Sharpening: Secondary bevel or no?

F

falar

Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
1,199
First off, I have very little sharpening experience. It seems for the longest time I mostly just made things more dull but now with some ceramic/diamond rods I think I've gotten the hang of sharpening large knives up to "usable" status if they get dull enough. Usually if I want something done well I will still send it to a pro.

Now to the matter at hand.

It seems that all my HI Khukuris have a "zero" edge, typical of swords (at least ones that aren't hollow ground) vs the majority of knives sold in America that have clear secondary bevels. I've never attempted to and have no idea how to properly maintain a zero edge and wondered if anyone puts a secondary bevel on their khukuris?

My chitlangis, sirupates, and manakamana specials all came wicked sharp (pretty scary for knives with that much size/weight behind them) and I would definitely like to always maintain the zero edge on these but I could see how a secondary bevel may be a good idea for a chopper like an ASTK or CAK and thought maybe some others have thought the same and done it already. I did put a bit of a microbevel on an ASTK that I rolled some of the softer parts on when chopping some hardwood and it seems to be holding up pretty well so far.
 
Let me state unequivically NO secondary bevel on a proper khuk. That being said, your mileage may vary :D

Seriously I am definately not an expert but in thread after thread I have read here, I always read how you need to keep the convex edge of a khuk, not sharpen it with a bevel There are a number of great instructions for how to sharpen a khuk throughout the sticky thread for new users.
 
Keep the convex edge. It is much easier to "roll" an edge back in the "field", with just a few passes of the chakma.
 
I'm not so sure about all of them being convex either, a lot seem more like a V or even slightly hollow sometimes.
 
You can still keep a convex edge using a ceramic rod for touch up. Its when you lock in an angle like when using a guide is when you are introducing a bevel. Use a black sharpie or magic marker to color the edge so you can see what your doing first off if your not familiar with sharpening. Using too high an angle and especially too much pressure will actually dull more than sharpen via mouse and sandpaper method. The trailing edge of the compressed pad will actually curl up around the edge dulling. Learn to feel the edge for the "wire". Do some more reading if this is unfamiliar. When i learned how soft and dynamic steel really is and only then could I put a good edge on my blades. You have to think of it as platic like verses hard and brittle. Thats my opinion and it works for me (my disclaimer:D) There's more than one way to skin a cat.
 
What's one of the other ways. I never skinned a cat before? Quick as I started they clawed heck out of me and I had to give up.
 
You can freshen up a convex edge for a long time with a ceramic rod w/o introducing a secondary bevel. Hand sharpening a convex with a stone is a matter of bringing the edge up to the desired sharpness and then blending that edge back into the body of the blade-think of sharpieing 1/4" or more of the edge area an then stoning it bright.
A secondary bevel on a convex edge is a disaster-I made a bowie for a guy back in '03 and he had a "professional sharpener" sharpen it, and the guy put a secondary on it. It would shave arm hair, but went from cutting a full tatami mat (it was a 9" blade) to making a 1" deep by 3" long cut in the same type of mat.
Took me an hour toget it normal again.
The mousepad/sandpaper trick followed by light tuning with the ceramic seems ideal to me.
 
Tip of the day:... (hey! that should be a thread!) Use Super 77 Spray Adhesive to prevent your paper and mouse pad from sliding around on you while sharpening. Anyone tried this? I have been meaning to mention it but I forget in my old age. It doesnt work well enough to actually stick anything together but it sure makes for a tacky surface when used very sparingly. Having both hands free is cool because you can concentrate on holding the blade instead of the paper. The paper just peels right off so you can go on to the next grit.
 
Tip of the day part 2. Don't try this on your wife's kitchen counter top or table. You've been warned.
 
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