re-grinding?

[Dreadhead]

Got myself a cracking new bowie sized knife on swaps here but the edge aint in great condition so id like to completely re-work the edge of it and put a new grind on it. only have a small fallkniven shapening stone which will take me forever to work with and all sort of inconsistencies so is there any cheapish machinery i could buy for the job? bench grinders and the lot? unsure as i never use anything electrical unless its a sander for bonework as that kills me! cheers.

Hamish

 

[Asa Samuel]

Well if you decide not to go the electric route you could get something like a cheap diamond sharpening block (something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SILVERLIN...ls_Equipment&hash=item3a61d530b3#ht_500wt_922) but it will take a little while. I tried plenty of things like sharpening stones and sandpaper but the sandpaper was incredibly slow and didn't really seem to remove any metal. Eventually I got a block like above from aldi and although it still took a while It didn't take anywhere near as long as it would've taken me with a regular sharpening stone.

Electric route you could do worse than a belt sander or a bench grinder. With the bench grinder depending on the size of the wheel you may find it gives you a slight hollow ground edge which you could get rid of when you come to sharpen properly on bench stones. The belt sander may do the opposite and give a slight convex to the grind which again could be removed by the final sharpening. Whatever you decide on the electrical route just keep the grinder real slow as you don't want to overheat the edge (it's easier than you think) and keep a tray of water for dipping if you find the edge is starting to get hot - you don't want to ruin the temper of the edge just for the sake of grinding the edge in faster.

Hope this helps

 

[mrcairney]

I convert all my knives to convex edge. Don't know why. I've yet to not manage it using a leather belt as a rest and 240, 400, 600, 800, 1000 w&d. It takes time, but it's quite relaxing if you ask me.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

I have a woodlore type knife and the grind isn't what I like. Can anyone recommend someone who could re grind it for me.

 

[santaman2000]

The problem with electric (or any powered method) is twofold. First, it's easy to get carried away and remove too much metal; second, is it's equally easy to overheat any ruin your temper.

The fastest non-electric (non-powered) way to remove metal is with a file. With a large blade knife it's usually most convenient to clamp the blade to something solid and flat so you can use both hands to control the file; work one side then reverse the blade and work the other. Again, you want to work slowly so as not to remove too much metal.

 

[santaman2000]

I have a woodlore type knife and the grind isn't what I like. Can anyone recommend someone who could re grind it for me.

Ant competent machinist or butcher in your area.

 

[mcniac]

try using sanpaper glued to a piece of glass, use some oil with the sandpaper to avoid leaving marks in the blade. you can d most of the grinding with 110 grit sandpaper and after you have the proper shape use higher grits.

Esteban

 

[The Lord Poncho]

I used a file- and it was reasonably effective. To even up at the end, I swapped onto diamond stones. I sed a permanent marker to draw guide lines onto the knife to held me not take too much off one side!

 

[Longstrider]

If the knife is properly heat treated, a file shouldn't cut it well enough to be an effective tool for the job. This is best done with a either a belt grinder, running slowly, and done with care not to overheat the blade (and spoil the temper), or laboriously with something like stones or diamond hones.

Alternatively, you could have it done for you by someone who's used to doing this sort of work
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?78128-Review-of-Longstrider-s-sharpening-service

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Send it off to Longstider on BB, he's done some fab work on two of my knives. Reasonably priced, fast, polite and friendly service. I recommend him to anyone. If you need address details etc just PM me.

JH

 

[Sparrowhawk]

If the knife is properly heat treated, a file shouldn't cut it well enough to be an effective tool for the job. This is best done with a either a belt grinder, running slowly, and done with care not to overheat the blade (and spoil the temper), or laboriously with something like stones or diamond hones.

Alternatively, you could have it done for you by someone who's used to doing this sort of work
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?78128-Review-of-Longstrider-s-sharpening-service

Whoops, should have read to the end of the thread before I posted that!

 

[The Lord Poncho]

If the knife is properly heat treated, a file shouldn't cut it well enough to be an effective tool for the job. [/url]

Granted i did it on a cheapish knife (Condor Bushlore), and it did take a while, but it was still effective. I've heard good things about the steel/heat treat they use, so from my experience, it is a possible alternative to sending the knife off if you want to have the satisfaction of doing something yourself, and have a few hours to spend playing around with it.

 

[luckylee]

i used the lansky system on mine as the bevel on the condore bushlore was horrendous, it had a convex on the one side and a sort of scandie on the other side, it has a perfect 25 degree bevel now, after lots of hard work, i started with the exta course diamond hone, and then went to the cerramic hones, when finished it looked like this.

021 by lucky_lee, on Flickr
hope that helps mate.
lee.
i also reprofiled the handle as that was in as bad condition as the bevels, i think the steel on these hold a great edge, its 1075 i think.

026 by lucky_lee, on Flickr

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Smashing! That looks a little shinier than my effort. I havn't got round to doing anything with the scales yet as i was planning on putting some completely new ones on- but yours look nice! I reduced the ricasso on mine, and got rid of the grey finish on the blade. Ultimately, i'm now rather pleased with the knife that cost a bargain £30!