Sharpening problem

dsvirsky

dsvirsky

Joined
Aug 2, 1999
Messages
1,910
Previously, I've just followed the factory bevel on my Dragonfly, since I was using a GATCO TriSeps to sharpen it. However, now that I've got a Sharpmaker, I figured that I'd touch up the edge by micro-beveling at 40 degrees inclusive. Since the knife wasn't actually dull, I just used the white rod, corner and then flat, alternating strokes.

I didn't think much about it until the next day, when I noticed that I had left a slight burr on the left side of the edge (spine up). So I decided that as long as I needed to redo it, I'd give the knife a decent secondary 40 degree bevel. Followed the instructions, 20 strokes corner and flat, medium rod, 20 strokes corner and flat, fine rod, alternating strokes. When I was done, I had a significant burr, again on the left side.

I've considered the idea that I'm using too much pressure and rolling the edge, but since I'm right handed, I would think that the edge would roll over to the right side (it's easier to apply pressure towards the mid-line of the body than away from the body) if that were the case.

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? Or did I just have a bad night last night, and everything will go just fine when I try again tonight? I haven't had this problem with any of the other knives I've sharpened with my Sharpmaker.

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Dave

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives
 
Once you get a burr developed on one side, I would try removing it and getting your finished edge with a leather strop.
A strop can be made from an old belt, glued to a piece of wood. I like to use green or brown polish on mine, depending on the blade material.
Neil

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Dr. Lathe,
Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't actually want that polished an edge; I generally sharpen for slicing, not push cutting. In fact, with some of my knives, I only use the medium ceramic rod.

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Dave

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives
 
It sounds like you started off with uneven bevels on the left and right side of your blade. If the initial bevel on left side was say 25 degrees, while the bevel on the right side was say 22 degrees you might not actually be honing down to the edge on the left side. In this case you would only raise a burr on the left side.

To test this theory darken your bevel on both sides with a marking pen. Take a few strokes at 20 degrees on each side. Look with a magnifying glass and see if a little black is left adjacent to the edge on the left side. If this is the problem, just work down the left using your medium stick until you remove the burr. Once both bevels are down to 20 degrees you should be fine.

If this is not your problem you can get rid of the burr by tipping the blade a little off verticle for a few alternating finish strokes. By tipping the back edge of the knife towards the center of the V you can increase the angle to about 25 degrees for burr removal. Get rid of your burr with the fine sticks. Then go back lightly with the medium sticks if you want a rougher edge. Finishing with the corners of the sticks or the medium sticks may roll over or indent the edge in crummy ways.


[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 01-26-2000).]
 
I agree with the above comments. I have a Benchmade 710 with the same problem that became apparent when I darkened the edge with a black sharpie marker.
It took me quite a while to sharpen the knife (with the sharpmaker) so that the bevels met and when I was done they were quite uneven. I sent it to Benchmade with a detailed description of the problem hoping they could possible replace the blade. Silly me - they just sharpened it and sent it back to me. Now I'm at square one again.

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Kevin Miller

Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always.
 
Get a medium-coarse grit aluminum oxide or a medium grit diamond bench hone for rough work like changing bevels. They cut a lot faster. If you do much of this sort of thing you probably want to use the the aluminum oxide more since it is cheaper than wearing down your diamond plate. I use both. First I use the aluminum oxide then neaten up the bevel using the diamonds. (I go for neat distinct bevels rather than gradual convex ones.
 
Thanks all. I'm still not sure whether the problem was with the bevels or with me, but the knife is nicely sharpened now. I sat down on the couch tonight with my Sharpmaker on the coffee table (last night I was working at a kitchen counter), took it slow and easy, and everything went fine.

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Dave

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives
 
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