Sharpening kershaw blur with edge pro apex

Mongoose45 · Nov 30, 2015

Hello. I have a new kershaw blur and an edge pro apex 4 knife sharpener. Does anyone know what angle I should set the edge pro to sharpen this knife and if I should position the blade so that the secondary bevel is flat on the table or if I should have the part above the secondary bevel flat on the table. Sorry I have bad English.

TravisH · Nov 30, 2015

WELCOME!

To find the existing factory bevel ...
1 - use a marker (Sharpie) to blacken the edge
2 - with the highest grit stone, try a few strokes at different angles until you find the angle that removes the marker from the whole bevel

blanex1 · Nov 30, 2015

+1 with travisH, out of all the other methods i have tried,i fine using a marker the best!oh and welcome to the forum,enjoy.

mycough · Nov 30, 2015

May want 1\2" wide stones fgore the recurve blades. Russ

Mongoose45 · Dec 1, 2015

Why use the highest grit stone? I thought that would be too abrasive and possibly damage the edge. For example if I am testing it with a Sharpie and I find the angle is too low wouldn't it be better to have something finer? Also all of the stones with the edge pro are the same width and wider than 1/2" will they not work then?

WolfSpring · Dec 2, 2015

Highest grit would be highest grit number meaning finest stone it would do the least amount of removal.

TravisH · Dec 2, 2015

Mongoose45 said:
Why use the highest grit stone? I thought that would be too abrasive and possibly damage the edge. For example if I am testing it with a Sharpie and I find the angle is too low wouldn't it be better to have something finer?

Yes.

As WolfSpring noted, the higher the grit number, the finer it is. So 100 grit is considered 'low' while 1000 grit is 'high'.

Also all of the stones with the edge pro are the same width and wider than 1/2" will they not work then?

The problem is that wide stones cannot match smaller/tighter recurve angles so the edges of the stone cut into the steel.

Think 'square peg in round hole'. Or recall your Calculus 'Curve Approximation using Rectangles'.

Too large a peg and it damages the curve of the hole. You need narrower stones to better match the curve of a recurve blade. Round rods are probably best for recurves.

cbwx34 · Dec 2, 2015

You do not need the ½ inch or special stones to sharpen a Blur on the Edge Pro... the stock stones will work just fine. Yes, only the edges of the stone will make contact in the recurve area... but it's more than enough to get the job done.

You can chamfer or round the edges of the stone a bit for better performance, but the bigger tips:

* Work the stone(s) in both direction (heel to tip / tip to heel) for better coverage in the recurve
* Keep a loose grip on the handle... let the stone rotate and follow the edge of the knife, (especially in the recurve)
* Light pressure... let the stone do the work. (Too much pressure and you can dig the edge of the stone into the edge)

All of the above should be done on every knife anyway... recurve or not.

Mongoose45 · Dec 3, 2015

Ah yes sorry, I didn't understand I thought you meant high grit as in most abrasive but yes I know higher number is finer. Thank you for the responses

Mongoose45 · Dec 3, 2015

I checked the angle with the marker and it becomes removed from the bevel when the arm is placed higher than the top line (blue line) which is supposedly 24 degrees. This doesn't seem right but I think it may be due to the angling of the blade as it is placed on the sharpening table because the blade on the kershaw blur is ground in such a way that the sides are not flat. Does this sound correct or am I doing something wrong? I just want to be sure because I don't want to accidentally mess up my edge by sharpening at too High an angle

TravisH · Dec 3, 2015

Well ...

If the marker is only being removed from the very apex of the bevel, the angle is too steep.

If the marker is only being removed from the shoulder of the bevel, the angle is too shallow.

If the marker is being removed from the whole bevel, the angle is correct, regardless what the guide's lines say.

mycough · Dec 3, 2015

cbwx34 said:
You do not need the ½ inch or special stones to sharpen a Blur on the Edge Pro... the stock stones will work just fine. Yes, only the edges of the stone will make contact in the recurve area... but it's more than enough to get the job done.

You can chamfer or round the edges of the stone a bit for better performance, but the bigger tips:

* Work the stone(s) in both direction (heel to tip / tip to heel) for better coverage in the recurve
* Keep a loose grip on the handle... let the stone rotate and follow the edge of the knife, (especially in the recurve)
* Light pressure... let the stone do the work. (Too much pressure and you can dig the edge of the stone into the edge)

All of the above should be done on every knife anyway... recurve or not.

The full width stones will alter the original recurve of a blur. They will wear irregularly also. There is an old thread about this, and nothing has changed since then.
Russ

mycough · Dec 3, 2015

Mongoose45 said:
Why use the highest grit stone? I thought that would be too abrasive and possibly damage the edge. For example if I am testing it with a Sharpie and I find the angle is too low wouldn't it be better to have something finer? Also all of the stones with the edge pro are the same width and wider than 1/2" will they not work then?

Edge pro sold 1\2" and other companies do also.
The place I got mine is not a sponsor here, check around...
Russ

cbwx34 · Dec 4, 2015

mycough said:
The full width stones will alter the original recurve of a blur. They will wear irregularly also. There is an old thread about this, and nothing has changed since then.
Russ

Hey mycough...

I won't belabor the point, but having actually done them on the Edge Pro with the regular stones, if you keep a light grip and let the stone glide thru the recurve, it will work just fine. Even Edge Pro in the video on recurves says you can use the regular stones to "set the bevel", Ben just recommends the ½ stones to polish it out. But the curve on the Blur isn't really deep enough to need them. (Here's where he mentions it)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzfBAE8Fj1Y

Feel free to post the thread you mentioned... I couldn't find it... Let Mongoose45 (or anyone else) decide for themselves. But I know it works, I've done it.

Edit 12/5 1540

Just to make sure I wasn't overlooking something (been a while since I used the EP), I did a Kershaw Speedbump with the stock stones...