Ruined my knife

Kershaws

Kershaws

Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
592
I posted one or two day ago on my troubles with sharpening my BK14, and i'm starting to think this knife is a total POS, I can get the straight part of the edge extremely sharp, but when it comes to getting towards the belly and the tip, the edge cannot cut paper, this is tremendously frustrating as ive spent over 100 dollars on the blade and accessories
I have tried different angles, different ways of sweeping the edge across my diamond stone, i've taken way too much metal off and the bevel is very uneven and messed up.
This knife is useless at this point and I cant return it to get my money back, and I cannot figure out how to sharpen it, this is the picture I posted a few days ago to explain how the edge is, the green is sharpest and red is dullest. I raise the blade in order for the stone to contact the curved part but it still does not work. Right now the knife is plunged into some junk wood in the garage and it's staying there until I figure out how to get it sharp. My main concern is all the metal i've taken off already.
I might just give this blade away, I was planning on taking it with me to my Army deployments but i'm not taking a blade that is only halfway sharp. I was planning on buying a BK10 but this 14 is making me doubt buying it
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Hey dude I understand your frustration but don't let I sway away from other beckers, I own a bk10 and it is my all time favorite blade, go and take a look at the Becker sub-forum, the people over there are extremely helpful
 
Send it to someone who knows what there doing theirs a bunch of people here that do.
 
Kershaws said:
I posted one or two day ago on my troubles with sharpening my BK14, and i'm starting to think this knife is a total POS, I can get the straight part of the edge extremely sharp, but when it comes to getting towards the belly and the tip, the edge cannot cut paper, this is tremendously frustrating as ive spent over 100 dollars on the blade and accessories
I have tried different angles, different ways of sweeping the edge across my diamond stone, i've taken way too much metal off and the bevel is very uneven and messed up.
This knife is useless at this point and I cant return it to get my money back, and I cannot figure out how to sharpen it, this is the picture I posted a few days ago to explain how the edge is, the green is sharpest and red is dullest. I raise the blade in order for the stone to contact the curved part but it still does not work. Right now the knife is plunged into some junk wood in the garage and it's staying there until I figure out how to get it sharp. My main concern is all the metal i've taken off already.
I might just give this blade away, I was planning on taking it with me to my Army deployments but i'm not taking a blade that is only halfway sharp. I was planning on buying a BK10 but this 14 is making me doubt buying it
BK14_h_lg_zps2cadee79.png
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It is definitely the knife's fault that you suck at sharpening! It's also that stupid knife's fault that you spent $100 on a bk14 and a diamond stone. I suggest you stick it in a vice and break it! It is obviously an inferior piece of caca!

Knives are inanimate objects. They have nothing to do with you learning a skill, or failing to learn it. Pull up yo panties and keep trying. Practice on cheapos or buy a Sharpmaker!
 
I had the same issue with my BM 707 the other day. It just wouldnt get sharp (and Im a pretty proficient sharpener). I kept trying different angles on the stone to get it right, and eventually i got a good edge on it. It was just a strange curve that my other sharpening knowledge didnt prepare me for. The way I ended up getting it was by doing almost circular like motions or something. I cant really remember much more than that, but what ever I did, it worked. But I swear, it was like the steel just stopped being steel for a second and became something that wouldnt take an edge, and then suddenly snapped back to being steel. Weird.

But like others said, either learn how to sharpen better or send it to someone else
 
bigmark408 said:
Send it to me, I'll sharpen it for you.
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Nice offer, big mark.

Hey, Kershaws, the knife is not ruined. (Nice diagram, by the way.) Freehanding is both an art and a skill. You could switch to a guided system -- Lanskey if you need to keep costs down or an Edge Pro or Wicked Edge if you want beautiful, high-performance systems that are easy to learn and that have the ability to expand with new stones as your skill, knowledge and finances improve.

Another option is to send it to big mark or to Jason or any of the other excellent sharpeners we have on the forum. Ask them to reprofile it to 30 degrees, and then maintain that edge on the 40-degree stones of a Sharpmaker. Sharpening a 30-degree edge on the SM's 40-degree stones is a snap and removes very little metal.
 
I don't think returning the knife is a option, there is nothing wrong with it except your troubles sharpening it. I also don't think you have removed as much metal as you think, it takes a TON of sharpening before you really alter a blade.

A knife such as yours with a drastic curve to the belly can be tougher to sharpen. As mentioned in your last thread you need to lift the handle as you reach the belly in order to follow the curve. Also keep your wrist locked, any wrist movement will cause major issues with angle control.

If you seek professional help send me a email.
 
The belly-tip section is always a bit more time-consuming to sharpen than the straight edge. Just be patient and keep working at it.
 
