Who reprofiles/sharpens a new blade before use?

[bflying]

Let me say this about that :
When I buy a tool invariably I view it as a blank and that I am going to take it home and make something useful out of it. (that's the case more and more in this modern world of people designing and manufacturing things that they have never put to actual use in the real world).

So yes nearly any knife I buy gets the edge grind angle made more narrow/shallow. Very often the thickness of the blade right near the edge gets ground thinner, often by half and since I am into the aesthetic and how it cuts for what I cut I mirror polish (ish) the edge bevel.

There have been exceptions; three come to mind :
Benchmade Ritter Griptilian
Spyderco Gayle Bradley One
Spyderco Para Military 2 M4 (we need a heart/love "face" button so I can use it here)

But yes most knives are ground by people who don't use them for people who have no clue about how to use it to keep from destroying the edge. A recipe for dull and boring in more ways than one. You want to compare stock knife edges to see what I mean ?
Pick up a Swiss Army knife new out of the box (love the knives HATE the factory edge).
use and compare that for a week of actual use to a :
decent quality small Japanese kitchen knife (can be had for ~$40) thin ground near the edge, shallow edge angle, very often frighteningly sharp from the factory)
. . . oh boy another chance to post a pic of mine I have named "The Little Monster". Now that's a proper edge. Delicate and damageable in the wrong hands but I could EDC one with no issues and it reflects superior cutting ability.

View attachment 796439

Great looking little pare. What brand/maker?

 

[Wowbagger]

Great looking little pare. What brand/maker?

Sorry for the lag there I got drafted by She Who Must Be Obeyed to take all the stuff of the dining table and dust and wash it. She cooked dinner and cleaned up and did laundry . . . it was an offer I couldn't refuse . . . if you know what I mean . I believe there was the comment "You must comply" and I think I glimpsed tubules but I was already hard at work so I could have imagined it.

I bought three of these. This winter (more time off) I plan to cut two of the blades to fit into folders. Why ? Because they are there. One in a Cold Steel large Voyager; the other in a Carbon fiber 940.
Blasphemy I know and all will be reversible if I fail.
Like I said buy the tool take the ride . . . er . . . I mean buy the tool, take it home and make something useful . . . different out of it.

The on line store (that starts with a small "a" and a swoopy arrow symbol under it) says :
Honmamon
Azumasyusaku Funayuki 'Kaji Craftsmanmade' Kurouchi, Double Bevel (120mm)

The knives always ship directly from Japan and really it doesn't take overly long to get them here.
I have yet to find a USA vendor for this knife; most are longer or narrower. Still for the comparison I suggested longer or narrower will be the same edge though.

OP : careful . . . some of the Japanese knives are single bevel. Good in use but maybe not the best for comparing to a Swiss Army knife.

 

[Lapedog]

If you sharpen freehand, it doesn't make that much difference.

If you sharpen with a guided system, it does. If I find a factory edge is not very sharp, I always re profile to an even dps, usually 15 dps.

On something like the Sharpmaker, a factory edge that is 15 degrees on one side and 19 degrees on the other, will cause you problems. Using the 30-degree inclusive angle, you'll sharpen the 15 degree side perfectly, but only wear down the shoulder on the 19 degree side.

That is exactly why I always use my sharpmaker rods freehand now. I hold the rod in one hand and my knife in the other.

 

[Wowbagger]

That is exactly why I always use my sharpmaker rods freehand now. I hold the rod in one hand and my knife in the other.

Short answer : I agree and do the same thing

Long winded rambling hard to follow story for the sake of shooting the breeze on a day lost in the doldrums between here and Thanks Giving :

I warn you ahead of the fact if you read this you will want to give me a dope slap but I am just out of range . . .
and it occurred to me after I started this little novella that this is an excellent example of just how durable and forgiving one of these super thin edges can be if combined with some REAL metal and heat treating.
I have this addiction . . . I like home made chocolate chip cookies with good Belgium chocolate (sorry I meant CHOCOLATE . . . there that's more accurate )
I buy my chocolate . . . well one pic is worth a thousand kisses here's two :
That's a normal size fork and a US quarter.


I get that block into large chunks with this tool


then what do you suppose I did ? He said with a fiendish mad look in his eye !
I grabbed this rather nice super thin edge prize Japanese slicer




and against my better judgement, the sane one that knows about the retribution and damnation that will descend upon me if I chip this knife from She Who Must Be Obeyed . . .
I commenced to chop up the two and three inch long some what hard chocolate rocks into chocolate chip cookie size "chips".

