When to grind in distal taper?

M

Maelstrom78

Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Messages
1,574
I've been doing OK grinding them in as a part of rough grinding bevels.
5zfsb6.jpg

But I do it intentionally by tilting the blade. Should I grind them in before doing the bevels?

I was doing this little guy just now and the question came to mind. (Just rough ground)

2h4dy0o.jpg


Thanks!
 
We're talking about stock removal of course. Forgers tend to put the taper in as they form the blade. My distal tapers happen as a natural byproduct of grinding the bevels. Some people make a separate operation out of it. The choice is yours. You will get more distal taper, or maybe I should say, your taper will start closer to the handle and give you a longer taper the farther up the blade you grind your bevels.
 
That depends.

First of all, it depends on if you mean a full distal taper where the blade is thickest at the ricasso and gets steadily thinner all the way down the blade. (The spine will look like one long isosceles triangle)

In that case, it depends on whom you ask. I grind it in as I do the bevels - no particular reason, that's just how I'm comfortable doing it. Many makers prefer to taper the whole blade first, and then grind their bevels. Whichever way works for you, is right. The final geometry will be the same regardless.

If you just mean a little bit of distal taper near the point like I'm seeing in your pics, where the blade retains the same thickness about to the point where the belly is... don't even sweat it. That will just happen naturally as you bring the bevel around the curve of the belly and up to the tip.
 
Last edited:
Achieving a full distal grind is easy to do as you grind when working a full height bevel. Anything less than a full height bevel like a 3/4 grind and you would have to grind in the taper first because, as James said, your taper will only start where the bevel meets the spine.
 
Grinding a full distal as a first step is hard because you have so much material. Unless I am doing a full height bevel like Varga said, I will do the bevel first, then do the taper. Of course after that you have to redo the bevel that got messed up because of the taper. Don't know of another way to do it. :o
 
As mentioned, there are basically two approaches to a FULL distal taper. Either approach requires a full height grind on your primary bevels. You can do it before grinding your primary bevels (much like tapering a tang) or during (and as a result of) the process of grinding your primary bevels. Like James said though, you have to find the approach that works best FOR YOU and gives you the results your happy with. After trying both methods, I now do it before grinding my bevels if a full distal taper is what I'm after. The biggest reason for me, is because my results visually (when looking down the spine) are better using that method. In other words, a very symmetrical taper is easier to achieve (for me) if I grind the taper first.
 
I was thinking that taper first would be easier for me to do a good job with. I think the trick would be to not go too thin with the taper as the bevels will thin things as well. Even could make a jig. Or, actually I do have a bubble jig so Pythagoras and I could figure out the correct angle for it.
 
As a knife collector, I am greatly attracted to a distal taper. Primarily, I find it much easier to sharpen (strop) blades of this design and it also offers a keener cutting edge. My question, however, is that often the tapering of the thickness of the blade begins in the swedge, and not before, beginning with the tang - therefore at the middle of the blade to the tip. What is this referred to?? Thank you.
 
For a full distal taper I put the blade on the surface grinder attachment with the proper amount of "tilt" in the magnetic chuck, grind first side until the grind reaches from ricasso area giving a smooth taper on that side. Flip blade over, change "tilt" setting on magnetic chuck and grind other side. You do have to be sure both sides are equal. I usually have the final taper so the tip is around .040" to .050" thick on a .100" thick blade. Then I grind the bevels in using a FFG.
Bob Witt said:
My question, however, is that often the tapering of the thickness of the blade begins in the swedge, and not before, beginning with the tang - therefore at the middle of the blade to the tip. What is this referred to??
Click to expand...
If the taper starts about middle of blade, then it's a "half taper" distal taper blade.
 
Bob Witt said:
As a knife collector, I am greatly attracted to a distal taper. Primarily, I find it much easier to sharpen (strop) blades of this design and it also offers a keener cutting edge. My question, however, is that often the tapering of the thickness of the blade begins in the swedge, and not before, beginning with the tang - therefore at the middle of the blade to the tip. What is this referred to?? Thank you.
Click to expand...
I hope you will like this kind of distal taper ...... :)
MsLAa5G.jpg
 
Thanks For the response(s) to my question. I actually purchased my first Randall (7-5) close to twenty years ago, only because I was continually disappointed in the tapers of the standard "table fare." As mentioned, for what it's worth, as a user (I just returned this past June from my 32 trip to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota & Ontario) I do pay close attention to the tapers on any knife purchase whether a pocket folder, a fixed blade or a sizable camp knife. Additionally, I always scrutinize the heft of the tip - as I don't want the tip to be overly thin and therefore subject to damage upon being dropped. Again, I greatly appreciate hearing back on this question!
 
Last edited:
An additional comment on blade tapers from the swedge to the tip, is simply that I will greatly miss Schatt Morgan slippies, as when they got it right, their tapers were just "flat out" gorgeous!!
 
I have ground the taper from just behind where my plunge line is going to be to he tip on a Travis Wuertz surface grinder attachment a few times on thick stock of 3/16 and have even ground a tapered tang on the same blade by shimming the blade for the last taper. I think the best way to do this is to taper the blade from the ricasso to the tip as you grind in the bevel. The easy way for a nice looking taper is to do a full grind on your blade. I like to hollow grind a thick blade to the top of the spine. You can always drill extra holes in the tang to keep he weight and balance you want. If you don't have a surface grinder then do a full grind and grind in your taper or use a slightly thinner stock to start, say 5/32. I am always open to other opinions on the best way to accomplish this. Larry


xVnP4lcm.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top