Re: Fixing uneven bevels

[Edwin Lurvey]

Again, sorry if it came off insulting. I respectfully disagree with the way you define common sense. Common sense is something that is not learned, but it is internal and natural. It is something that is known without any knowledge or skill on a topic. Having a skill level so high, to the degree of unlearning (which is a different topic), and doing a task is not common sense. It is skill. No one could expect someone to operate a piece of equipment, be it a helicopter, or a sharpening system like a professional, or at all for that matter, without some learning. I am not sure what aspects of flight involve common sense, because I am not a pilot, but I am sure there are aspects that good pilots will tell you that you cannot learn in school. Learning any skill takes a few things like good training, natural talent, effort, motivation, and time. To each individual, the ratio needed of these things is different, but one skill that gets overlooked is common sense.

I am an obsessed home cook that learned to cook from my father, who owned restaurants. I am by no means a chef, but a better cook than 80% of the people I meet, and know more about food than most people. I do not define common sense as learning how to properly cook a steak, and doing it. I define common sense as – if you can smell smoke, see the pan turning black, and the fire alarm going off, why do some contestants on cooking shows not turn the pan down until the pan catches fire? No common sense. My nephew is 10 years old, and has no father in his life, yet when I teach him to do home projects, like tiling, he looks at me and says, “uncle, should we tape off the board on the bottom of the stairs so the grout doesn’t ruin the woodwork?” He never did wood working, so he wasn’t trying to preserve his own work, and he is just starting to learn how to fix things from me. This is a kid who has more common sense than I do, because I would have gotten grout all over the stairs.

Just because of one screw up, doesn’t mean one can’t improve. My main point is that anyone who has used a knife knows what the bevel looks like. It is not so small you can’t see it, but it is also not 1″ wide, unless you are using a high end sushi knife. It is simply a case of having tunnel vision, and not watching closely what you are doing. I am not saying he can’t learn, but getting to the many levels of sharpening could be a problem for someone without the attention to notice such a mistake is what is alarming. Me telling you to sharpen his knives was just banter. Of course he can learn.

As far as fixing the knife, you could widen the angle, and knock down the overall height of the knife, spine to edge, or belt sand the edge off, until the bevel gets smaller and start over. Another option is match the other side, consider it a visual grind, and put a new wider bevel at the top.