help

[howard schwartz]

i am using the wicked edge on a kershaw knock-out.
the front third of the blade is the most sharp, the back third of the blade is next in sharpness, and the middle of the blade is the dullest.

i have created a burr, and the stones reach all the way to the top of the blade. how do i get even sharpness all the way across the blade? thanks.

[tcmeyer]

Do I assume correctly that you mean by “knock-out” that the knife is a “knock-off” or a copy of the Kershaw by another maker?

Do you have a loupe or microscope so you can actually look at the edge? It’s likely that the middle third of the blade has some microscopic damage that you can’t see with the naked eye. A few very small “dings” or chips in the edge can be the difference between sharp and dull.

With a bright light shining straight down on the edge, look for any signs of reflected light along the edge. A truly sharp edge will reflect no light. If you have any kind of magnifying glass, use it.

I use a hand-held microscope between grits, until every trace of edge damage has been erased. After that, I proceed through the grits normally. Until the damage is erased, any further refinement is a waste of time. I think that most of the users here use loupes, with the 10-power version with the clear plastic shroud being the most convenient, as they focus on the plane of the shroud base, making it easy to slide the loupe along the edge, looking for damage.

[howard schwartz]

how do i remove edge damage?

i am a newbie. thanks.

[Josh]

Keep grinding until the damage is gone. Tc had some good advice 🙂

[Dennis Gocong]

Yep, just keep grinding at it as suggested. If you don’t have a loupe of magnifying glass handy, then the easiest way to check whether you have an even grind is run a damp paper towel on the burred edge. The paper towel will leave strands of rag on the burred edge and should be evenly distributed on the blade, then you can proceed with the grinding to get to your proper edge.

The flash light trick is also a great check to ensure you don’t have any flat spots.

And as tc mentioned, if this is a knock-off blade, then this may further explain the quality of the blade and why you can expect more mico cracks and flat spots on this blade.

Let us know what you find out?

[Leo Barr]

Knock off or not unless perhaps the heat treatment is awful I would expect and even sharpness from tip to heel I think any inconsistencies are more than likely due to not having gone far enough grinding . `The only other faint possibility may me that you have a wire burr that is still hanging on at some part of the blade . Take it outside if it is in the clamp take the whole thing outside and look for light been reflected on the areas you know to be less sharp . It maybe that it has cut something quite tough and part of the blade has collapsed so the stones has skipped over it ; just a thought .
I would suggest going back to a lower grit and more or less start again checking the entire length of the blade for less sharp areas – if I am not happy with an edge it is better to drop back a grit or so and start the whole cycle again.

[Daniel maloon]

Good ideas above. The wicked edge wiki under the Resources tab has good info for beginners. As mentioned form a burr on one side, form a burr on the other side, alternate sweeping strokes using even pressure and move up in stones. Come on guys its a kershaw knockout not knock off haha

[tcmeyer]

So there really is a Kershaw Knockout? Oh, that’s a hoot! Please accept my apologies.

[Dennis Gocong]

Shoulda known to check …. ha, ha, my apologies to Howards as well.

[Author]

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