Uneven sharpening of blade edge

B

Belly

Gold Member
Joined
May 21, 2000
Messages
199
I have a new Benchmade in m390 that has an uneven edge from the factory. It might be something like 18 degrees on one side and 22 on the other. Because of this, the edge is off center.
What is the best way to even the 2 sides out without removing too much steel?
I really would like to avoid sending it back in to Benchmade because I am fed up with sending them my knives.

Is it foolish to even them out and lose more steel than necessary just to have them even? Couldn't I just sharpen one side for awhile until there're the same?

Thanks for your help.
 
Belly said:
I have a new Benchmade in m390 that has an uneven edge from the factory. It might be something like 18 degrees on one side and 22 on the other. Because of this, the edge is off center.
What is the best way to even the 2 sides out without removing too much steel?
I really would like to avoid sending it back in to Benchmade because I am fed up with sending them my knives.

Is it foolish to even them out and lose more steel than necessary just to have them even? Couldn't I just sharpen one side for awhile until there're the same?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

It's definitely NOT foolish to even them out. The blade steel you might lose, in doing so, wasn't doing you much good in that shape anyway. Steel removal is THE MOST NORMAL ASPECT of a knife's life cycle. Don't worry about it. Once a good, centered bevel is in place, that will minimize steel removal in future sharpenings anyway. Good bevels don't need as much work, IF you don't fall too far behind in upkeep.

How you go about it, is up to you. If you take your time to do it carefully, evening it up will only improve the knife. Do it a little at a time if you wish. That's preferable to trying to rush the whole project, which might lead to fatigue, frustration & sloppy results. As for the best way to do it, I'd prefer to use a guided sharpener. Your goal is a centered and more pristine original bevel, so a guided system is perfect for that task. If used with patience, it'll give you great results, with minimal risk of messing up & having to attempt it again (or sending it out to be fixed; still no guarantees with that). I like to use my DMT Aligner & MagnaGuide, with DMT Dia-Folds, for tasks like this. If doing it with a clamped guide, leave the knife in the clamp until the job is finished. Removing & reinstalling the knife in the clamp multiple times will alter the postion of edge relative to the hones, which will also degrade the results.
 
That's an individual call. I used to spare no amount of energy and metal to even out my bevels and make perfect the entire cutting edge. These days I'll do it if it doesn't require too much effort. Mismatched bevels aren't going to effect cutting efficiency one bit - plenty of chisel grind knives out there - doesn't get more mismatched than that. If you sharpen freehand and can touch it up reliably without having to grind a lot of otherwise perfectly useable metal, leave it the way it is. Some blade profiles can accommodate a lot of metal removal, others can not.
 
My biggest gripe with mismatched/uneven bevels has less to do with cutting efficiency (they CAN still be sharp, as mentioned), and most everything to do with ease of sharpening. Having a different angle on each side can be a royal P.I.T.A., especially if one isn't yet fully comfortable with free-hand sharpening. This was probably my biggest obstacle to learning freehand, because I'd focused on maintaining the 'correct' angle on each side, not knowing each side had a different 'correct' angle. If I was lucky, I managed to hit the edge on one side, only to be fruitlessly 'sharpening' the shoulder of the bevel on the other side. It's why I no longer hesitate to even them out, when I find 'em mismatched. Once it's fixed, it's fixed for good. Maintenance is a lot easier after that.
 
HeavyHanded said:
That's an individual call. I used to spare no amount of energy and metal to even out my bevels and make perfect the entire cutting edge. These days I'll do it if it doesn't require too much effort. Mismatched bevels aren't going to effect cutting efficiency one bit - plenty of chisel grind knives out there - doesn't get more mismatched than that. If you sharpen freehand and can touch it up reliably without having to grind a lot of otherwise perfectly useable metal, leave it the way it is. Some blade profiles can accommodate a lot of metal removal, others can not.
Click to expand...
i agree with hh. use the knife and sharpen it on the short side when it gets dull. eventually the edge will even out. benchmade sharpening kind of sucks. i have had knives sent to me that came back from them dull after supposedly being sharpened.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
It's definitely NOT foolish to even them out. The blade steel you might lose, in doing so, wasn't doing you much good in that shape anyway. Steel removal is THE MOST NORMAL ASPECT of a knife's life cycle. Don't worry about it. Once a good, centered bevel is in place, that will minimize steel removal in future sharpenings anyway. Good bevels don't need as much work, IF you don't fall too far behind in upkeep.

How you go about it, is up to you. If you take your time to do it carefully, evening it up will only improve the knife. Do it a little at a time if you wish. That's preferable to trying to rush the whole project, which might lead to fatigue, frustration & sloppy results. As for the best way to do it, I'd prefer to use a guided sharpener. Your goal is a centered and more pristine original bevel, so a guided system is perfect for that task. If used with patience, it'll give you great results, with minimal risk of messing up & having to attempt it again (or sending it out to be fixed; still no guarantees with that). I like to use my DMT Aligner & MagnaGuide, with DMT Dia-Folds, for tasks like this. If doing it with a clamped guide, leave the knife in the clamp until the job is finished. Removing & reinstalling the knife in the clamp multiple times will alter the postion of edge relative to the hones, which will also degrade the results.
Click to expand...

Personally I hate mis-matched grinds. I do the Magna guide thing to even them up as you mentioned Obsessed with Edges, but to this day (couple of years), I can't figure out how to get enough strokes on the coarse hone to completely remove the grind left from the x-coarse side. The x-coarse dia-fold is essential in re-profiling and evening things up on harder steels.

