Scratches beneath the beve.
- This topic has 12 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 02/06/2020 at 3:03 am by
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Many of us use lower stone stops to limit how low the stones slide down on the guide rod. I set my lower stops up alittle to keep the top edge of the stone just above the knige edge, all along the entire length of the clamped knife.
Also shedding diamonds from newer stones and steel dust from the sharpening process can scratch the knife sides below the knife edge. Especially if your fingertips brush the knife sides while sharpening. Covering the knife sides with blue painters tape may help prevent the scratches. Safety shields also keep your finger tips off the knife sides, besides protecting your fingers from edge contact and cuts.
I can’t share an easy way to remove these scratches from the knife sides. Sorry, but preventing scratches is easier.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)1 user thanked author for this post.
You are not alone. I feel your pain. Plastic stops “should be included” with each system IMO! Pick up the ones “airscape” sells in the link that was posted above. They work great. A lot cheaper than the $150 blade I had to replace after I unwittingly scratched it up:
https://knife.wickededgeusa.com/forums/topic/oops-how-did-i-just-make-these-scratches/
Expedia: That link doesn’t work. Try reposting it.
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Works now. I ordered a can of Ballistol Multipurpose Oil and bought three grades of wet sandpaper at Lowes yesterday and practiced on a paring knife I have that’s full of scratches. Worked great, took about an hour.
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Yup, the link works now.
I did a 4″ Japanese petty knife for my sister earlier this week. It was badly scratched and I’m guessing it was a result of sloppy use of a steel. Since the maker’s marks were deeply engraved Kanji figures, I thought I could do some heavy work at the polishing wheel to clean it up without removing any labeling. I started with a freshly loaded 240-grit, 1″ thick sewn cotton wheel, and followed up with another sewn cotton wheel, freshly loaded with 400-grit. The result was very nice. I then tried to match the original angles, but even with my LAA, couldn’t get down to the factory angle, which was less than 5 on the left side and about 8 to 10 on the other side. I was able to do the left side at 8.6 degrees and the right side at 11.25 degrees. Started with 400-grit and finished at the 3000-grit diamond stones. Wow! Has to be one of the sharpest I’ve ever done. I was able to slice strips from a page of telephone book newsprint less than 1/8″ wide and full length.
I was amazed at how close to original the edge looked, even after being roughed up by the steeling.
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I can certainly see how a knife sharpened at those low angles can be incredibly sharp, what is the HRH on those? Seems like they’d have to be really hard in preventing chipping.
I’ve really got no idea as to the hardness of these knives, but they seem pretty similar to other knives I’m doing. I looked at the edge really closely before I started sharpening and there were quite a few small chips, but I know she’s been using this knife for at least three years, and the original edge didn’t look all that bad. It was easy to measure the factory angles, although it’s a convex edge, as are every Japanese knife I’ve seen.
My Aritsugu – probably a sister of the petty I sharpened here – showed a nasty inclination to chip easily, until I learned that you use these knives only for cutting soft products, like tomatoes. Crusty bread is a killer. Loading the edge with downforce, even on a soft plastic cutting board, will ruin the edge.
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