sharpening inside part of blade

[amalgam]

i've noticed that on many of the blades i sharpen w/ sharpmaker or edge pro, the inside edge near the choil (not sure what to call it if it doesn't have a choil) tends to be problematic for me. either it will develop a deeper bevel or a rounded off edge that makes a slight concave curve in that area. it seems that because i can't pull the stones past this area, it tends to wear it more?

are there any tips for sharpening this area? i can see great examples of ankerson's edges which are consistent from base to tip and i'd love to be able to do that.

thanks

[bh49]

Pictures would help

[unit]

Go to 1:11 in this video. Are you talking about that little recurve area near the plunge? If so, this video illustrates how I choose to deal with the matter.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMvE-b4259A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[jackknifeh]

Go to 1:11 in this video. Are you talking about that little recurve area near the plunge? If so, this video illustrates how I choose to deal with the matter.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMvE-b4259A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This little trick does help a lot in that area of the blade. After seeing it I used my DMT small sharpeners to put a notch in a couple of knives. They weren't quite small enough so I bought a set of diamond files. I've been wanting them for a long time anyway. Now I had a justification to spend $30. :) I love buying tools. The notch makes that area of the blade easier to keep perfect and I like to keep the notch sharp for cutting small string and stripping small wires like cat 5 and telephone wire.

Jack

[phillipsted]

I gave up years ago trying to keep that area sharp. On some knives, you can reach all the way back to the end of the sharpened edge with your stones, on others, you can't easily get to it.

I'm sure you could get some slip stones or develop a small jig to sharpen it - but personally, I don't bother...

TedP

[unit]

You know, it's funny but a lot of people gave up on that portion of the blade. I talked at length with a custom maker that even feels this way.

Some people use that portion of the blade a lot and others never use it. I use it a LOT when I carve or make wood shavings for fires.

Never give up friends! If it got dull, you must have used it...wouldn't you like to use it again?

[jackknifeh]

I agree with Unit. I use that area also. Even if I didn't after spending what I have on sharpening stuff and the time I've put into it if I can't get the entire edge razor sharp there is something wrong. The documentation that came with my Edge Pro mentioned the area of the blade having the problem on "forged" blades. I didn't know what that was talking about and I still don't know what forged means. I think it means made individually by hand instead of stamped from a sheet of steel. I don't know if that is correct or way off. But with the little notch right at the choil it serves two purposes for me. It makes it possible to hit the entire edge with my stones and also provides a nice little line cutter/wire stripper notch. Making it larger makes it possible to strip electrical wire in addition to cat 5 or telephone size wire. I don't need a wire stripper notch on every knife but when it also solves the dull spot I now do it to almost all my knives. My spot wasn't actually dull but my knives were developing a convex blade shape right there. That's ok if you want a convex edge there but not ok if you are forced to have it or leave the area dull. This is one of those things that is important to some and not so much to others. I like the notch. I even bought a set of diamond files for it. I wanted them anyway.

Jack

[BAL]

I have trouble getting it sharp there as well. I sharpen pencils with that area, so it actually gets quite a bit of work. I use colored pencils to mark up drawings and can't get myself to use an electric sharpener, when I have a perfect spyderco in my pocket.

[jackknifeh]

I have trouble getting it sharp there as well. I sharpen pencils with that area, so it actually gets quite a bit of work. I use colored pencils to mark up drawings and can't get myself to use an electric sharpener, when I have a perfect spyderco in my pocket.

Have you watched the Unit's video on the sharpening notch? The issue with the edge going right into and becoming the tang or choil is the problem I had. I was still getting the entire edge sharp but as the side of the stone rose up on the higher part of the edge at the choil the other edge of the stone was still on the edge and the center of the stone wasn't touching anything. I use 1" wide stones on an edge Pro. So what was happening to my edges was a concave (re-curve) area was being created. After putting a notch right at the choil and using a sharpie I could see the slight re-curve where I had not noticed it before. But since the recurve was there, if I had used a wider stone for some reason I would not have been sharpening the inside of the re-curve and wondering why it wasn't getting sharp. Using a sharpie would have shown me that the spot wasn't getting hit by the stone.

The problem that the sharpening notch solves is the only reason I can think of for having a problem sharpening that area of a blade.

Jack

[amalgam]

sorry for not replying back earlier. busy weekend. preciate the video. will give it a try as soon as find a window of time!

[BAL]

Thanks for the info Jack, I'll check out Unit's video. Of course, that last video of Unit's that I checked out, had him beating the he## out of a 2x4 with a $500 hunk of awesome steel. Hopefully there's no violence in the sharpening video. :)

[buddy54ck]

:spyder: :spyder:
Nice Vid Ken!

I usually take the material away with a cutoff wheel and a dremmel. I try to blend the choil area, and put a small radius relief cut, commonly found on the old slipjoints. This has ended My sharpening problems in this area. I only do this to the knives that I actually use in My collection, otherwise this will hurt the resale value of them.
Most people just take it for granted that it is factory though, if You take Your time and do a good job!
Thanks again,
Charlie
:D
:spyder: :spyder:

[ranger51]

sorry can't help. I sharpen by hand.