How much can you reprofile?

[ShawnKirkpatrick]

So I'm sitting here having to reprofile my yojimbo and para2 because of the recent hard work they've had to endure at work the past 3 days. It really rolled some spots really good. So I decided I would reprofile them both to get a good clean apex and have 2 ready to go knives again. But then i thought, is it possible to maybe reprofile to much (or to often) and move your edge up the blade? I know it will over time. And I being stingy with my steel or am I overthinking it and I'll be find keeping my knifes sharp?

[Bloke]

I think along the same lines and I'm loath to removing metal unnecessarily. Particularly on a new knife. :eek:

An example would be a ZDP Stretch I re-profiled from a woeful factory grind. Whoever sharpened it plunged into the ricasso on both sides, one side worse than the other. In order to clean the last ¼” I’d have to remove way too much metal to keep the same lines so I left it at that cause it doesn’t really matter because of where it is and I’ll eventually fix it over consequent sharpening’s down the track. :)

[Evil D]

You can and will, it just depends on how much metal you remove.

[Jazz]

It sounds like you could have steeled it first, maybe not having to sharpen at all, or much, if any.

[bearfacedkiller]

That is an advantage that hollow grinds have over other grinds. As you work your way up into a hollow grind the edge usually doesn't thicken up quite as much as the other grinds do. for this reason I would not worry too much about it on the Yojimbo.

I have a Sage2 and a Swick3 and they are my two most sharpened Spydies and the edges have thickened up considerably but it took a long time, lots of sharpening and some hard use. I dont worry about it too much since it came to be that way because I used them for hard work and now that their edges are twice as thick as before they take hard use even better.

In the end it will take more than a few reprofiles to make a significant impact on edge thickkness. What you are worried aboout does happen but it takes quite a while.

[ShawnKirkpatrick]

Good. I'm glad to hear that. I really appreciate my knives and would like you have them and be able to use them for a long time. I just didn't want to reprofile so much that I'm shortening their life. How often do you guys feel the need to reprofile?

[bearfacedkiller]

Damage is what really shortens their lifespan. Having to remove chips can really get you up into the blade. Otherwise you should be able to touch up your microbevel many times in between reprofiles. I don't usually reprofile unless my microbevel has gotten visually bigger and the touch ups begin to take a bit longer.

[Evil D]

Well, a hollow grind may indeed stay thinner behind the edge for longer but steel loss from reprofiling is still a reality.

[Brock O Lee]

If you routinely need to sharpen out big chips and rolls, you will quickly thicken up the edge. That's just the way it is.

To minimise damage, use a more obtuse angle, or pick a steel that will resist damage better.

You can always thin out a thick primary grind by sending the knife for a regrind. Or you can regrind it yourself by sharpening flat on the primary grind (FFG) with a coarse bench stone, or by blending the primary grind into the edge bevel with a convex.

I like to use micro bevels because they strengthen the edge without reducing cutting performance, they are quick to resharpen, remove minimal amount of steel, and you can be resharpened many times before you need to reprofile again.

[Bodog]

Well, a hollow grind may indeed stay thinner behind the edge for longer but steel loss from reprofiling is still a reality.

And hollow grinds like to bind up a lot. I'm not a hollow grind kind of guy.