PhilipPasteur wrote:


I'm not sure the results are as dire as you make them sound, Phil. I'm no expert at reading photo micrographs but the edges Clay posted look (to me) to have turned into a micro convex. Seems like they'd still be sharp but putting a bit more metal behind the edge would increase their durability.

Just a thought....

Ken

WayneReimer wrote:


That is an interesting looking knife.

You might want to look at this thread, talks a bit about microbevels... wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_k...d=2271&Itemid=63

Did you read my entire post? A big part of what I was getting at was that convexing (good) is not the same as rounding the edge (bad).
I micro convex all of the time with the strops and like the results.
Ken, what specific photos are you referring to. Clay has posted a whole bunch of them. It is helpful to have a spesfic reference when talking about things.

Wayne. I hope you did not misunderstand. I think the microbevel concept is sound. I have had people tell me that the "only" way to sharpen ZDP 189 to prevent chipping it to use a 22 degree microbevel. I have tried it and it seems to work fine (though I have not had chipping issues with the steel in any case).In one of the discussions about sharpening for a specific task Clay said he was a proponent of polishing and refining an edge and then going back ant hitting it with the grit that was appropriate for the intended use. Initially I thought you were looking for some ways to make the edge better. This is why I tossed out some of the ideas in previous posts.

Glad you are liking that knife. From the pictures that I saw it looks like a great tool.

Phil


KenBuzbee wrote:

PhilipPasteur wrote:


Okay, thanks Phil. From the post I quoted.... I was just double checking. It's all good.

Photos like this one are all through some of Clays posts:



but it sounds like we're on the same page.

Ken

Phil, no worries, I understood what you were getting at.I could have been clearer in what I was/am trying to accomplish with this specific edge.

While I have a couple of "testbed" knives that I'm trying to attain the sharpest and most polished edge possible
( a 7in. USMC Ka-Bar and an Emerson Gentleman Jim), with this knife I'm shooting for the most effective "real world" edge I can get.

In terms of defining that goal, since I will likely be carrying the SJ75 frequently, I want to achieve a good, all round cutting edge; one that I can cut a sandwich and peel and apple at lunch, cut through a dozen zip-ties, open mail, break down a shipping package, etc. and do similar tasks for 2 to 4 days without significant degradation in it's cutting ability.

I know I can attain a much sharper edge on this knife, I also know it will be much more fragile, leading to daily maintenance which I may not have time ( or inclination for that matter) to perform.

With both the Emerson and the Ka-Bar, I've been able to achieve tremendously sharp, polished edges. Although I've got 50 years of freehand sharpening under my belt, and am pretty darn good at it, I've never had sharper knives than these two are currently. Could they be even sharper? Almost certainly, but I doubt it with the stones and strops I currently have. As it is now, they both make me somewhat uneasy, especially the Ka-Bar, because they're so sharp.

But, as I said...these are "experiments". the Ka-bar dulls quite quickly. It's certainly still sharp, but it loses that "laser-like" quality easily. The Emerson holds onto the edge longer, but it's still not something I'd rely on as a sole EDC blade; the edge is fragile and I'm quite sure it would chip or roll over with vigorous use. It's all a juggling act, me thinks!

I've done some experiments of my own lately on my Hogue EX01, which is a fantastically tough 154CM blade I've taken to chopping thick encroaching weeds and even small saplings with until I get some beefier hardware for brush clearing. I've tried a few different angle offsets on the strops (I only have the 3.5 and 5 on regular leather) and noticed the feel of the edge is quite different compared to same-angle stropping. I've been leaning toward leaving the angle the same, as it seems to me to give more of a razor-sharp feel to it and performs better for my uses. Interestingly, as far as "feel" goes the decreased angle stropped edge doesn't have the "sticky" sort of sharpness you can feel very clearly, though the cutting ability is still extremely good.

Having read over most of the posts I'm going to have to pick up something to peek at the edge better and experiment with micro bevels as well. I think the combination of polished edge and a toothy micro bevel will be perfect for most of my daily uses.