This 'I ruined my knife' affliction is only temporary, so long as you're willing to just put it down and take a break for a bit. If the photos you posted in your other thread are any indication, that blade is far from being ruined, and hardly even looks damaged as compared to how you might feel it looks (or cuts). At the worst, it may need new bevels at a better cutting geometry, but that's far from being 'ruined' (for knives that get used, it's normal).

The combination of the large & thick blade and attempting to grind new bevels on it with a pocket-sized hone (assuming same as pictured in your other thread) is going to feed your frustration in a big way. When still trying to figure all this out, it's hard enough to stay consistent anyway; add the small hand-held hone, and the fatigue contributed by trying to hog off steel with it, and the results will always suffer. The pocket hone will be OK for touch-ups AFTER the new bevels are in place, but creating them with it is going to take some practiced skill and monumental patience. A large, thick blade is much, much easier to re-bevel on a similarly-scaled bench hone, or perhaps a sheet of coarse wet/dry sandpaper; not to mention, some patient practice on less daunting blades (smaller, thinner, simple steels) will make the most difference with those better tools in hand. The suggestion to use a guide may also help, as that'll eliminate the angle variability and fatigue-generated errors resulting from trying to do it freehand.

I had a similar reaction when trying to sharpen an old Buck 112 in 440C about ~20+ years ago; I was convinced it was worthless. I put that knife away and forgot about it completely for all that time, then dug it out and tried something new with it (after becoming a member on BF and learning some new things). I'm very happy that I held onto that knife instead of getting rid of it, as it's now one of my favorites that I made my own with a new edge, and is now better than it ever was.

Take a deep breath, let the frustration pass, and set the knife aside for now. When the inspiration comes again (no need to force it; it'll come when the moment is right) you can once again pick it up, and I bet you'll be surprised at how much better it'll sharpen up.


David
 
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How are you sharpening you knife now? ( did a quick read of your last thread)
Have you changed techniques at all? Can we get a pic of it's current state?
 
n7titan said:
How are you sharpening you knife now? ( did a quick read of your last thread)
Have you changed techniques at all? Can we get a pic of it's current state?
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I wrapped the straight edge in electrical tape as it is already sharp, I keep experimenting with different techniques and have only gotten moderate results but no where close as the straight part of the blade. I have a two 6 inch diamonds coming in on Saturday (300 & 600) hopefully it will make things easier
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That's the great thing about this forum - folks willing to try and help a frustrated member with tempered and constructive advice instead of belittling them.
 
The only way to get rid of this sharpening curse is to send that evil knife is to get rid of it. You can send it to me for proper disposal of it.

Dude, it's not the knife's fault, it's yours. Practice some more.
 
OP do me a favor and go find a small binder clip. Do a search on the forum for it. Clip it to the back of the blade it will provide you with a perfect 30 degree angle guide work one side until you can feel a burr, then the other side remove the burr and strop. Free handing is different than guide systems in that you can't just focus on doing 20 swipes on each side.

Its all about getting a burr and then lightly removing the burr on the other side without creating another burr. Stropping really helps too good luck!
 
jobasha11 said:
The only way to get rid of this sharpening curse is to send that evil knife is to get rid of it. You can send it to me for proper disposal of it.

Dude, it's not the knife's fault, it's yours. Practice some more.
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I am not saying it's the knifes fault. I should have opted into purchasing a blade with a less extreme belly and thinner blade as I obviously have troubles with that combination. This is the only blade I have troubles sharpening, as my others are all thin and rather straight. For example I can get knives such as any Mora or a Kershaw Leek hair popping sharp as there is a lack of a a deep belly and are rather thin. I bought the 14 for its robustness, something that can handle abuse for long periods of time, but my lack of experience with such type of blade leads to frustration as I expected sharpening to be quick and easy as is with all my other knives.
This is solved with practice yes, but this is the only knife of its kind that I have, I cannot compare techniques that I have with a Mora with a Becker. Therefore this is the only blade I have to practice with and who knows up until what point I will figure it out
 
Binder clip is a good trick to use.
So you're getting 300 and 600 grit diamond stones? What's your current one?

Diamond stones in my experience eat up steel very fast. You might want to try a 1000 grit water or arkansas stone instead.
I use a generic two-sided rough/fine grit sharpening stone you can find in supermarkets and it does well. Just recently I bought a 750 diamond and it leaves more abrasion marks than the stone does. With a good slurry on the generic I can even do a bit of pre-stropping and get decent results; I tried the same thing on the DMT but it just left micro serrations everywhere.
 
The one I currently have is a 600, but after a few months it isn't eating at the edge as easily and now requires more pressure, which is another reason I am getting a new stone as the one I have is starting to pose a safety issue
 
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