scuffed area where bevel meets blade

S

shad0w77

Joined
Sep 5, 2014
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13
Just attempted to re-profile my mini recon1 drop point. Well, didn't go exactly as expected, but I learned a few things... and salvaged it at least

Went too shallow at first and couldn't grind away enough material to raise a bur at the tip. Learned, that since edge to spine angle at the tip is much wider than the rest of the blade, I was grinding too much material and the bevel at the tip would have been huge if I ever got there anyway.

So, okay, my 17 degree reprofile didn't work, lets call it quits, clean it up and just sharpen the edge at 20-22 degrees...

Came out good. Bevel is a bit wider at the tip which is due to physics when using a fixed angle system (learned that here!). On one side of the blade the cutting edge and point where the bevel meets the blade isn't quite parallel, but i can fix that next time. Just need a few extra swipes in that area to even it out. Really really sharp though. The removing of material at the front, ground away some of the black finish there, actually making it look kinda cool. Thing slices paper by just being near it. hahaha.

And if someone asks, i just say i removed some material at the tip to make it thinner behind the bevel for better slicing ;)

So, enough history and on to my question. Where the bevel meets the blade, it's not as... crisp... as i see in some people's photos on the site. Kinda hazy where the bevel and blade meet... almost scuffed. Is this due to the mud buildup on the stones as I sharpen? All the stones are nice and flat (no light shining through when I hold two stones together... except for my 120 grit) and i constantly wash them off/rotate end to end while I sharpen. Not really sure why I can't get that super crisp bevel to blade meeting point.

Any advice of things to watch out for? Is this a common issue for beginners? Will it clean itself up over time and touch ups w/ the 600 and 1000 grit stones? Too much pressure? Too little pressure?

TIA guys!
 
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Some of the scuffing may be from extra material building up and then handling that spot rubbing the shaving into the steel. Next time, (or next knife) just be very conscious of stone, or steel building on the blade. Keep a rag/paper towels handy to keeps it cleans ;)

I did the same thing a few times when starting out.

Another thing I wasn't doing was not wiping my edge pro platform enough, and where the blade sits would get a bit of rubbing on some shavings.

So just a matter of keeping an eye on any stone/steel that starts building, and get it gone.

As for why it's not crisp, there must be some variance to your angle in that area. That's the only way yous get a not so crisp bevel. Something in that area is causing you to make passes that aren't exactly the same angle, causing slight rounding to what would be a nice defined bevel.

If the pressure is too high, the blade will try to decrease the angle , and you'll be removing higher up on the bevel.

Check with a marker frequently, and make sure 1 pass removes all marking.
And look for ANYTHING that could effect the consistency of your passes. Pressure, angle, etc.

A very small change in anything can result in a undesirable result.

Those super clean edges come from extremely consistent strokes.
 
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Okay got it I think. I will try again with the 300 grit and work my way up. Wipe often and don't press hard... If at all. I made sure I wasn't moving the blade because I really wanted to c if it was that. Sounds like if I do these things, it will work it's way out.
 
funny thing is that my wifes kitchen knives w/ a full flat grind came out awesome... mine, not so much
 
Lol isn't that always the case.

What sharpening kit are you using?

What I do is start rough.

10 passes then 10 on the opposite side.

Then 9
Then 8
7,6,5
Down to 1 and I do one for a few rotations. That removes the burr early making it easier in the end.

I do that with every stone all the way up to my finest grit.

Very low pressure. Especially when your down to about 3 on the finer stones. Just letting the stone glide. Just gravity

May be overkill or whatever, but it works wonders.
 
Tmack said:
Lol isn't that always the case.

What sharpening kit are you using?

What I do is start rough.

10 passes then 10 on the opposite side.

Then 9
Then 8
7,6,5
Down to 1 and I do one for a few rotations. That removes the burr early making it easier in the end.

I do that with every stone all the way up to my finest grit.

Very low pressure. Especially when your down to about 3 on the finer stones. Just letting the stone glide. Just gravity

May be overkill or whatever, but it works wonders.
Click to expand...

i'm using the edgepro. I'm pivoting the blade as I work my way to belly and then tip. I can do the entire blade at once, but seems like the belly is just too far off of the table then.

I'll try your countdown method... not going all the way down to 120 again (ugh, that was not fun), but I'll start w/ the 300.

What I did notice is when doing the marker test, from one grit to the next, the angle isn't exactly the same. it's real close, like 3-5 swipes gets all the marker off... not the first swipe w/ a new grit. is this common?
 
I started using the edge pro with the pivot techniques. That can add too much human error. I installed strong magnets, put the blade in one place, and don't move it at all.

Also go to chefs knives to go, and get a drill stop collar.
It will eliminate the variance in thickness of the stones.

Look how much thicker the 120 is than the 400.

That really effects the edge. I bet that's why your getting the bevel not totally crisp.
 
If you want to do it without the collar, you have to adjust the angle with every stone. Because of the thickness difference in the stones.

It's stupid the ep doesn't cone with the collar.

You have to use the first stone, the when you switch, use the marker, and adjust the angle for the new stone, then repeat, repeat. You'll notice how much difference there is in the angle just from the stone thickness.

The drill stop collar is like $3 and works miracles.

You lock it in place for the first stone, then when you switch, just put your next stone between the arm and collar, tight them arm, and it's set perfectly.

When I got one, my edges goy ridiculous.
Shave without touching skin. Just hover over your arm and the hair us treetopped. Amazing.
 
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Tmack said:
I started using the edge pro with the pivot techniques. That can add too much human error. I installed strong magnets, put the blade in one place, and don't move it at all.

Also go to chefs knives to go, and get a drill stop collar.
It will eliminate the variance in thickness of the stones.

Look how much thicker the 120 is than the 400.

That really effects the edge. I bet that's why your getting the bevel not totally crisp.
Click to expand...

wait, so u dont move your knife at all from back to front?? doesn't that make the angle change as the edge of the blade goes from close to the shelf, to far, back to close?

and holy 4 letter expletive! i never even thought about the thickness of the stones! might need to stop by my local ace hardware and get a 5/16 drill stop collar. i bet that's what the issue is.

from what i gather, u set the lock collar at the lowest grit and then just move the edge pro adjustment higher or lower as you go up in grit so that the lock collar rests nicely on top of each stone. sound about right? only lock down the lock collar on the first grit?

^^^^ answered that in ure edit...
 
Well u sir, are awesome. Actually had a 5/16 collar. Also flattened my stones. Took clean deliberate strokes using the count down method. Didn't pivot the blade, just left it positioned in a nice spot so u can hit the whole blade fairly evenly. Came out so much better. Actually, my first shaving quality sharpening... Thanks again!
 
:D awesome!

Now grab yourself a nice leather strop!

That'll maintain the razor edge without having to go to the stones often. That'll keep you from removing steel when not necessary. Will also refine the edge and make it even sharper!
From here on out, you'll get better and better.
Soon, shaving won't be good enough lol. You'll want to shave with NO pressure. Then you'll want to shave without touching the blade on your skin.
It becomes an obsession.

Congratulations! And say goodbye to your arm hair! (if you have any left!!!)
 
Lol obsessions bsession! I have a nice assortment of stones too, but the edge pro just works so well and is so fast
 
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