thinning the edge of an SS4?

[ikkyo]

finally I got my SS4 a few days ago, and while I fell in love with the knife instantly - the size, the handle, the blade shape...- when I tried some cuts on different materials (sausage, paper, other food, etc) it became evident that this knife in the present form is not a great slicer. more of a "utility"-blade, whatever it means...
The blade is not high, so the taper is quite steep from the edge to the thick spine....
I'm just thinking how to improve the slicing ability of the knife - without changing it too much.
I wonder what are the differences in blade geometry between the SS4 and the MS's?

share your thoughts, gentlemen.

thanx, Peter

 

[Stephen Tolar]

I have a SS4 and a Meaner. The blade shape is very similar. The SS4 is a full flat grind and the meaner is a 3/4 height saber grind. Both measured over 0.060" just behind the edge when I got them. I believe the SS4 is a little thicker too.

The SS4 is still original but I took the Meaner over to Tom Krein and he thinned up the edge by grinding the flats. He took the edge down to less than 0.020". It is a much better slicer now! There is a trade off though, the edge and tip definatly wouldn't take as much abuse as it would originally.

If you want to improve the slicing efficiency I think you need to thin up the edge. Short of regrinding the flats (which would remove all of the coating) the only thing you can do is reprofile the edge (maybe down to 40 degrees inclusive). You can do this on an Edge Pro or freehand on some coarse stones. This will extend the width of the bevel significantly and will change the apperance of the knife but will help it be a better slicer.

Hope this helps and make sense

Stephen

 

[Ban]

I own both and they both come with really stout edge geometry. Resharpening it to a 22-30degree included angle would help alot. If you are so inclined....you can do a full convex sharpening which would help tremendously. Either way they are great knives....so enjoy them.