direction you need it to go. Fred's tip on Dykem layout spray is spot on. It tells you where the steel is being removed with no guessing.

Use a file and your eye here. When doing bevels on a grinder, a tool like Fred's Bubble Jig is good, but you will soon learn to do it by eye just as easily as you did the file by eye.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top