uneven grinds

[PartialSerrations]

I just purchased a Bear Cuterly c345 trapper because of the 1095 steel and the grinds are not even. I called the company and they told me it is that way for a reason but they could not specify why. I can understand if it is a chisel grind but why do knife companies manufacture knives with uneven grinds. IMHO it makes for a pain in the butt experience to sharpen on a stone regardless of whether or not the steel is easy to sharpen.

 

[RevDevil]

So is it a true chisel grind or is it a V grind gone horribly wrong? Which one does it look like?"

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

The edges on knives like this are typically ground in a mass-production environment, usually by hand on belt grinders. The smaller and thinner the blades are, the more likely you'll see noticeable variations in the edge grinds. Think about one employee cranking out dozens, if not hundreds, of blades by hand on a belt grinder every day. There's bound to be some good ones and some bad ones at that rate. Not just one (or even a few) manufacturers either. Lots of brands will have this problem. Us knife nuts tend to notice it more when it comes up, but a lot of people won't notice it, or care much if they do.

On the one hand, it sucks. On the other hand, it's a great opportunity to learn the fine art of reprofiling & sharpening. You'll get to the point where you'll look forward to putting your own edge on a brand new knife, because you know you can make it better. After that, problems like this will be basically moot.

 

[Jason B.]

What he said.



I haven't used a factory edge in I don't even know how long, besides not being equal they are most often different angles on the same side and in general overly obtuse. Grind that puppy down to 10-12 degrees per side then polish to a mirror finish, it should make air bleed after that

 

[KennyB]

What he said.



I haven't used a factory edge in I don't even know how long, besides not being equal they are most often different angles on the same side and in general overly obtuse. Grind that puppy down to 10-12 degrees per side then polish to a mirror finish, it should make air bleed after that

Yeah, one thing I dislike about factory grinds is that the actually edge is a little "wavvy". If you grind them on a perfectly flat stone, you have to grind high-spots out of the edge before you can even grind ont he whole thing.

Haven't really ran into any factory edges that don't have this problem, I think it's because they grind them on wheels and it tends to impart some variance no matter what.

My Case Trapper is like this, and it has a huge low spot. I re profiled the angle at a more accute angle even, and there's still this little "pit" of factory-ground metal in the middle of my nice flat grind.

Once you grind them out with a jig to keep it nice and uniform though your troubles are over.

 

[singularity35]

That's one of the reasons I bought a DMT Aligner Kit. After trying to re-profile my Endura on the sharpmaker, I made my decision to get diamond stones and a guide.

 

[dalee100]

Hi,

Bear & Son isn't really noted for their consistent QC. So if that's all that's wrong, reprofile if it bothers.

Slip-joint pocket knives have a lot of hand work in them. So some variation from perfect is to be expected.

dalee