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Thinning primary bevel on stones

Y

yakantosh

Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
158
I have decided to go down the road of modifying my esee 4 to fit my preferences a bit more; including stripping the coating, giving it a wood handle, possible doing the bearthedog mod, and thinning out the primary bevel. My trouble is whether I try to thin the primary bevel using bench stones or a belt sander(http://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-Cable-3-in-x-21-in-Belt-Sander-352VS/100022581). I am leaning toward using the bench stones as I do not want to overheat the blade using the belt sander. Would I be able to make quick work of thinning out the bevel using a set of dmt bench stones?
 
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I wouldn't count on it... Stones are typically much slower than powered and especially when you are talking about the primary grind that will take some time!
 
I would use a waterstones like the Shapton 120 or Imanishi 220. Diamond plates are very slow at large bevel stock removal. It's going to take a long time though and if you don't have experience grinding knives it's probably not going to turn out in your favor.

Sometimes seeking professional help is the best option, Josh ^ does exceptional regrinds and for the minimal cost it would prevent a lot of headaches.
 
Ok, that answers what I need to know. I have been researching getting into making my own knives for a while and may be building a 2x72 belt grinder to get into it. I will probably start making a few knives and then use the skills learned to do the modification down the road from now. I would source the work out but it is a skill that I would like to have under my belt at some point or time. On another note, what grit wet/dry sandpaper would you recommend starting with to sand the scratches/grind marks out of the blade from the factory underneath the coating.
 
yakantosh said:
Ok, that answers what I need to know. I have been researching getting into making my own knives for a while and may be building a 2x72 belt grinder to get into it. I will probably start making a few knives and then use the skills learned to do the modification down the road from now. I would source the work out but it is a skill that I would like to have under my belt at some point or time. On another note, what grit wet/dry sandpaper would you recommend starting with to sand the scratches/grind marks out of the blade from the factory underneath the coating.
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I've never stripped an essee but if it's like other knives I've stripped I had to start with 120-220 grit and spend hours with it removing all the pits, grind, and tooling marks. Then progressed up to 800 grit to get a similar finish to this..

M4n7hl5.jpg


If it doesn't have deep grind marks or pits you should be able to start with a finer grit.
 
I initially thought that I would only have to sand down the abrasive finish they put on the blade to help the epoxy stick. I realized I would have to work out the scratches from them grinding the blade after about 30 minutes with 400 grit sandpaper. I was able to get the abrasive finish off but the grind marks are still there. I found a place to purchase coarser grit sandpaper, so I will more than likely stop by and pick up something that will cut a bit quicker than 400 grit. Your Becker 2 came out rather well.
 
yakantosh said:
I initially thought that I would only have to sand down the abrasive finish they put on the blade to help the epoxy stick. I realized I would have to work out the scratches from them grinding the blade after about 30 minutes with 400 grit sandpaper. I was able to get the abrasive finish off but the grind marks are still there. I found a place to purchase coarser grit sandpaper, so I will more than likely stop by and pick up something that will cut a bit quicker than 400 grit. Your Becker 2 came out rather well.
Click to expand...
To strip you might wanna get some jasco or citru-strip next time...I only had to apply it, wait 15 min and scrub it off..all together maybe 20 min total with only 5 min of physical work.
 
I reground the bevel on an old stainless Chicago Cutlery chef knife with stones only. It was a lot of work, I sat on the floor with a Chinese very rough grit stone ( it doesn't say what grit) for the better part of a Saturday to get it like I wanted it. It can be done successfully, I did a great job and it was the first I did too. I have another just like it that needs the same attention before I rehandle it, not really looking forward to it lol..
 
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