The Magic Busse Edge

[Lane Dexter]

I've been looking at the unique "asymetric" edge on my SHII. Just so I don't mess it up too much (or can repair it if I do), what are the actual angles on the longer convex side, and the shorter straight beveled side?

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Seems to me that pushing against a fine belt, above the platten where the belt can flex, should do the convex part just fine.

Thanks.

 

[Strabs]

Check "sharpening" in search here at the Busse forum and you'll come up with abundant discussions about this very topic.

One thing to remember though- always PULL (edge trailing) the blade when sharpening this type of edge. (either side)

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Lane:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">what are the actual angles on the longer convex side, and the shorter straight beveled side? </font>

There are going to be variations in all production knives. The best way to keep the NIB angle on your blade is to use a marker to color in the bevel and adjust the angle you are using until a pass cleanly removes the mark over the entire width of the bevel.

-Cliff

 

[Lane Dexter]

I appreciate the advice. Isn't "pulling" away from the edge rather unusual in sharpening? Most sharpening advice has the knife moving as if taking a thin slice of stone. Is this due to the unique steel? Or does it just work better to put a fine edge on this type of bevel?

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Lane Dexter:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Most sharpening advice has the knife moving as if taking a thin slice of stone.</font>

This is correct if you want to grind metal off the edge. When using a ceramic rod a major effect is edge alignment. If you grind the knife into the ceramic rod you will remove the folded over metal instead of straightening it out. On a Busse this is wasting the ability of the steel to a large extent.

Note however that regular metal removal is necessary on a lot of other steels because they are not as durable and the edge tends to fracture away easily because of low impact toughness and once bent will crack off easily if you do align it again because of the low ductility so aligning them can be a waste of time. It isn't with the INFI and M-INFI blades.

There is more to edge retention than just wear resistance and hardness. Durability plays a large part and your methods of sharpening should take advantage of the abilities of the steel so as to maximize the benefits you get from it.


-Cliff

 

[Lane Dexter]

Ahh, I am enlightened. As Artie Johnson used to say, "Ver-r-ry Inter-r-r-restin-n-ng."