Sharpening a D2 blade that has NO initial bevel?

I KNEW it was you bluntcut! I could tell by the belt recommendation. :)

You're right about the HF block. It's fine except that you can't reach the edges well. Do you have one?

What do you think about using the belt to go to a zero edge with D2 at RC 58 - 59? Might be too extreme.

I can't possibly see flat grinding this on paper... Not with the grits I have anyway. Did I mention I have a baby and my time is limited? :D
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I've 2 hf blocks, actually great lugging around in the truck, along with cheap alox stones. 60/120 combo alox is much faster to hog soft steels.

Zero-grind D2 would be too extreme - at least in my limited experience with BM Pardue D2 blade. I lost total around 4mm of the blade width from massive chipping. I found too thin behind the edge was the problem even for light chop impact.

For flat sanding wood & steels, I put sandpaper on dmt plate.

Sam I am.

Congrats on baby! I hear that golden paste make excellent stropping compound :p
 
I just made 14 blades of cpm d2, all machined down to about .015" and I used a work sharp to start the bevel, then finished it off on my wicked edge. Takes a while, but the end result is well worth it! :)
 
I would set that project aside for a while till you can get a cheap belt sander. It can be done without it, but it's going to take a long time and will probably wear out the stock 120 grit EP stones.

Looks like it could be a really nice slicer when you're done though. Good hard D2 deserves a 25/30º inclusive edge. I have all my D2 pocket knives at 30º and have had no problem with chipping. Cutting strapping, plastic packaging, plastic air hose, rubber hose, cardboard or my lunch when needed.

I love me some D2. You must post pix of the finished knfe.
 
That blade is clearly defective. Send it to me and i'll make sure it gets disposed of properly
 
blame it on god said:
I would set that project aside for a while till you can get a cheap belt sander. It can be done without it, but it's going to take a long time and will probably wear out the stock 120 grit EP stones.

Looks like it could be a really nice slicer when you're done though. Good hard D2 deserves a 25/30º inclusive edge. I have all my D2 pocket knives at 30º and have had no problem with chipping. Cutting strapping, plastic packaging, plastic air hose, rubber hose, cardboard or my lunch when needed.

I love me some D2. You must post pix of the finished knfe.
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What kind of grinder are you talking about? I have a 1x30 Delta and a 4xSomething, but that one is better on wood.

I've done a lot of work, it's all epoxied and the pins/tube have had the preliminary grinding and clocking, but there is still many hours left before I'm done! :)

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The knife as of today.

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Blunt, I started working on the blade with an 80 grit belt strapped down to a bar of 1095 that I had laying around. D2 is some serious stuff but I'm making (slow) progress.

Thanks for the advice!
 
I've done flats on 154cm by hand, I don't envy you doing it on d2. I'd look at scoring the edge in the center as a reference for sharpening.
 
Skimo said:
I've done flats on 154cm by hand, I don't envy you doing it on d2. I'd look at scoring the edge in the center as a reference for sharpening.
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Yeah, honestly, it's kind of a nightmare. I mean, it's not hard, it's just taking a long time, but I expected this. I tell you what though... That belt grinder with the 120 grit belt sure is tempting. Seriously. I've looked at it about 15 times and thought "I'm sure I could do it...". I may be able to but I've put enough time in that I just don't want to risk it.
 
Strigamort said:
The knife as of today.
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Lookin great!

Strigamort said:
Blunt, I started working on the blade with an 80 grit belt strapped down to a bar of 1095 that I had laying around. D2 is some serious stuff but I'm making (slow) progress.
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This may seem counter-intuitive, but when you're using abrasives that coarse, don't go all the way to your finished dimensions/sharpness with them! Papers/belts that rough are not terribly consistant and do not leave an even, clean surface. Stop short, say 90% of finished and switch up to 100, then 220, etc. Otherwise you will end up with the geometry you want, covered in deep scratches.

Don't be cheap with your abrasives... switch to fresh belt/paper as soon as it starts to clog up. A few drops of very light "lube" (WD-40, water, light machine oil, I use Windex until I get to my final step) will help cut faster and slow down the clogging. Most new makers waste a heckuva lotta time rubbing dull, dirty paper over their steel and not accomplishing anything.
 
Strigamort said:
What kind of grinder are you talking about? I have a 1x30 Delta and a 4xSomething, but that one is better on wood.
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Sorry I must have missed it when you said you have the belt sanders. There is enough material there that I would at least give the knife a few passes to help speed things up.

It looks great so far!!
 
james terrio said:
Lookin great!



This may seem counter-intuitive, but when you're using abrasives that coarse, don't go all the way to your finished dimensions/sharpness with them! Papers/belts that rough are not terribly consistant and do not leave an even, clean surface. Stop short, say 90% of finished and switch up to 100, then 220, etc. Otherwise you will end up with the geometry you want, covered in deep scratches.

Don't be cheap with your abrasives... switch to fresh belt/paper as soon as it starts to clog up. A few drops of very light "lube" (WD-40, water, light machine oil, I use Windex until I get to my final step) will help cut faster and slow down the clogging. Most new makers waste a heckuva lotta time rubbing dull, dirty paper over their steel and not accomplishing anything.
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Thank you sir, a compliment from you means a lot!

Yes, I'll be using a progression of grits. I'm also using wd40. I'm actually trying the cheap HF diamond block and it's working surprisingly well. I thought the design would prevent getting into the plunge, but it fits this blade perfectly. :)





blame it on god said:
Sorry I must have missed it when you said you have the belt sanders. There is enough material there that I would at least give the knife a few passes to help speed things up.

It looks great so far!!
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Thanks! I have the edge at about half of what it was (in edge width), but I'm not sure that I didn't lift the spine a tad while getting there. There's still a long way to go, but once I get the edge consistent, and I'm relatively certain that it's actually flat ground, I may practice on some cheap blades to see about getting an initial apex on the grinder. After that I believe I'll skip the guided stuff and freehand an edge. I want this pretty acute but it'll cost me some calories in order to get it!
 
Just wanted to update.

So if you added up the hours that I spent on this knife start to finish, and applied what I normally get payed for an hours work...

Well, let's not do that. :D

In the end I spent a few hours grinding the blade until I got an edge about the width of a dime, less in the belly and toward the tip.

After much consideration I decided to use the belt grinder. I got a nice convex edge that I finished up last night by hand.

I can't really show the edge very well. I'm more proud of the handle though. I wish everyone could feel it. It's comfy! :)

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Poor attempt to show the edge... (810 is just there to help the camera focus)

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Thanks for your help guys!
 
That looks awesome! That is very close if not an exact representation in size, pattern, and materials of what I consider a perfect EDU. I'm gonna have to bookmark this thread and start saving up.

Where's the "Green With Envy" smiley when you need it?
 
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