Uneven Bevels, Heel to Tip
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 07/31/2019 at 11:01 pm by
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Hello All,
I am getting uneven bevels from the heel to the tip on both sides of my knife. The bevel is thicker at the heel and the tip, thinner at the belly. I have seen several posts about uneven bevels from side to side, but could not find anything about my situation.
Any idea what would cause this?
Go check out MarcH’s thread on How I find the sweet spot. The answer you seek is in that thread. Basically, you just need to play around with the position of the knife in the clamp a bit more in order to find a spot that is a better compromise. My guess is that you need to clamp closer to the tip and get the blade higher in the jaws if possible. The low angle adapter can help get a higher clamping position. You might also try angling the tip downwards a bit.
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Mark: Organic’s proposal is the best approach and I’m sure there’s a blade position that will improve things. There might even be an answer that clamps the blade in more than one position.
However, there might not be an answer because the photo shows a case of a blade that has been ground unevenly by the manufacturer. The center of the blade appears to be thinner than the tip or heel section. If you have a micrometer or a good caliper, you can check the width of the bevel at the point showing the greatest variability.
I check bevel width by first setting my micrometer very nearly closed. Then I rest the blade with the edge down in the opening of the mic’. Then slowly open the micrometer until you can see the bevel shoulders of the blade drop into the opening. That will be your shoulder width. Take readings between the heel, the tip and the center (narrowest point of the bevel). You’ll see that the width of the bevel shoulders (the thickness of the blade) is lowest at the narrowest part of the bevel.
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about this case, and for what it’s worth, the thinnest section will cut the best. If you can’t live with the uneven bevels, you could have the blade reground, to match the thick sections with the thinnest. Another job for Razor Edge Josh, master of regrinds.
Thanks for the replies everybody. I should have mentioned in my original post that I made this knife – my first one in fact. Tcmeyer turns out to be exactly correct. I put my calipers on the blade, and as much as I tried to grind even primary bevels, the belly of the knife, just behind the secondary bevel, is substantially thinner than the heel and the tip.
It cuts reasonably well, although I didn’t spend to much time sharpening it after I realized the bevels were uneven. It’s been a fun learning experience and I’m looking forward to making the next one.
-Mark
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