Who get's tired of re-profiling?

Marlinaholic

Marlinaholic

Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
730
Wouldn't it be nice if new knives came with a nice EVEN inclusive bevel of LESS than 40 degrees so you could touch them up easy on Lansky croc sticks or a Sharpmaker? Maybe I have had bad luck lately, but about 75% of the knives I have bought recently needed to be reprofiled to work with my croc sticks. Since 40 degrees seems like an industry standard for croc sticks ect. why don't knife manufacturers just make sure their bevels are less than that and save us all a lot of work? Is it cheaper to grind bevels of like 50+ degrees or something when making new knives? Not to mention many knives come with one side like 18 degrees or so and the other side of the blade like 25 degrees, so if you try them on the Sharpmaker you throw up a nice burr on one side, but that's it. And I don't buy off beat brands either, just Kershaw, Case, GEC, Spyderco, Benchmade, and SOGs. Doesn't seem to matter much as to brand with this issue.
 
Last edited:
Marlinaholic said:
Not to mention many knives come with one side like 18 degrees or so and the other side of the blade like 25 degrees, so if you try them on the Sharpmaker you throw up a nice burr on one side, but that's it. And I don't buy off beat brands either, just Kershaw, Case, GEC, Spyderco, Benchmade, and SOGs. Doesn't seem to matter much as to brand with this issue.
Click to expand...

I agree. It is extremely fustrating to have a knife with diffent angles on each side of the blade. It is difficult to get the knife sharp without spending more time than should be needed. Except for my recent purchase of a Spyderco Manix 2 I dont believe I have ever bought a knife I thought was ground perfect on both sides of the blade.

Bill
 
I hear you. I mean, I love sharpening my knives, but reprofiling gets to be bothersome after a while. I'd love to see 20 degree bevels, but that's just my opinion. I wonder why they chose the angles they currently use?
 
I agree, sharpness out of the box is of no concern to me, but at least keep the dang bevels remotely close :grumpy:
 
A growing trend seems to be that most companies are leaving the edges coarser when they leave the factory. I have also noticed that they have skipped out on the polishing in favor of a de-burring process, my guess would be a felt wheel with no compound. It also seems as if they are using better grinding equipment ie. higher quality abrasives that cut the steel cleaner. Now the only problem left is the sharpener, put yourself in this persons shoes though. Your job is to sharpen hundreds of knives per day, be consistent, and have minimal rejections, so the next person that does the polishing/de-burring can make it sharp. I would imagine that like any repeditive action a person will tire resulting in more errors, so by the end of their shift who knows what standard of quality grinds are being applied. These factory sharpeners are also not taking into account the type of steel, the geometry of the blade, and the end users intended uses.

However I agree that the grinds are getting sloppy and it can be a pain to regrind but as the owner of said knife it is your responsibility to keep it sharp just like your responsible for changing the oil in your car.

Personally I don't mind becaue it gives me a chance to get a feel for the steel and apply a edge that fits the knife.
 
I reprofile all the knives I get, the sharpener can't please everyone with mass produced knives, it only takes me like 3 minutes to reprofile a knife though :).
 
i change the angle with one of my coarse bench stones (then finish it) to suit the task i dedicate the knife to .
 
I don't use microbevels, so the 20 degree slots on my Crock Sticks aren't used. I personally have no need, or use for an angle greater than 15 degrees, but most knives today, especially large folders, seem to come with angles ranging from 21 to 25 degrees.:mad:

When I asked a factory rep why they put "splitting axe" bevels on a knife, he simply smiled and said that 90 percent of their customers are idiots that don't know how to use a knife, and the other 10 percent are going to thin and re-bevel it to their own tastes anyway. :p

But yes, I do wish that I could "special order" my production knives with 10,12.5 or 15 degree bevels. :thumbup:
 
You all are talking like this is a recent trend. I noticed these same things back in the 60's. At least these days more knives come with something that resembles an edge.

I've always sharpened my knives to suit me before I ever used them. If the factories sent them out the way we want them, a few things would happen.

1) There would be a huge rash of product liability lawsuits from idiots hurting themselves in their first encounter with an actual sharp object.

2) There would be an enormous increase in complaints about edges being ruined by normal use. Remember, Joe Average Consumer buys a hundred times as many knives as we knife knuts do, and he considers cutting coathangers normal use.

