Removing Nicks from the Blade?

[saturnine138]

I slipped when cutting something and hit the metal fence it was tied to, and now I've got a small nick in the blade. The knife was a buck 105, I dont know if the type of knife affects how you fix it. What's the best way to get rid of the nick? Bear in mind that I dont have much to work with, all I've got is a whetstone. I'd also appreciate it if anyone could give me some sharpening tips. I have yet to sharpen it, because the factory edge was really nice, but it's getting dull now. How can I put the best edge on it? Thanks guys.

 

[MikeH]

I am no expert, but as far as I know if it is a true nick, and not just a rolled edge, the only way to remove it is to sharpen it away. That means that you are going to lose some metal over the rest of the edge.

I have a small nick near the tip of my S30V Swamp Rat Rat Tramp. I have decided to use the knife, sharpen it when needed, and ignore the small nick. It will eventually be gone, and is not large enough to adversely impact performance.

 

[faceplant]

if you are good at sharpening and trust yourself enought to do it, I would go out and by about a three hundred grit diamond sharpener from wallmart and use that repetitively until the knick is gone, and then sharpen it back up to shaving sharp.

having said this there are problems with this method such as, time, it won't be sharp until your done with the process, and getting the proper tools to restore the edge. I am also not an expert on this but I have done this over the course of time before to restore the tip on a damaged case XX.

 

[frugalweaver]

I would sharpen the knife and ignor the nick. Eventually it will fade away as you continue to sharpen over time. Why waste the metal for purely cosmetic reason?

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Why waste the metal for purely cosmetic reason?

Yes, generally I only remove them if the knife is a very light cutter and the chips can cause hangs when you are trying to make clean slices through paper or similar. On large chopping knives I will take a small rod and grind out a chip to turn it into a small serration as otherwise it can turn into a heavy impact point.

-Cliff