Latest stabby/slicy thing

We all make stuff other than pipes, so here's a place where "anything goes" as far as showing off some of your projects and other hobbies.
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KurtHuhn
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Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by KurtHuhn »

I had to wait until today to post this one. It was my parents' Christmas gift. :mrgreen:

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Holy land olive wood and bois d'arc handle, 1075 blade, and like my sister's wedding gift, this one is fully convex ground and just about "ludicrously sharp".

The more I play with knives that are ground right to the edge, the more I like them. As long as you don't beat on the edge, they stay sharp forever, and never need resharpening. And they perform much better than knives that have a micro-bevel.
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Ocelot55
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by Ocelot55 »

That's a great looking knife, Kurt. One day I'd like to try my hand at knife making, but I would need a lot of education. I have no knowledge whatsoever about steel. My brother made some very nice ones with antler handles. I should probably get a crash course from him.

Keep the knives coming! (but I think I prefer your pipes :mrgreen: )
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by JMG »

I never thought I would use the word pretty to describe a knife...but that is one pretty knife, Kurt. Very nice looking. What do you mean by "ground right to the edge?"
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by KurtHuhn »

Thanks guys!
JMG wrote:What do you mean by "ground right to the edge?"
The typical edge you see on knives is made by grinding *almost* to the edge, then putting on a micro-bevel that becomes the actual cutting edge. It's easy for factories to mass produce, and it's easy for owners to freshen the edge with sharpeners or stones. It looks like this:
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In contrast, a lot of traditional methods employ the "full grind", where the bevels of the knife are ground right to the edge without a micro-bevel. This produces insanely sharp blades that rarely need sharpening as long as they're not abused. It is, however, very difficult for a factory to mass produce these, and very difficult for a non-knifemaker to resharpen if the knife is abused and goes dull. An ideal place for full convex or flat grinds is in kitchen environments, or as hunting knives. The bevels/edge look like this on a 'convex grind':
Image
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Alden
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by Alden »

Beautiful knife ! Really a work of art.
How do you put a convex edge on a knife ?
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KurtHuhn
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by KurtHuhn »

Edward wrote:How do you put a convex edge on a knife ?
Remove the platen on your belt grinder. :D

What you end up doing is using the belt's tension to create a convex shape as you're grinding. Typically I start out with a flat grind, then as I get close to the edge, I remove the platen and carefully grind to shape.
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Alden
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by Alden »

Thats what I thought but wasnt sure. I guess thats the only way to sharpen a convex blade as well ?
I've had a couple of Moras and I liked them but only used them as cheap knockaround knives. How does a convex blade compare to a Scandi grind ?
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Re: Latest stabby/slicy thing

Post by KurtHuhn »

Convex grinds can be sharpened with a belt sander or with stones - but belt grinder is easier. With stones you have to 'rock' the blade as you're sharpening. Or you need convex stones. :)

A scandi grind is similar in that it's ground right to the edge. The grind starts about halfway down the width of the blade, making it look like a saber grind, but without the secondary (micro) bevel. I really like this type of grind for hunting knives, camp knives, etc. The edge is dead simple to freshen. All you have to do is lay the knife down on the stone, pivot it so the bevel is laying flat, and rub it back and forth. It's faster with a belt grinder, but easy with stones. It's probably the best type of knife for knockabout use due to ease of maintenance, and if you do any camping or spend a lot of time in the woods, it's the type of knife I would suggest.

The down side to a scandi grind is the amount of material that gets removed when sharpening. You can kind of fake it slightly by doing a convex edge on a scandi grind, getting much more useful life out of the blade. But if it's just a knockabout blade, chances are that doesn't matter much.

Mora's are actually pretty nice. Their new lines that have the ergonomic handle, but still use carbon steel instead of stainless, are also rather attractive.
Kurt Huhn
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