Reprofiling an XM-18 to 30 degrees inclusive?

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bm11

Joined
Nov 28, 2011
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Well, I finally pulled the trigger on my first Hinder, I picked up a 3.5" XM-18, fourth gen slicer grind, and paid somewhere north of 200% of retail.

Anyhow, mine is 20cv steel, and it seems like it would support a 30 degree inclusive (with a 40 degree microbevel,) especially since most of my day to day tasks are letter opening, box cutting, rope cutting, etc.

Any advice on this subject?
 
bm11 said:
Well, I finally pulled the trigger on my first Hinder, I picked up a 3.5" XM-18, fourth gen slicer grind, and paid somewhere north of 200% of retail.

Anyhow, mine is 20cv steel, and it seems like it would support a 30 degree inclusive (with a 40 degree microbevel,) especially since most of my day to day tasks are letter opening, box cutting, rope cutting, etc.

Any advice on this subject?
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I put a 15* (30*inc) on my Acies EDC I also did a 17*micro bevel and took it to a mirror edge. It is Wicked (I mean Wicked) Sharp.
I use the 1200 thru strop paddles to touch up . The blade on the Acies is ZDP-189 and that edge is t h i n .
If it was a Spanto I'd say definately no. A slicer could support such an edge BUT be sure you want to do it because you will be removing a lot of material.
It took me hours on the W.E. when I did my Acies. I was nervous because I was not getting the result I wanted for awhile. It is beautiful now and fits the knife perfectly. I don't know about an XM. Once the material is gone - it's gone.
 
I would not go below 40 degrees inclusive for a EDC; its scary sharp and tough. Go thinner and things could go south very easy. not worth it in such a nice blade. Get a FFG for that
Cheers
 
I thought one of the real benefits to super steels like 20cv is that it can hold up to a sharper angle than softer steel? It shouldn't fold at 30 inclusive, should it?
 
bm11 said:
I thought one of the real benefits to super steels like 20cv is that it can hold up to a sharper angle than softer steel? It shouldn't fold at 30 inclusive, should it?
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I never expressed concern over whether the steel quality was an issue. I said be sure you want to do that to that particular knife because you remove a significant amount of material (especially on a blade that robust). The material removal is a physical reality, that which is removed can not be restored. But from a style aspect or a "Form meeting Function" aspect, I think the nature and design of the XM calls for a blade profile of a tougher edge if you will. I would almost see a convexing of the edge (especially if it was a Spanto) being more of an option. Just my $.02 (and worth every penney) but, it's your knife.
 
if you ever get tired of a v edge and want to try something different, try a convex edge. i put a convex edge on the xm 18 passaround and a member brought over his 2 xm 18's to compare to it. he said he liked the convex edge better than the v edge.
 
rubiconss said:
I never expressed concern over whether the steel quality was an issue. I said be sure you want to do that to that particular knife because you remove a significant amount of material (especially on a blade that robust). The material removal is a physical reality, that which is removed can not be restored. But from a style aspect or a "Form meeting Function" aspect, I think the nature and design of the XM calls for a blade profile of a tougher edge if you will. I would almost see a convexing of the edge (especially if it was a Spanto) being more of an option. Just my $.02 (and worth every penney) but, it's your knife.
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No, I certainly do appreciate the input, and it is exactly why I asked the question! I definitely would not want to reprofile and ruin a $900 knife. Perhaps a convex edge would be the way to go, I have a convexed Busse, and it is sharp as hell. It would require learning a new skill though. (I wasn't the one who convexed it.)

I posed the question because on a "slicer grind" 30 degrees seemed to make sense. I will have to play it by ear when the knife gets here, judge the metal thickness behind the edge, and take it from there.
 
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As you mention in your OP, first XM. Obviously not your first knife. You will have a better feel when you get the knife. It will be plenty sharp when it comes not ridiculously so but sharp. Play with it, Enjoy it. IMO definitely hold off on doing anything as extreme as reprofiling the blade until you have had it and gotten to know it for awhile.
Enjoy.
 
bm11, i can convex the blade for you or help you to do it. i would also listen to what rubiconss said about using it for a while the way it is and then decide on what you want to do.
 
