TOPS B.O.B Field knife maintence question.

S

SethO

Joined
Mar 12, 2015
Messages
69
I have a TOPS BOB Field knife that i got today. I was told by TOPS that it is a modified scandi grind with a 10-11 degree edge. Since i am new to knives and bushcrafting, i only have the work-sharp field sharpener which only has 20 Degree angle for medium and fine grit stone and 25 degree angle for the ceramic rod. So when i go to sharpen it up with the fine grit at 20 degrees won't i be re profiling the edge? I am not sure what i should do. I was also thinking about getting a Work Sharp WSKTS Knife and Tool Sharpener, which is the electric belt one. I would of course practice on it with crap knives first. I only have one knife at the moment. I am kinda scared, i don't want to mess the edge up. As of now i haven't used the knife yet and it razor sharp, i shaved my leg with it.
 
the great thing about blades is they can ALWAYS be reground and resharpened, unless well, you break it in half :).

I am not very savvy when it comes to sharpening, so dont take my advice! But I would probably get a sharpmaker system, and use the closest to a 10 degree angle on it that you can. Ive generally heard avoid belt sander sharpening systems unless youre very experienced with it.

A ten degree angle seems pretty shallow for a hard use knife... It may be worth it to just reprofile the blade up to a 20 simply for edge durability. Wont be AS sharp, but it will hold an edge longer during hard use.

Again, im not good at sharpening. Hopefully one of the professionals will chime in.
 
Just because you post a thread, and in three hours you don't get a response doesn't mean you won't get one.

The B.O.B. is a scandi ground knife, which means its super easy to sharpen. All you need to do is get a stone, and lay the bevel flat and knock yourself out, because the angle will be kept the same. If you don't have a stone, any flat surface and some wet dry sandpaper can work just fine.

I use the sandpaper method, and can easily get my Mora to split hairs with it. Just took a bit of practice to learn to sharpen, bur its paid off in my opinion.

Good luck with the new knife :).
 
Second what Logan said. The point of sharpening systems is to maintain an angle when it's difficult because of the small bevel. Scandi blades have huge edge bevels to be self aligning. I'd recommend sharpening it with the knife in one hand and the abrasive in the other. That's how you'll do it in the field and why Scandi grinds are preferred for bushcraft.

Get a ceramic rod/triangle/stone or squared bar of metal to wrap the oxide paper around. I like the weight to help maintain contact with the blade. I sharpen with a back and forth motion like a Lansky sharpener. Diamond sharpeners are fast, but a little aggressive for 1095. The idea is to maintain a sharp edge, rather than have to rebuild it after getting it really dull.

Nice knife.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

Moved to Maintenance forum.

I like my Spyderco Double Stuff. It's 4"x1" with coarse ceramic on one side bonded to fine ceramic on the other. The leather slip case works for a strop for that final edge.
 
Great comments so far.

I would add >> for a Scandi ground blade; stay away from a belt sharper that does not have a rigid support (platen) under the belt, otherwise you will end up with a convexed face (radically altering the Scandi profile).

The wide Scandi face is what makes that profile easy to maintain (as others have previously posted already). Also, like a wood chisel, that wide flat face gives the user a tactical-user-feedback as to where the edge begins to bite into wood when push-cutting. That wide flat face is what makes a Scandi grind what it is. If you don't like it feel free to modify it, but understand it first before altering it for unknown reason (hope that does not sound like I'm trying to tell you how to be, just that the original design of the knife should be given respect for what it is :-)
 
Last edited:
I don't know if anyone will answer this but here we go. I have used the knife for a while and it's been great, i been pretty gentle with it doing light batoning and craving task. Only sharpening i did with it is the ceramic honing rod and little leather strop on the field work sharpener. I do have the some small chips and teethe feeling on the blade. I am just wondering if it's because of the shallow degree being 10 degrees or the heat treat isn't has good as it should be. I can't really decide what sharpening system i want. I know the belt worksharp will put i convex edge on everything, i know that will be good for heavy choppers and other knives that do well with a convex edge, also the use for a convex edge. I really want to keep the scandi grind on the tops bob but want to change it to 20 degrees on each side. I think the 10 degrees is to brittle and that's why i got chipping and toothe feeling on the edge. So i guess i could pick between the edge pro or the wicked edge. I just wish i knew what other people are doing with there tops bob edge. If anyone knows anyone who put a convex edge on there tops bob, please give me some feedback on how that edge worked for them and at what degree did they stick with?
 
No. The opposite. You cant put metal back on, but you can strengthen what you have by modifying its structure adding the secondary edge.

BTW , for the sake of clarity, im using the term " secondary" edge to describe the final most, actual cutting edge. I would call the blade bevel a "primary" here. Just so we're on the same sheet of music.

Also, for sharpening, id get a long, coarse dmt benchstone for heavy work, and some ceramic rods for maintenance, like medium and fine sharpmaker rods or a profile set if you can find one. Or like Esav said, a doublestuff pocket stone. Strop on whatever. FWIW, i would highly advise doing everything freehand, instead of relying on the ultimate crutch of any sort of guide unless as a learning aid. I like to be able to hone a blade with whatever i might happen to have at the time. This is me.

Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top