Thinned Out Edges Photo Thread

V

Vivi

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Knives with edge profiles ground for cutting seem to be gaining popularity at the forums, so I thought to make a thread where we could share photos of our knives. Here are a few of mine.

2i95x5l.jpg


Buck Hartsook. Could still use a bit more grinding, but it has a drastic increase in cutting performance as is. The astute will note the original bevel towards the tip. This is how I often grind my knives when going flat to the stone, keeping the tip thick for penetration.

2wozj7n.jpg


SAK Farmer. Couldn't really get a good picture. The bevel is a little more than twice as wide as the stock bevel to give you an idea of how thin it currently is. I feel like I could go thinner with it though.

I'll try to get some more photos later tonight or tomorrow. I have an Endura 3 SE that I reground flat to the stone and made PE and some more SAKs, a Buck Stockman etc to photograph.
 
I took my SAK down a little, but I've noticed the edge has a much greater tendency to deform, especially in food prep where it will occasionally contact a hard surface. Sure does cut nice though.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
How long and with what tools?

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Too long :p

What I've been doing lately is whenever I break a skateboard (Once a month or so) is taking the grip tape off and sticking it to flat pieces of wood. I took the Buck Hartsook to that "stone" for about 10 minutes, then used a fine DMT stone to finish up, followed by a strop. The SAK I did on on a fine ceramic rod. I usually don't go to low grits for them because SAK steel grinds easily enough. That one took about 15 minutes total. Tactical folders tend to take me a lot more time, like that ATS55 Endura I took from SE to PE. I think we discussed that in some older topics where we essentially laughed at people who said I'd ruin the temper by grinding it down by hand.

Buck268, I haven't had any issues with my SAKs yet. Interestingly though, I did have my Opinel #10 deform when I was slicing some crusty bread with it. I know it's got a thin edge, but I did not expect it to behave like that. Especially considering the reputation carbon steel has.
 
Thin edges of any type of steel will deform easily. I took my BK11 down to a nice thin edge; really scarey sharp; and one day I was half intoxicated batonning wood and shaving bark off, used a little too much force a few times and knicked some ceramic tile a few times, which totally destroyed the edge (by destroy I mean took honing and not just stropping to bring it back).
 
Vivi said:
I did have my Opinel #10 deform when I was slicing some crusty bread with it.
Click to expand...

Must have forgot to harden that one. Nice work on the grinding I don't have the patience for that type of work. I tend to file the softer knives like SAK's, way faster than stone grinding. You can put a bevel on in less than a minute.

-Cliff
 
Just in case anyone wants to try out a fairly high-performance blade without a lot of effort or expense, this is my EKA Compact after applying a 10 deg./side edge bevel:


eka-2.jpg



The blade behind the edge measures only .007"-.008" ... so obviously it comes nicely thin from the factory, and rebeveling took very little work.

BTW the blade in the picture above displayed on a 17" CRT monitor is a little more than 3x the size of the actual EKA blade. An interesting little knife in many respects.
 
Next time I order some steel from Ragnar I'll try out one of those EKA's. I've thought about the 30$ wood handled one for a while now after reading positive experiences here and looking at the design.

6cpkl13.jpg


There's my sharpening desk. From L to R I have the wooden block with grip tape, a fine DMT stone and a leather strop. On most knives I use all 3. On flat ground blades like SAKs and Opinels (Not true flat ground but close enough) with easy to grind steels I'll usually use a ceramic rod to establish the bevel, then strop and be done with it.

Here's a bad cell phone picture of a Byrd I'm working on taking flat to the stone for a friend. They're very different knives after doing this.

4xy3yg8.jpg
 
Second from the top, thinned out M6:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010036.jpg

Top stock, bottom Kreinage:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010011-1.jpg

Top stock, middle me and my edgepro, bottom Kreinage:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010010-1.jpg

Busse Satin Jack thinned out via edgepro (see the damage? even INFI has limits):

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010003.jpg

Top stock RS, bottom TM via edgepro (this took hours):

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010001.jpg
 
Vivi said:
Next time I order some steel from Ragnar I'll try out one of those EKA's. I've thought about the 30$ wood handled one for a while now after reading positive experiences here and looking at the design.
Click to expand...
Most of the EKAs appear to be typical Scandi grinds, however, so it's hard to say how how thin those are. The only other EKA I'm aware of that's a full flat grind is the H8 fixed blade, but how thin that one is just behind the edge I don't know either.
 
That Swede 38 certainly looks like a flat grind. I'm sure Ragnar would be glad to tell you how the thickness and general profile compares on the different EKAs, too.

Yeah, that Satin Jack definitely looks like it's ready for serious business now! What's the angle on that one, Sodak? I'm guessing 10 degrees/side or thereabouts.
 
Argh! I forgot how to do multiple quotes!!!!

Dog of War,

You're close, my spreadsheet says 15 per side, I think I went down to red on my EP. I had it really looking nice, the entire edge was mirror smooth. Then I decided to actually use the knife..... ;)

Vivi,

After I decided to use it, I was testing a whole bunch of knives doing some chopping. I had some 3/4 plywood, and tried standing it on edge and chopping into it hard. Every knife I tried sustained some edge damage, although INFI less than most. Guess I found out what was abusive!

All is not lost, though. It sharpened out nicely, and the Satin Jack is a great camp knife. It hasn't sustained any damage since then, and those nice thin bevel really cut well. Like you guys, I like knives that cut well!!!!
 
sodak said:
Argh! I forgot how to do multiple quotes!!!!
Click to expand...
It's the embedded quotes that always seem to dog me.

You're close, my spreadsheet says 15 per side, I think I went down to red on my EP. I had it really looking nice, the entire edge was mirror smooth. Then I decided to actually use the knife..... ;)
Click to expand...
Never handled a SJ, must be some heavy stock on that one (of course what would a Busse be with anything else?) Plywood can be some formidable stuff though, always bugs me when you saw it and you're moving right along, then you encounter an area that feels like it's 20x more dense.

Great looking blade anyway, they always look best once they've got a little seasoning. :)
 
I don't think it's hardly worth posting pictures of my thinned out edges- just imagine them all being two to five times wider than the factory bevel. Don't have a camera now anyway.


sodak said:
You're close, my spreadsheet says 15 per side, I think I went down to red on my EP.
Click to expand...

I think Thom might have to add that to the Rustneck thread. Keeping spreadsheets of all your edges and angles... :D
 
I used to think I was the only one who who did this to almost all of my knives, but now I know better. :D

SAKs really benefit from reprofiling to the thinnest you can get it. I've been doing it to all of mine since the late 1980s with good luck. The edge doesn't seem any less durable than the original factory bevel.
 
I'm a big fan of a convex edge. Here's one I put on a machete for a friend with a belt grinder.
Steve

Bears-machete-edge.jpg
 
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