3) The street price of knives would increase due to the extra labor required to get those consistent lower angles on the blades.

Altogether, I'd just as soon put my own bevels and edge on.
 
yablanowitz said:
You all are talking like this is a recent trend. I noticed these same things back in the 60's. At least these days more knives come with something that resembles an edge.

I've always sharpened my knives to suit me before I ever used them. If the factories sent them out the way we want them, a few things would happen.

1) There would be a huge rash of product liability lawsuits from idiots hurting themselves in their first encounter with an actual sharp object.

2) There would be an enormous increase in complaints about edges being ruined by normal use. Remember, Joe Average Consumer buys a hundred times as many knives as we knife knuts do, and he considers cutting coathangers normal use.

3) The street price of knives would increase due to the extra labor required to get those consistent lower angles on the blades.

Altogether, I'd just as soon put my own bevels and edge on.
Click to expand...

Pretty much hits the nail on the head. I really do believe that some 'new' production knives come with lousy, dull edges because the manufacturers are worried (or at least their lawyers are) about the liability issues of foisting truly scary sharp edges upon the masses. There are some exceptions; most of the newer generation of Case and Buck knives I've purchased seem to be getting a lot better with the edges on their knives (more acute and symmetrical bevels, and a more even, consistent grind along the full length of the cutting edge).

I've just begun to reach a level with my own sharpening ability, that I now see a crappy bevel as a 'training opportunity' to fine-tune my skills. I've recently purchased some cheap old beaters on eBay with the sole objective of seeing just how sharp I can make 'em on my own. I've also bought 3 of Queen's Country Cousins in D2 which, by and large, seem to consistently come from the factory with very obtuse edge grinds. I've re-profiled 2 of them so far and I'm thrilled with the results. At this point, I know I can put a scary edge on 'em. So now, most of my practice is directed at making the edge a little more pretty while I'm at it. I enjoy it, it's FUN! :D
 
All four! Obtuse grinds are what bug me the most, though. Had to spend about ten minutes with my TOPS Shango when I got it to file back the bevel and polish it up through. It's at a nice mirrored convex now (and part of my EDC--great knife), but after a while you sure do get tired of having to spend so much effort on EVERY darn knife you get. There are only a few companies that I've received knives from that DIDN'T require reprofiling. And I always sharpen my knives before putting them to work for the first time, so i tend to notice it right away. :(
 
I agree with most of you about the current state of affairs, and the reasons for them.

OTOH, when I pay $150-$300 or more for a top of the line Benchmade or Spyderco I'd sure like to be able to use it for somerhing other than splitting firewood, right out of the box.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
...I really do believe that some 'new' production knives come with lousy, dull edges because the manufacturers are worried (or at least their lawyers are) about the liability issues of foisting truly scary sharp edges upon the masses...
Click to expand...

Sounds like all the new guns on the market that have 100 lb trigger pulls. My girlfriend can barely pull the trigger on a small S&W she got.
 
Ben Dover said:
I agree with most of you about the current state of affairs, and the reasons for them.

OTOH, when I pay $150-$300 or more for a top of the line Benchmade or Spyderco I'd sure like to be able to use it for somerhing other than splitting firewood, right out of the box.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think up above $100 or so, there's no excuse for a mediocre edge on a knife. Presumably, one who's willing to spend that much or more for a knife has a reasonable expectation that it'll actually perform as a true knife is supposed to.

What's a little bit funny for me, personally, is that I'm still tempted to polish the edge on my brand new Spyderco Manix2 S90V blade. So far, it's been the most wicked sharp out-of-the-box knife I've owned, but I STILL would like to see just how much further it'll go. Such is the extent of my OBSESSION... :p
 
Ben Dover said:
...

When I asked a factory rep why they put "splitting axe" bevels on a knife, he simply smiled and said that 90 percent of their customers are idiots that don't know how to use a knife, and the other 10 percent are going to thin and re-bevel it to their own tastes anyway. :p
...
...
Click to expand...

I'd agree with the salesman that the majority of knife buyers aren't real fussy about edge angles.

The fact that we are on a site devoted to knives sometimes skews our thinking. We talk like all the world thinks like we think about knives and edge angles, but we are a minority.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top