What degree for a KA-BAR?

C

chabla

Joined
Nov 22, 2007
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159
i have a regular short KA-BAR and i was wondering what degree to use. i have a a Gatco Edgemate and the degrees it has are 29, 25, 22, 19, 15 and 11 degrees.
which one would keep my blade the sharpest?
 
Hey Chabla,

If it were mine, I would use the 15 degree setting. I haven;t any experience with a Gatco, but I have a Lansky....essentially the same thing I think.

You don;t say which knife you have except to say it's a regular - short. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm guessing you have the standard military (USMC, etc) model. If so, it's probably 1/4" steel. But even if not, I think the Impact series are at least 3/16". KaBar likes 1095 carbon steel which can easily handle a low angle grind like 15 or 12.5 degrees. Relatively easy to sharpen into a fine edge and a good worker too.

My guess though is that it came to you with at least 20 degrees per side, maybe even higher. If so, and you want to keep it that way, maybe use the 19 or the 22 degree setting. I just don;t like them that shallow (personal taste).

Is it the Impact D-2 steel series? I'd still go with a much lower grind like 15 or maybe less, depending on the length of the blade
 
That's 1/4" thick steel (I'm pretty sure) and 1095. You'll get it wicked sharp no matter the angle (within reason :D ), but I would run it down to 12.5 or 15 degrees. Then maybe put a tiny micro-bevel on it from there (15 deg micro-bevel if you sharpen the edge at 12.5, or maybe a 19 or 20 degree micro-bevel if you sharpen it at 15)....that's your call though (hmmmmm it's all your call I suppose) ((( :D )))
 
It depends on what you want to do. The smaller ka bar would be better of with the steep 15 angle to shear better while the full size would benefit from a shallow 20 angle for chopping.
 
The Gatco and the Lansky have different angle settings but my Ka-bar short had its main bevel perfectly lined up with my lansky's 20 guide. 1095 or not, there's no way I'm spending that much time on it. I think I've read that the lanskys are a little shallow on there actual angle measurements so maybe your 22 will give you just enough to work with.

I do love the steel on it (my first 1095...except for Old Hickory knives...they might be 1095, but softer) and would definitely trust it with however shallow you can get it.
 
I'm still fairly new to the dynamics of sharpening. I have a USMC Kabar that I reprofiled to 20* per side using my Lansky. It slices fairly well, but doesn't push cut well at all and doesn't shave. I'm not happy with it, in any case. My SAK does all three exceptionally well with it's 20* profile. Is this just a function of the thicker Kabar blade, or maybe my edge is just poorly polished? Maybe it needs to be thinned down to 15* per side?
 
CaptInsano said:
I'm still fairly new to the dynamics of sharpening. I have a USMC Kabar that I reprofiled to 20* per side using my Lansky. It slices fairly well, but doesn't push cut well at all and doesn't shave. I'm not happy with it, in any case. My SAK does all three exceptionally well with it's 20* profile. Is this just a function of the thicker Kabar blade, or maybe my edge is just poorly polished? Maybe it needs to be thinned down to 15* per side?
Click to expand...
Did you create a burr (sharpening on one side until you can feel a "lip" forming on the other side of the edge) and then get rid of it? What coarseness did you take the edge to?
 
I never really felt a burr form. I just marked the edge with a sharpie and started grinding with the 20* setting until the black was all off the edge. I went through coarse, medium, and fine stones.
 
I don't know what the deal is. I'm sharpening right on the edge. I've checked it with a sharpie many times. But I CANNOT raise a burr.
 
That is really unusual. My own Kabar (below) will shave a bald patch with no difficulty.

Kabar.jpg
 
CaptInsano said:
I'm still fairly new to the dynamics of sharpening. I have a USMC Kabar that I reprofiled to 20* per side using my Lansky. It slices fairly well, but doesn't push cut well at all and doesn't shave. I'm not happy with it, in any case. My SAK does all three exceptionally well with it's 20* profile. Is this just a function of the thicker Kabar blade, or maybe my edge is just poorly polished? Maybe it needs to be thinned down to 15* per side?
Click to expand...

anyone else have this problem i tried all nite with my lansky and a 20degree angle and could not raise a good bur. its sharp but it wont shave or anything. its weird because i have gotten my other knifes that sharp
 
Bige610 said:
anyone else have this problem i tried all nite with my lansky and a 20degree angle and could not raise a good bur. its sharp but it wont shave or anything. its weird because i have gotten my other knifes that sharp
Click to expand...
You bumped a 10month old thread.
 
Bige610 said:
anyone else have this problem i tried all nite with my lansky and a 20degree angle and could not raise a good bur. its sharp but it wont shave or anything. its weird because i have gotten my other knifes that sharp
Click to expand...

20 is what it comes stock as, i think youll have to go smaller than that if you want to do some shaving
 
knarfeng said:
As an obscure notation,
Ka-Bar does not use carbon steel for those blades. They use "1095 Cro-Van", an alloy steel with 0.95% carbon and small amounts of Chromium and Vanadium. These modifications produce an alloy with superior properties to those of straight 1095.

https://www.kabar.com/product_detai...tegoryId=1,3,7&categoryName=Military/Tactical
Click to expand...

The
epoxy powder coated high carbon steel (1095 cro-van) blades are pad print decorated
with specially designed art.
Click to expand...
:confused:
 
ka-barlover said:
20 is what it comes stock as, i think youll have to go smaller than that if you want to do some shaving
Click to expand...

:confused: Although many blades can benefit from more acute bevel angles, I don't have any difficulty in getting just about anything shaving sharp at 20º per side. I have no experience with Kabar, though.
 
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