Manix 2 XL Uneven Edge Bevel

setzer715 · #1

Hi,
I just received my first ever Spyderco and the knife is beautiful in every way except the blade bevel is off. It looks like it was sharpend at 15 degrees on one side and 20 on the other. I haven't used it yet and can exchange it for the cost of shipping both ways thus comes my question. I also ordered a sharpmaker but I'm not good at using it yet. Should I exchange it or just try to fix the bevel myself?

I tried to take pictures but you can't really tell with them.

Clip · #2

I wouldn't worry about it. Both of my Manix2s came like this, and didn't hurt performance that I could tell. I eventually reprofiled the 154CM after a year, but the M4 I'll leave as is. It's a whole lot of steel to take off of the back side to get the angle symmetrical.

Since both of mine came like this, I'm guessing it's just the process they use to grind the edge and most will be this way. If you want to fix it, might want to try diamond rods in the Sharpmaker.

chuck_roxas45 · #3

If you're not happy with it, send it back.

setzer715 · #4

Thanks for the replies guys. It doesn't really bug me, just don't want it to be a lot of work to fix once it is time to sharpen. I'll keep it, reprofiling will probably be a good way to get used to the sharpmaker anyways.

jzmtl · #5

They are all manually ground so there's no guarantee the next one will be fine. If you can learn to fix it yourself it will be best since you'll encounter many like this down the line.

v8r · #6

jzmtl wrote:They are all manually ground so there's no guarantee the next one will be fine. If you can learn to fix it yourself it will be best since you'll encounter many like this down the line.

Beat me to it. I bet what your cutting won't notice the 5 degree difference per side

. I would use it, sharpen, repeat until the desired bevel is reached. Enjoy.

setzer715 · #7

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to keep it. Worst thing that can happen is I get better at sharpening. Is there a way to mark resolved in this forum?

Clip · #8

Not that I know of. It'll fade in time, or others will search it and reply with their own problems on the same subject.

Blerv · #9

Welcome to the forums and hope you enjoy the knife :)

As mentioned the bevels can be off a tad due to the finishing process. Rarely you even get a Spyderco that isn't razor sharp out of the box. The latter is much more rare.

dbcad · #10

Welcome setzer715,

Use it and enjoy :) I prefer to reprofile at my first sharpening now, but used to treasure the stock edge and use the Sharpmaker to touch it up at every opportunity. The difference in stock edge bevels is no real concern to me at least.

With the SM I would suggest watching the video more than once, then watching it again. At the least it's a delightful look back at the eighties, but Sal's tips on using it to get a nice edge stand the test of time.

Keep it sharp :)

setzer715 · #11

Thanks for all the advice. I do have one more question though. Will I need the Diamond triangles for reporfiling the blade (when the time comes) or will the provided medium stones suffice? Thanks.

Blerv · #12

setzer715 wrote:Thanks for all the advice. I do have one more question though. Will I need the Diamond triangles for reporfiling the blade (when the time comes) or will the provided medium stones suffice? Thanks.

It depends on the amount of steel you need to remove. The diamonds work much better if you have to take off a ton or the steel is very wear resistant.

setzer715 · #13

Blerv wrote:It depends on the amount of steel you need to remove. The diamonds work much better if you have to take off a ton or the steel is very wear resistant.

Thanks, as you had mentioned earlier, the knife is currently razor sharp so no need to do anything right now. When the time comes and it's getting difficult to reprofile then I'll look into the diamond stones.

As for your comment if the steel is wear resistant, it's S30V. I'm new to the steel so I don't know yet. Shouldn't be as bad as say D2 but I think I read its tougher to sharpen than say 154CM.

chuck_roxas45 · #14

I'll just put it out there that reprofiling or rebeveling with a sharpmaker will take a long time diamond rods or not.

Rwb1500 · #15

chuck_roxas45 wrote:I'll just put it out there that reprofiling or rebeveling with a sharpmaker will take a long time diamond rods or not.

+1, and doing S30v with the brown medium stones could take quite a while. The stock setup does a great job of keeping S30v sharp, but when it comes time to reprofile you'll want the diamond rods at a minimum.

Sharpening is kinda like knife collecting. You need different knives because they all do certain things differently. A hawkbill is great for cutting rope, but terrible for mincing garlic. Same with sharpeners. Some can reprofile in a hurry, some can't. Doesn't make them bad or good, just different. Moral of the story is you'll probably end up with more than one sharpening system.

jzmtl · #16

The sharpmaker diamond rod is too fine for actual reprofiling, get some coarse sandpapers (start at 100 grit or so), cut into strips and clip onto SM rods. Make sure you get the aluminum oxide or even better silicon carbide paper, not garnet.

Blerv · #17

All true. It's all about edge/stone ratio and the triangles don't hit the edge quite as aggressively as a flat surface. The advantage of course is being able to sharpen odd blade shapes and keep constant angles.

Yea as you said if it's sharp it's sharp :) . Some edges are not as pleasing to they eye but for out of the box I've yet to be displeased.

jackknifeh · #18

setzer715 wrote:Hi,
I just received my first ever Spyderco and the knife is beautiful in every way except the blade bevel is off. It looks like it was sharpend at 15 degrees on one side and 20 on the other. I haven't used it yet and can exchange it for the cost of shipping both ways thus comes my question. I also ordered a sharpmaker but I'm not good at using it yet. Should I exchange it or just try to fix the bevel myself?

I tried to take pictures but you can't really tell with them.

Uneven bevels are pretty common on new knives. They don't have time during manufacturing to get them perfect, or even close, even though a lot of them do get very close. Working withe the edge is something people should know when owning knives. That is unless you have someone else sharpen them. If you send it back there is not guarantee the new one will be any better. Some resellers will inspect the knives before sending one to you but not all of them. Uneven bevels doesn't mean it's not sharp or can't be sharpened. It also won't hurt cutting performance.

It's up to you of course but I think you would be better off keeping yours and working on the edge yourself with the sharpmaker. You will learn a lot also. Good luck with what you decide.

Jack