What kind of blade is this and how do I sharpen it?

Tar18 said:
Postoak:
Hi I have a good pic of the edge of the knife you are talking about but I have not figured out yet how to post pics. I can send someone an email with the pic attached if you wish. It took me a while but finally had one that shows what you are talking about. One side is as shown while the other side is just flat.
Let me know because I would really like to know what it is used for and how one would sharpen it.
Regards
Tar :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Upload your image to Photobucket or a similar free hosting site. Then copy the IMG-tagged URL for the picture from that site (usually seen in the upper right of the photo's viewing page on Photobucket) and paste it into your post here. Pretty simple to do, and won't cost anything for signing up to Photobucket and similar photo-hosting sites.


David
 
I look forward to seeing the photo, too. I don't go to the grocery store very often -- my wife was visiting her sister for a few days is the only reason I was there at all. Plus, I don't really want to own one of these! I've googled quite a bit but haven't found an image of one yet.

I'll just say that if you looked at the edge from the "normal" side only, there would be no sign that it was serrated.
 
The more people are describing this knife, the more I am thinking that it might be like the inexpensive knives sold at Ikea, with an edge that almost has a micro-serration. They make those knives out of very cheap materials to keep the costs down, and the tiny serrations are a way to make that edge last longer than a non-serrated edge on the same steel, which would dull extremely quickly. Those serrations are not designed to be resharpened. They are designed to keep the knife working as a kitchen tool for a few years before they become useless. If that is the type of knife the OP has in mind, then I would recommend throwing it away.
 
David:
OK I am on Photobucket but forgot about it so I got on and attempted to download the pic (size is 315.4KB) and it would go along and then all of sudden stop. I waited 5 minutes the first time and then tried it again. Same thing it would download so far and then stop.
Any help is grateful
Regards
Tar :confused:
 
Grind, gently, on the back side to reestablish the damn little points. Remove the tiny,
miserable burrs with a fine bristle brass brush. These blades really aren't that hard to sharpen.
I get 5-6 per week from my customers. Takes just a few minutes.

Bill
 
Tar18 said:
David:
OK I am on Photobucket but forgot about it so I got on and attempted to download the pic (size is 315.4KB) and it would go along and then all of sudden stop. I waited 5 minutes the first time and then tried it again. Same thing it would download so far and then stop.
Any help is grateful
Regards
Tar :confused:
Click to expand...

Sounds like something is messing with the upload process to Photobucket; that should normally be straightforward. In the short-term, per your earlier post, see if you can attach the pic to an email & send it to my BF email link (click on my Username in one of my posts for the 'Send Email' link). I'll watch for it, and post the pic if/when I get it.


David
 
Showing%20the%20edge%20%20red%20%20%20.jpg
[/URL]
Hi folks.
I am not sure if this will work or not but maybe I did find out how to do this.
I will be watching and waiting to see if it works.
Regards
Tar :)
 
Finally. There is what the knife that I got to sharpen looks like. I looked on the blade and it is a Tramontina with Brazil under the name.
I am not sure if this is the same as the first post that got this thread going but hope something can come of it.
So now folks any ideas on how to sharpen it
Regards
Tar :)
 
Yep. That's what I thought it was; mine's very similar with very tight-spaced tiny serrations ground from one side, with a smooth bevel on the back.

Just sharpen the 'smooth' side on the back, as per a normal, ordinary edge. Keep pressure very, very LIGHT while doing so, to minimize burring and/or rolling or bending the fine points on the serrated tips. A clean-cutting abrasive like a diamond hone (Fine or EF) will be conducive to such a very light touch, while still working fast and minimizing new burr formation. Stropping on denim with a fine and aggressive polishing compound like white rouge or Simichrome/Flitz paste works pretty well to strip the burrs away on the 'ridged' side.

You'll likely find the serrated edge still a bit 'snaggy' when cutting phonebook pages or similar, after sharpening. The serrations are so tiny and tightly arranged, it'll be challenging to get the points all perfectly straight & true; that's why the necessity for using very, very LIGHT pressure.


David
 
Last edited:
Yes, I think that's it.

I seem to recall the other side had NO bevel. Sort of a chisel grind. When I get a knife like this, so far I've been putting a bevel on that side because these people don't care. As long as they get their knives back sharp they are happy. Besides that all I know what to do. When all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail, as they say.