Do you think that's too much pressure? But, I don't make it a week long or even a few day affair. I just saw at that sucker until it's burred, then the other side barely requires a fraction of that time to knock it off, and so on to another hone w/o getting all my strokes in - leaving me with sparkly bevels.

Something I've noticed lately - That 8x3" UF Spyderco has really helped me a lot with polishing up, as well as subsequent sharpenings require less grit and I see less and less of those sparkles and more mirror edge. :D

Sorry for the quick off topic to the OP :)
 
Depending on when you ask me, you will get different answers. I used to insist on knives that look as well as they cut (polished, centered, uniform, perfect bevels).

No offense to anyone, but when I started REALLY using my knives I started trying new things and learning that these disparities in edges that some tout as creating paramount problems in performance, somehow eluded me in daily use.

In specialized use, I have found asymmetric bevels hold advantages. If you study chisel grinds and their specific applications, you may begin to see advantages of asymmetrical bevels in your uses (or perhaps not). As a wood carver, I intentionally skew some of my bevels (roughing/stock removal knives) so that I have almost a zero grind on the front of the blade and a wider bevel on the back (as a right handed user, this allows me greater precision and control of depth of cut.

Considering the experience I have gained with some pretty unique customs I have tried, I would no longer rule out asymmetrical grinds for many uses....considering this, an asymmetrical bevel (i.e. a disparity of a fraction of a millimeter) would be about as worrisome as a lone cloud in the sky.

Allow me to point out honestly! I completely understand the user that simply cannot stand the sight of an "imperfection" they perceive in a knife. It is yours to enjoy as you wish, but I would not be so quick to accept that a 2 degree per side disparity will adversely impact performance until you verify it yourself in use...because I sure could not feel it!
 
Thanks for weighing in unit! I stumbled on a video by Crimsontideshooter. After watching it I have swung my view to that of HH and Richard J. Seeing it - it just makes more sense than heavy stock removal. :thumbup:

[YouTube]bQzBy-qKUy0[/YouTube]
 
This is all good info. No doubt, it is not a huge deal, but I get OC sometimes. A few degrees does not bother me, but this one is a little more than a few. Not huge but enough that when you look at the tip, it might be a 1 to 2 ratio from the left to the right. Sometimes, I let things slide and focus my energy elsewhere.

I recently got an Edgepro Apex, but I have not gotten experienced enough to use it on my good knives. At some point, I need to dive in and get good at it.

Thanks for the info.
 
My zt 350 came with an edge that was WAY off-center. I just couldn't live with it like that. Took about 3 hours with the lansky and coarse diamond stone but I got it evened out.
 
cziv said:
Personally I hate mis-matched grinds. I do the Magna guide thing to even them up as you mentioned Obsessed with Edges, but to this day (couple of years), I can't figure out how to get enough strokes on the coarse hone to completely remove the grind left from the x-coarse side. The x-coarse dia-fold is essential in re-profiling and evening things up on harder steels.

Do you think that's too much pressure? But, I don't make it a week long or even a few day affair. I just saw at that sucker until it's burred, then the other side barely requires a fraction of that time to knock it off, and so on to another hone w/o getting all my strokes in - leaving me with sparkly bevels.

Something I've noticed lately - That 8x3" UF Spyderco has really helped me a lot with polishing up, as well as subsequent sharpenings require less grit and I see less and less of those sparkles and more mirror edge. :D

Sorry for the quick off topic to the OP :)
Click to expand...

I've actually never used the DMT XXC or XC hones. The Dia-Folds I've been using with my Aligner clamp are C/F & EF/EEF. I've contemplated getting an XC, but haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. I don't do a lot of really BIG blades, but if I did, I'd feel the need for some extra 'grunt' in the grit. With my Coarse hone anyway, I try to ease the scratches by making additional passes with it, but with MUCH LIGHTER pressure than I started. Sort of like using the hone to brush dust off the edge; no heavier than that. I do as much in this way as I can, with the coarse hone, before moving to the next hone. I'll do the same with subsequent hones.

I've read posts from others here, who have said extra care needs to be taken with the XXC at least, and maybe the XC, for the reason you mentioned (very deep scratches). I'm still getting adjusted to the sheer aggressiveness of diamond on some steels. With something like simple 1095, they rip through that steel like it isn't there. I think that's why I've not been too anxious to go any coarser.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I've actually never used the DMT XXC or XC hones. The Dia-Folds I've been using with my Aligner clamp are C/F & EF/EEF. I've contemplated getting an XC, but haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. I don't do a lot of really BIG blades, but if I did, I'd feel the need for some extra 'grunt' in the grit. With my Coarse hone anyway, I try to ease the scratches by making additional passes with it, but with MUCH LIGHTER pressure than I started. Sort of like using the hone to brush dust off the edge; no heavier than that. I do as much in this way as I can, with the coarse hone, before moving to the next hone. I'll do the same with subsequent hones.

I've read posts from others here, who have said extra care needs to be taken with the XXC at least, and maybe the XC, for the reason you mentioned (very deep scratches). I'm still getting adjusted to the sheer aggressiveness of diamond on some steels. With something like simple 1095, they rip through that steel like it isn't there. I think that's why I've not been too anxious to go any coarser.
Click to expand...

Make sure you get the double sided one with the blue coarse on the other side or the height won't match. I got a one sided x-coarse and now it just sits there. Wasted $$ :o
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top