I was a bit afraid, once the chocolate chopping frenzy had left me, to look at the edge.
Rolls ? Dings ? chips in the edge ? ? ? ?
WHAT HAVE I DONE ! ! !
. . .
. . .
Not too bad
there were zero chips (except chocolate ones)(lots and lots of those)
What there was in edge "damage" I was able to align and bring back with . . .
wait for it . . .
a single hand held Spyderco Ultra Fine triangle rod alone ! ! ! !
When done, and I did the work out in the sun for best lighting, to my utter amazement the edge was literally hair whittling along it's entire length and this knife (a daily user by The Chef) had not been sharpened since last winter and was due for sharpening (or so I thought and part of the reason for my cavalier attitude).

What do you say to THAT 20° per side and don't spare the belt grinder dudes ?
I rest my case.
Yes I know technically I fatigued the steel and this wasn't smart. A guy has got to take life to the edge occasionally to feel alive . . .
right ?

 

[Lapedog]

Short answer : I agree and do the same thing

Long winded rambling hard to follow story for the sake of shooting the breeze on a day lost in the doldrums between here and Thanks Giving :

I warn you ahead of the fact if you read this you will want to give me a dope slap but I am just out of range . . .
and it occurred to me after I started this little novella that this is an excellent example of just how durable and forgiving one of these super thin edges can be if combined with some REAL metal and heat treating.
I have this addiction . . . I like home made chocolate chip cookies with good Belgium chocolate (sorry I meant CHOCOLATE . . . there that's more accurate )
I buy my chocolate . . . well one pic is worth a thousand kisses here's two :
That's a normal size fork and a US quarter.
View attachment 796521

I get that block into large chunks with this tool
View attachment 796522

then what do you suppose I did ? He said with a fiendish mad look in his eye !
I grabbed this rather nice super thin edge prize Japanese slicer
View attachment 796541

View attachment 796542

and against my better judgement, the sane one that knows about the retribution and damnation that will descend upon me if I chip this knife from She Who Must Be Obeyed . . .
I commenced to chop up the two and three inch long some what hard chocolate rocks into chocolate chip cookie size "chips".

I was a bit afraid, once the chocolate chopping frenzy had left me, to look at the edge.
Rolls ? Dings ? chips in the edge ? ? ? ?
WHAT HAVE I DONE ! ! !
. . .
. . .
Not too bad
there were zero chips (except chocolate ones)(lots and lots of those)
What there was in edge "damage" I was able to align and bring back with . . .
wait for it . . .
a single hand held Spyderco Ultra Fine triangle rod alone ! ! ! !
When done, and I did the work out in the sun for best lighting, to my utter amazement the edge was literally hair whittling along it's entire length and this knife (a daily user by The Chef) had not been sharpened since last winter and was due for sharpening (or so I thought and part of the reason for my cavalier attitude).

What do you say to THAT 20° per side and don't spare the belt grinder dudes ?
I rest my case.
Yes I know technically I fatigued the steel and this wasn't smart. A guy has got to take life to the edge occasionally to feel alive . . .
right ?

Yeah man, sharpmaker fine or xfine is amazing for realigning an edge. You can use sort of like a chef's steel. I have very little luck with the actual steel rod.

 

[M-S-T]

Usually, when I buy a new knife I use it with an original edge and watch how it performs. Uneven bevels are more of a cosmetic thing to me. If I see that I can thin it a little- I will ( if the steel can afford it). But I don't go crazy about super low angles. If it starts to get chippy, it takes more time to fix it, more steel goes to waste. I like my angles around 20 per side. Or classical 30 deg. inclusive with 40 micro bevel.

 

[microtech85]

I like to preserve my knife blade for as long as possible. For this reason, i do not reprofile the factory edge. I sharpen free hand and it will gradually develop my desired profile over time as i touch it up. this way i keep the metal on my blade for as long as possible. The more you re profile or sharpen, the more steel you loose and the narrower your blade gets.

 

[M-S-T]

I like to preserve my knife blade for as long as possible. For this reason, i do not reprofile the factory edge. I sharpen free hand and it will gradually develop my desired profile over time as i touch it up. this way i keep the metal on my blade for as long as possible. The more you re profile or sharpen, the more steel you loose and the narrower your blade gets.

Very practical approach indeed