As for the serrated side, I'm seriously considering taking my 80 grit belt and grinding them right off.
 
postoak said:
Yes, I think that's it.

I seem to recall the other side had NO bevel. Sort of a chisel grind. When I get a knife like this, so far I've been putting a bevel on that side because these people don't care. As long as they get their knives back sharp they are happy. Besides that all I know what to do. When all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail, as they say.

As for the serrated side, I'm seriously considering taking my 80 grit belt and grinding them right off.
Click to expand...

If there's no bevel on the back side, just keeping the back side as nearly flush to the hone as possible will do. I also have a serrated Wusthof tomato knife with a similar profile (serrations ground from one side, and flat w/no bevel on the back), and that's how I've treated it.


David
 
David:
Thanks again for explaining how to. With a super light touch would it be OK to use the fine rods that are with my SM? If so how many passes. Then again how many passes on the denim with the polish on it?
I will remember very light. Oh does the light pressure still apply if I use your denim idea?
Thanks again
Regards
Tar :thumbup:
 
Tar18 said:
David:
Thanks again for explaining how to. With a super light touch would it be OK to use the fine rods that are with my SM? If so how many passes. Then again how many passes on the denim with the polish on it?
I will remember very light. Oh does the light pressure still apply if I use your denim idea?
Thanks again
Regards
Tar :thumbup:
Click to expand...

The ceramic rods of the SM will be more prone to forming burrs if pressure is even a little too heavy. So go even lighter on those. Keep the smooth side of the blade flush or very nearly flush to the rods; if they're angled into the rods much at all, there's a much greater risk of bending over the points on the serrations. I wouldn't worry about counting passes; it's too unreliable and variable. But, instead do some test-cutting in paper or something every few passes to check progress.

On a hard-backed denim strop used to de-burr with with a polishing paste/compound, you can go a little bit heavier. BUT, make sure to test-cut some paper or something every 2-3 passes on the strop, to see that you're making positive progress and not degrading the edge. As you go, the cutting of paper should get smoother, after being (presumably) quite grabby/snaggy immediately after the rods.


David
 
Last edited:
postoak said:
Yes, I think that's it.

I seem to recall the other side had NO bevel. Sort of a chisel grind. When I get a knife like this, so far I've been putting a bevel on that side because these people don't care. As long as they get their knives back sharp they are happy. Besides that all I know what to do. When all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail, as they say.

As for the serrated side, I'm seriously considering taking my 80 grit belt and grinding them right off.
Click to expand...

+1

I wouldn't spend the time and energy to keep those serrations because the serrations aren't designed to do anything special. The only purpose of those serrations is to allow the owner to perform normal kitchen tasks (like cutting tomatoes, etc.) for a bit longer than the same knife if it had a non-serrated edge. If you really do want to sharpen this knife, then the easiest and most logical thing to do would be what Postoak said above and get rid of the serrations entirely and just reprofile to a normal edge. Because it is cheap and soft steel, that would be a very fast job. But definitely do not spend any time worrying about those serrations.

So why would they make the knife that way? The Tramontina motto is "Never needs sharpening," and that particular knife costs $10 new in box. In other words, that knife is designed as a budget kitchen knife, and the serrations are one way to keep it cutting despite the soft and cheap steel. It is practically envisioned to be disposable. The only thing the owner of such a knife would ask of a sharpener is to get it cutting tomatoes again. That is yet another reason not to bother with the serrations.
 
Last edited:
Hi folks.
i want to thank you for all of the help in understanding what I am learning.
Thanks to all
Regards
Tar
 
I finally got down to the grocery store and bought a 3-pack of paring knives with this type of edge. I didn't measure them but they looked like maybe a 2", 2 1/2", and 3", and the middle one was a slight bird's beak. These knives would slice cut printer paper but more by holding it so pressure could build up than clean cutting. They wouldn't begin to slice cut telephone book paper with the grain.

Anyway, it took quite a few passes with 80 grit to remove the ridges. I had to go quite a way up from the edge to do so, and so as I worked up the grits I decided to work in the looser part of the belt to create more of a convex edge than I normally bother with. They came out looking good, and I could slice cut phone book paper across the grain when I was finished.

I don't know how long this edge will hold because these 3 knives were only $3.41 total. All they said on them was "stainless steel Taiwan".

This was a fun little project.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top