Yeah, for the price I paid I definitely will spend some time with it and make absulutely sure its a keeper before I do anything with it, including carrying it. From there I'll decide on profile options.

Thanks guys,

-Bob
 
Well, I did it. I decided 100% I was going to keep it, and depreciation be damned, I wanted my xm-18 slicer to be the best slicer it could be!

I went 30 inclusive all the way to a 3.5um strop, then backed off to 40 inclusive for 100 passes at 5um and 200 passes at 3.5um. Not sure if it was course enough to provide a true microbevel, but this knife is SHARP!

Next investment is a set of water stones.


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Looks Purdy! Yeah, all I was hoping to see you do was BE SURE before ya did it. That's what you did.
Sharpening does a lot of things, not the least of which - it makes the knife yours which is cool.
If you think about it, a piece of steel without a beveled edge is a prybar.
You gave it "Your beveled edge". Enjoy, looks great.
 
Wow, fantastic job! Looks great. Let us know how it holds up after some use.

You use the leather or the balsa?

I'm still waiting for my 800/1000 stone to come back from WE before I jump back into it. Do you guys find it easy to keep the the stones from rolling off the tip? I guess with either light enough pressure or stopping the stroke while the stone is still on the knife there shouldn't be a problem. Does this make sense?
 
rubiconss said:
Looks Purdy! Yeah, all I was hoping to see you do was BE SURE before ya did it. That's what you did.
Sharpening does a lot of things, not the least of which - it makes the knife yours which is cool.
If you think about it, a piece of steel without a beveled edge is a prybar.
You gave it "Your beveled edge". Enjoy, looks great.
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For sure! I really appreciated it. I went back and forth on keeping and using such an expensive knife, but in the end I really like it, so I bought a carbon scale and reprofiled it, and now it is my favorite folder!
 
strider214 said:
Wow, fantastic job! Looks great. Let us know how it holds up after some use.

You use the leather or the balsa?

I'm still waiting for my 800/1000 stone to come back from WE before I jump back into it. Do you guys find it easy to keep the the stones from rolling off the tip? I guess with either light enough pressure or stopping the stroke while the stone is still on the knife there shouldn't be a problem. Does this make sense?
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Leather, but I do have some scars in the leather from learning my stroke. I'm going to end up replacing them.

As for the tip, I try to stop before the stone goes off the edge to avoid rounding. It worked well.
 
bm11 said:
For sure! I really appreciated it. I went back and forth on keeping and using such an expensive knife, but in the end I really like it, so I bought a carbon scale and reprofiled it, and now it is my favorite folder!
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Absolutely, I agree completely. Needed to be your decision though, I happen to think you made the right decision and will say that now. When I buy a knife it is for ME, not the next guy.
Enjoy the crap out of it.
 
Yeah, not sure what mode of these manufacturers think people are doing with their knives, but a 40-50 degree edge on some of the best steel available? I reprofiled my Strider SMF first, and it made such a huge difference I knew I had to do it on my XM if/when I chose to keep it.
 
Nice I think I am going to do mine, hardest thing is getting your mind set into keeping it and not eventually selling or trading.
 
As an update, I have carried this knife every day since reprofiling, and cut something with it just about every day. Obviously showed no dulling but the mirror finish started to get hazy, so about 5 minutes on the wicked edge and it is if anything, shinier than before.

So other than damage, this edge should be pretty easy to maintain.
 
So it took three weeks to get my 800/1000 stone back from WE but now I am all ready to roll. I mounted my WE to a 1 foot square marble tile from Home Depot ($4.50) and slapped some 3/4" wood under it. I reprofiled my XM to 40 degrees and I love the results. For me to go more acute would more than likely be detrimental and 40 is still very very sharp. Also, I don't know what it was before but it did not seem like very much metal was removed.

I had some wet/dry 2000 automotive sandpaper and used that and some 1500 I picked up after I finished with the 1000 grit. Results were great except I noticed my results were going downhill after the stone. Even the 2000 put more scratches into the edge than were there after the 1000 stone. Eventually I'll pick up the 1400/1600 stones and some strops.
 
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