Ruined my knife

[Carl Jacobsen]

I'd second Fanglekai's comment that the knife's edge may have been unevenly ground when you got it. Ignore the folks who are saying various versions of "man up!", it's not all that helpful. Listen to the folks who are saying, "set it down, walk away a while, come back later and take a fresh look." A few more ideas:

1. Consider taking a *really* close look at the edge, using something like a "triplet loupe" (the BelOMO brand is highly regarded for this). You say the tip isn't sharp but the main edge is - take a look and see *exactly* what's different between them.

2. Consider sending the knife out to a "pro" (that could be commercial, or a forum friend, there's already been a few offers on this thread - don't just "take it somewhere", find someone you trust who understands your concerns) to put the edge back into shape: a) they can make it shaving sharp for *now*, b) they can reprofile it if the manufacturer did grind it unevenly (which should help with future sharpening), and c) they can clean up any damage you may have done (or more likely tell you that you really didn't do any damage - either way you'll be reassured). And, you can examine the resulting edge *closely* (with that loupe from point #1) to know exactly what to aim for next time.

3. If all else fails (you can't get to an edge that is both sharp and something you feel confident about maintaining in the field), instead of breaking it in half, consider finding someone good (maybe from point #2) with the requisite tools (stones would take forever, and unskillful grinding could blow the heat treat), to grind the nose down to a tanto - you wouldn't lose much steel (just draw a straight line from the point to the end of the red part)), and you'd have just two flat grinds (instead of a big curve) to deal with.

 

[Bladenoobie1]

Actual sharpening doesn't take much time and removes very little metal. The hardest part isn't actually sharpening, it's shaping the edge. Often the edge will be thick, uneven, or simply in need of metal removed.

This video shows the basic technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPGGo3W15HQ

If you're using hand tools, stones, ceramics, diamonds, silicon carbide wet/dry sandpaper, etc. it might take a while to shape (thin down) the edge to where you reach the apex on both sides at the same (or close to the same) angle.

Most likely the BK14 you purchased wasn't ground evenly so the tip/belly portion of the blade is thicker or at a higher angle than the rear portion. That means you have to keep at it and remove more metal until you thin it down enough to where you are hitting the apex.

You can do this free hand, on a jig system, or you can simply send it off to someone to thin down the edge. Once you are able to reach the apex at, say, 15 degrees per side, maintenance is a breeze and will only take a few swipes at an angle higher than 15 dps to actually sharpen the knife.

I hope this makes sense. Even a "lowly" carbon steel can take a while to shape if you have to remove a good bit of metal.

This can be a potential reason--even so, with a good technique and the proper equipment reprofiling the bevel shouldn't be too much of an issue. Talking to the OP, from what I've seen in this thread and your posts I assume you are a very inexperienced at free hand sharpening. Before you go messing around with other knives I highly advise (as others mentioned) to practice on "cheap" cutlery and perhaps watch a few videos or read a few threads to conceptually understand sharpening better. Invest in a good strop (shouldn't cost much) or even make one. Send your knife to one of the professional sharpeners like knifenut(in my sig). There are many individuals you can send to have your knives sharpened with good rep. Good luck.

 

[Kershaws]

This can be a potential reason--even so, with a good technique and the proper equipment reprofiling the bevel shouldn't be too much of an issue. Talking to the OP, from what I've seen in this thread and your posts I assume you are a very inexperienced at free hand sharpening. Before you go messing around with other knives I highly advise (as others mentioned) to practice on "cheap" cutlery and perhaps watch a few videos or read a few threads to conceptually understand sharpening better. Invest in a good strop (shouldn't cost much) or even make one. Send your knife to one of the professional sharpeners like knifenut(in my sig). There are many individuals you can send to have your knives sharpened with good rep. Good luck.

Thanks, I kinda figured it out now, the bevel near the handle is thinner, but progressively got thicker as you got near the tip, I've been passing it on a stone for a few hours now, and the sharpness is slowly creeping up towards the tip the more I sharpen, so it is certainly an uneven bevel issue. I just need to finish re-profiling it. Thanks to everyone for the help and let this thread be a reference to anyone having problems sharpening these kinds of blades

 

[killgar]

Thanks, I kinda figured it out now, the bevel near the handle is thinner, but progressively got thicker as you got near the tip, I've been passing it on a stone for a few hours now, and the sharpness is slowly creeping up towards the tip the more I sharpen, so it is certainly an uneven bevel issue. I just need to finish re-profiling it. Thanks to everyone for the help and let this thread be a reference to anyone having problems sharpening these kinds of blades

Well done Kershaws. Sometimes a little time, patience, and practice is all it takes.

 

[Fanglekai]

Removing a lot of metal with any hand tools is slow going. Yes even with diamonds as most aren't super coarse. Just take your time and work at it in sessions. Once you thin out the tip area and reach the apex on both sides you can start the actual sharpening, which is fast because you are merely refining the apex. Use light pressure. Use sharpie marker on the edge. Try to minimize a burr forming.