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What Angle to Sharpen a Tonto
- Thread starter Nodestar
- Start date
On the traditional Japanese shaped stuff you can dress the edge with a ceramic rod and make 'em sharp as hell without establishing a definite bevel. If they get to the point where you have to establish a secondary bevel at the cutting edge the whole thing needs repolished.
I used to sharpen my katana with a Lansky kit and it worked great till I established a bevel. Then it ceased to cut properly until I broke down and repolished it and established the proper edge again. Now I just buff the blade with 1000 grit paper on a ceramic form after dressing the edge with a Spyderco ceramic stick.
Works great.
Brian
I used to sharpen my katana with a Lansky kit and it worked great till I established a bevel. Then it ceased to cut properly until I broke down and repolished it and established the proper edge again. Now I just buff the blade with 1000 grit paper on a ceramic form after dressing the edge with a Spyderco ceramic stick.
Works great.
Brian
So I have two options. I could just hone the blade. Or I would have to sharpen the blade and then repolish it all the way up to the start of the Bevel. Essencially almost shortening the edge a bit and taking off a bit of steel from a microscopic point of view. Or it might be easier just to start at the begining of the Bevel and work my way down the blade haveing both sides meet at the new edge. Essentialy wiping out the old edge and forming a new one as much as (Hopefully Less) a Centimeter up the blade from the old Edge. Correct me if I'm wrong.
You want to avoid an abrupt angle change as the side of the blade meets the edge. You do not want to establish a bevel...A tiny little bevel is not a big deal but once it starts to ride up high enough on the side of the blade that you can identify it as a secondary bevel it affects cutting ability.
And I'm speaking more from a katana point of view. Tanto are not as critical as they can be very sharp even with a secondary bevel established.
My approach to this probelm would depend on how dull/thick the edge is at present. If it was very thick and had never been sharp, I would not hone it or dress the edge but go right to repolishing. If it was sharp at one time and the blade was originally polished to form some kind of decent geometry then I'd freehand dress the edge with a fine stone and be done with it.
I'm not sure what you are saying when you say "sharpen it and then repolish it up to the start of the bevel"
You don't want a bevel. You certainly don't want to establish one 10mm up from the existing edge.
Brian
And I'm speaking more from a katana point of view. Tanto are not as critical as they can be very sharp even with a secondary bevel established.
My approach to this probelm would depend on how dull/thick the edge is at present. If it was very thick and had never been sharp, I would not hone it or dress the edge but go right to repolishing. If it was sharp at one time and the blade was originally polished to form some kind of decent geometry then I'd freehand dress the edge with a fine stone and be done with it.
I'm not sure what you are saying when you say "sharpen it and then repolish it up to the start of the bevel"
You don't want a bevel. You certainly don't want to establish one 10mm up from the existing edge.
Brian
What I was trying to say was that I might sharpen the blade and form a Bevel and then polish the blade from that bevel up to the original bevel. Once again forming one bevel. Like starting from the edge and moving up the sides of the blade.
It was more thinking out loud and trying to understand what you meant.
I would'nt say the edge is thick. It seems like it was intended to be sharp. It's just not. It barely cuts paper cutting down through a sheet. And I use alot of pressure(for Paper anyway). And this is only after I've stabed through the paper so I can force the paper to resist the blade.
Now what I'm getting from your post is that I should start repolishing with a fairly fine grit. Starting at the start of the bevel and moving down the sides of the blade untile I hit the edge? Is that correct?
It was more thinking out loud and trying to understand what you meant.
I would'nt say the edge is thick. It seems like it was intended to be sharp. It's just not. It barely cuts paper cutting down through a sheet. And I use alot of pressure(for Paper anyway). And this is only after I've stabed through the paper so I can force the paper to resist the blade.
Now what I'm getting from your post is that I should start repolishing with a fairly fine grit. Starting at the start of the bevel and moving down the sides of the blade untile I hit the edge? Is that correct?
Yeah, when in doubt I polish them. But I have done a couple hundred and polishing doesn't scare me. You *can* destroy it by improper polishing so be careful and have fun. I still have to dress the edges with a stone after I polish them to get them to shave or cut paper.
Brian
Brian
