Edge Depth-what am I doing wrong?

[Ryan]

I’m not sure edge depth is the correct nomenclature but what I mean is this…I have a Benchmade Griptillian for example. The edge from the factory is sharp but is not very deep (the distance from the edge to the spine). When I sharpen it on the WE the edge is now grown or become longer. In other words I’m removing considerable more metal up the blade toward the spine.

I guess it isn’t a big deal but I cannot understand why I cannot maintain the integrity of the original edge or at least closer to it. I’ve noticed this on every knife I’ve sharpened. What am I doing incorrectly?

[Josh]

All you are doing is lowering the angle of your edge from what they have it as in the factory… Which is in fact good. It means you will be increasing the cutting ability of the knife.

If you don’t want to do this then you need to sharpie your edge and see where the marker is being removed by your stones. Adjust your angle out until where you are meeting the factory angle. Hope this helps!

– Josh

[wickededge]

Hi Ryan,

Josh is exactly right. Here is a quick article showing how to use the marker to find your angle: Finding your Angle[/url]

-Clay

[Mr.Wizard]

In addition to the comments above consider that the factory edge bevel isn’t necessarily uniform in angle along the length of the blade, therefore establishing a uniform angle may widen it in places. Also if there is significant edge damage or there are hollows it will take significant metal removal of to restore a perfect bevel therefore even if you maintain the original angle the bevel will be wider, because it will have moved up into a thicker part of the grind, unless you are working on a hollow-ground knife which may have a constant thickness near the edge before more quickly widening.

[Cliff Stamp]

In addition to the comments above consider that the factory edge bevel isn’t necessarily uniform in angle along the length of the blade, therefore establishing a uniform angle may widen it in places.

Yes and even worse the primary isn’t likely even either especially on more inexpensive knives.

[Zamfir]

No doubt. One thing I am learning is that some knife makers are not good knife sharpeners. Well..to our standards anyway. :woohoo:

Even on more expensive blades the primary grind can be off. I ran into this on my Zero Tolorance 0180 which is not a cheap knife. It was sharp..but the main bevel of the blade was not exactly equal and in the center. I could not even get the sharpie trick to work perfectly. This is because a lot of knifes are sharpened by hand from the factory and not in a precise jig. I approximated the best position with the sharpie method and noted the position. Now, every single time when I sharpen it, the bevel is right on the money.

So I would not worry about getting exactly what the factory did. Just get the right angle for the knife steel, and usage, and style and get it sharpened. Next time you go to sharpen it. the sharpie trick will work perfect!

Does that make sense?

[Author]

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