Sharpening a factory bevel – where to begin?
- This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 07/29/2017 at 10:11 am by
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I would mark it with a Sharpie, and check both sides first. Many new knives look like they have a nice even bevel… few actually do. And even if they are, most will benefit from a bit of a regrind,,, even if slightly lower.
But, if they are even, and you just want to touch it up… I would still start around 600g (maybe lower)… just to “set” the edge for the Wicked Edge (if that makes sense), and even out the grind marks, etc. (Few knives will match another sharpening method perfectly, regardless of how it’s done).
Anarchy84, with new out-of-the knives, I try to document the new edges with USP microscope photos to visually record the original edge and grind marks for a later comparison. I’m not so quick to sharpen them or even tough them up right away, any more. Now I try to use them a while first to get a feel for the edge as the maker intended it to be. Then besides the visual record of the new, pristine edge, I also have a good memory of how the knife feels.
Then when I decide it’s time for a touch up, I start again with a visual inspection. If it looks like it can use a touch-up I take a hand strop to it for the first attempt. Again it’s to learn how it will affect the makers edge.
I also switch off to use another knife I’m familiar with. One I consider to be a good cutter and performer. Then I have another kind of basis for comparison. I switch back and forth for the first week or two till I’m good and familiar with the new knife and how it differs from one of my favorites. Then when I decide it’s finally time to take it to the Wicked Edge I have a good working knowledge of the knife and can tell if I’m improving it or need to change my track.
I had for the longest time bought knives and right out-of-the-box clamped them and sharpened them. I never used the new knife and all I new about it was the results of my sharpening it. If it wasn’t a good performer I had no way of knowing if I did that to the knife or the knife was not very good to begin with.
This has required a level of patience and discipline I hadn’t had, and am learning to exercise. It is well worth the lessons I learn. I appreciate the knives for what they are and don’t have any doubts about them any longer.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)With a few exceptions, I always start at the hundred grits. My standards are just higher than those of most factories…
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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Like cbwx34, I start most new knives with my 600 stones. 800/1000’s seem to take too long to remove the deeper grind lines.
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If I sharpen a factory bevel that looks good (not all do) I usually start with the 400 grit stones. But it may even be higher, depending on the state of the edge. I’m happy I have a goniometer, so I can estimate what the original angle is.
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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Personally I’ve only sharpened maybe 10 or so new knives at this point, most low end, and I’m yet to run into one that the bevel is close to being even. Most have been as much as 3 to 4 deg. different from one side to the other just on the sharpened angle. The couple middle end knives that I’ve done weren’t quite as bad but still off by quite a bit. I also use the knife for a while to see the performance and then adjust for my preference. Because these knives have been so far off I’ve started at 100 grit on almost all of them. One exception I started at 400. Knives that I’ve already sharpened and need re-honing, most of them I start at 400 to 600. I try to use the stone that will set the edge for the next stone in the progression. As TC said it can take a lot of work to set an edge with 800 or 1000 and you’ll wear those stones out prematurely in my mind.
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