Bevel scratches among other things

Liquid Cobra · #1

Please help.

1. I can get a mirror polish on my edges, but there are usually some scratches that don't/won't go away. They are hard to see in photographs which makes me wonder if other people have the same problem but just don't talk about it. Do you have these scratches as well? Or is it just me.

2. I read all the time how people are reprofiling their knives, and they do it in about 30 minutes. How is this possible? Again, are people exaggerating? Are they misinterpreting what reprofiling actually means? It takes me a couple hours at minimum to completely resharpen a blade including reprofiling.

3. Why is my bevel wider on one side of the blade compared to the other? How is this possible if I'm using the same angle on each side?

4. Using the edge pro do you change he amount of pressure you are applying while sharpening? Could this be why it takes me so long to reprofile? I don't put use much pressure if any on my 120 stone and up. Should I be pushing harder?

5. The knife I'm having trouble with is my new PM2 with laminate CPM 154 / S90V. So I'm sure you can appreciate my concern with the trouble I'm having. The other issue is that my bevels do not match in width. Oh and it looks like the laminate on one side has reached the CPM 154 :O

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Super frustrated. Thanks

1965ford · #2

I am sure that you will have a bunch off offers to take the knife off of your hands since you are having so much trouble with it. My sharpening skills are way below yours, so I am not going to be much help this time.

Holland · #3

depending on the steel, my edges most often have those scratches. I think SB is the steel i have the most success with as far as polish's go

Clip · #4

I've used the Edge Pro and experienced the same issues. What stones are you using?

The uneven bevels have to be my biggest issue, but I've found that its my responsibility to count the number of strokes or compare bevels and take more off of the smaller side to even it out.

Scratches in the mirror finish are coming from the coarser stones, or coarser aggregates in the finer stones. Cleanliness is next to godliness, especially when you're switching stones. Make sure everything is rinsed and wiped so you don't accidentally carry the coarser material when you switch to the finer stones. Also, coarser scratches spaced evenly throughout your bevels mean you'll need to spend more time with the finer stones. Rough example: 1x time for coarse, 2x time for fine, 3x time for extra fine.

I've switched to diamond plates for better control over my bevels and so I can maintain the blade tips. Always found that I would blunt the tip with the EP. Another plus is setup time is reduced drastically. Downside is it really takes effort to get perfect bevels, but I've found that even my crappy, scratched, semi-convex edges still perform admirably when I'm finished. Think part of it is the learning curve and the other part is properly breaking in the diamond plates.

xceptnl · #5

Clip wrote:I've used the Edge Pro and experienced the same issues. What stones are you using?

The uneven bevels have to be my biggest issue, but I've found that its my responsibility to count the number of strokes or compare bevels and take more off of the smaller side to even it out.

Scratches in the mirror finish are coming from the coarser stones, or coarser aggregates in the finer stones. Cleanliness is next to godliness, especially when you're switching stones. Make sure everything is rinsed and wiped so you don't accidentally carry the coarser material when you switch to the finer stones. Also, coarser scratches spaced evenly throughout your bevels mean you'll need to spend more time with the finer stones. Rough example: 1x time for coarse, 2x time for fine, 3x time for extra fine.

I've switched to diamond plates for better control over my bevels and so I can maintain the blade tips. Always found that I would blunt the tip with the EP. Another plus is setup time is reduced drastically. Downside is it really takes effort to get perfect bevels, but I've found that even my crappy, scratched, semi-convex edges still perform admirably when I'm finished. Think part of it is the learning curve and the other part is properly breaking in the diamond plates.

This is very similar to my experiences. I reprofiled a Z-wear knife from 25 dps to around 17 dps. It was 2 hours to reprofile and mirror with the EP. I was able to reprofile a VG-10 delica in less than 45 minutes before, but it wasn't even a fine polish, just 1200 grit or so.

Cliff Stamp · #6

Liquid Cobra wrote:Please help.
1. I can get a mirror polish on my edges, but there are usually some scratches that don't/won't go away. They are hard to see in photographs which makes me wonder if other people have the same problem but just don't talk about it. Do you have these scratches as well? Or is it just me.

This could be cross contamination, or grit skipping. You can not move to the next grit until all scratches are equalized, if you do you will end up with a fine finish with coarse scratches.

2. I read all the time how people are reprofiling their knives, and they do it in about 30 minutes. How is this possible? Again, are people exaggerating? Are they misinterpreting what reprofiling actually means? It takes me a couple hours at minimum to completely resharpen a blade including reprofiling.

You are :

-going very slow
-using too high a grit stone
-not using enough force

or a combination of all three.

Your stones could also be worn and in need of cleaning and lapping.

3. Why is my bevel wider on one side of the blade compared to the other? How is this possible if I'm using the same angle on each side?

The primary bevels are uneven.

4. Using the edge pro do you change he amount of pressure you are applying while sharpening? Could this be why it takes me so long to reprofile? I don't put use much pressure if any on my 120 stone and up. Should I be pushing harder?

Yes.

Liquid Cobra · #7

Thanks for all the support fellas. I took another crack at it tonight. Still not great but I levelled out the bevels. It's nice and sharp now, which makes me happy. I'm going to worry less about the scratches and more on the performance.