tcmeyer

Sorry, but I’m jumping in a little late to this thread, but I have a couple of comments that might be important here.  First, Marc may have misstated the issue of blades “leaning to the left.”  This really only applies to blades which have no vertical sides which can be clamped, such as those which are Full-Flat-Ground.  The Gen 1 vise is quite ca…[Read more]

Paddle thickness varies from grit to grit simply because the height of the diamond matrix changes with the size of the diamond particles.  Yes there is some variability due to manufacturing tolerances, but usually the differences are minor.

Generally, as the grit goes up, the thickness goes down.  Assuming there’s been no change in the m…[Read more]

Ideally, the edge would follow a constant distance from the pivot point of the rod to the apex, but this assumes that the blade is the same thickness at the shoulder of the bevel.  But some knives are shaped rather thick at the tip (for strength) and you simply can’t avoid leaving a wider bevel there.  The same situation applies where the p…[Read more]

Here’s a photo of a US Navy KABAR mounted in my Gen 1 vise while sharpening it some 7 years ago.  I don’t recall any problems and don’t have much to share, except that the mounting position is much like Clay described, with the start of the belly lined up with the back face of the vise.  You can see that the bevel width flows nicely through the b…[Read more]

I don’t “test for sharpness” per se.  I check between grits with the ‘scope that I am actually working the apex and then take the appropriate number of strokes with the next grit after a double-check with the angle-cube.  If it’s a routine sharpening, I take 10 – 20 strokes per grit (depending to some extent on blade length) and continue to a f…[Read more]

I bought a set of the same files and got confusing results with them.  I have four skinning knives I made from D2.  I hardened two of them using MAP gas torches and air hardened them.  The other two were hardened using a propane forge and quenched between two 1″ thick aluminum plates flushed with a compressed air nozzle.  The files skated acr…[Read more]

I have a couple of Spyderco ZDP-189 knives and I’ve learned that the edges will chip if I use any stones lower than 600 grit – and with my Delica 600 will do it too, especially with edge-trailing strokes.  ZDP is supposed to be hardened to about HRc-64, according to Spyderco.  Rockstead claims to harden it to 67.  My experience is limited, but I’…[Read more]

I’ve done a couple of Buck 120 “Generals” which are very similar, but don’t recall which vise I used.  In either case, the “sweet spot” is limited by the distance from the belly to the side flats, and I don’t recall that being much of a problem.  I think that the “chamois” trick would help a lot and that you’d only need to bite the flat on one e…[Read more]

Really nice, Alex.  Also, the photo is impressive on its own.  Nice work there, too.

The pristine condition of the knife is equally impressive.  To keep it that way, use masking tape to cover everything that the stones aren’t supposed to touch.  I once scratched one of my sister’s SO’s cheap folders (I don’t think he ever spent more than abo…[Read more]

Oops!  Sorry.  I thought you were Ed.  Late night, old age, etc..

For those of you who are using the micro-adjust “knurled knob” design as supplied by airscapes and whose knobs have a 5/8″ diameter hub, I have resurrected my document to print the 0-9 scale on adhesive-backed label stock.  Simply cut each label out with a scissors and affix it to your hub.  If you would like a set, I will gladly mail you one, f…[Read more]

When I got my first rig, I was wickedly (!) happy with the edges I was getting with stones only up to 600 grit and certainly before they were broken in.

If I was not achieving the edge quality I expected, I would consider my technique above all.  Am I holding the stones consistently and am I keeping my grip below the edge – as far as that’s…[Read more]

One caution is that when you sharpen a knife at some high angle – say, 25 dps – changing the angle to some lower angle – say, 20 dps – is going to take you a long time.  The high angle will rapidly lower the apex, as it has very little metal to remove to do so.  Any lower angle will require that a lot of metal be removed before the apex is r…[Read more]

I’ve seen very similar images of stones in my collection and have seen no evidence of them having caused any harm.  In fact, the little crescent-shaped defect just to the right of the “gouge” is, or was, more likely to produce visible defects in your scratch patterns.  This is the end result of a cluster of diamond particles having been knocked o…[Read more]

Single-sided, or “chisel-grind” kitchen knives are intended for cutting solid foods, like carrots, radishes, turnips and such.  Like a carpenter’s chisel, the design cuts straight down the line of the non-beveled side, which is intentionally positioned to the inside of the hand holding the knife.  The “off-cut”, or the part just cut from the m…[Read more]

I think I’m pretty much in agreement here, but I’d add that the number of strokes depends heavily on the thickness of the edge  – as measured at the shoulders of the bevels (or the width of the bevels) .  A very thin edge will require very few strokes.

Assuming single diagonal strokes, short blades require fewer strokes because the steeper d…[Read more]

In my experience, knife use in the field almost always benefits from a toothy edge.  Tendons, ligaments and tough hide are a challenge for highly polished edges, which would just as soon glide right over the toughest fibers as they would break through them.  That said, polished bevels will slide easily through a cut if the apex is doing its j…[Read more]

I’m thinking that burrs that are persistent at the final grit probably indicate that the steel is rather soft and are probably related to the very low angle (15dps).  With very low angles (down in the 6-10dps range, some steels will produce a foil edge (so thin that you can bend the apex with your thumbnail).  Likewise, it can also produce a s…[Read more]

Regis:  If you want to try milling aluminum with a router, you would probably want to have a variable speed router and set it for its lowest speed.  I haven’t tried it, but there are a number of youtube videos at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=milling+aluminum+with+a+router.

I made a base out of ABS plastic and machined the slots w…[Read more]

I just happened to sharpen my Delica 4 in ZDP-189.  I checked the log and I noticed a note that said “No grits lower than 600.”  I had a deep chip near the tip and it was going to take hours to erase it with 600, so I bit the bullet and went to my very-well broken-in 400s.  Sure enough, when I checked with my ‘scope, now there were three chips, ea…[Read more]