Rolled edge, and Revelation

CRKDMike

CRKDMike

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
Messages
1,608
OK, so I had the opportunity to use my Ban Tang competition chopper (in L7 I believe) this past weekend (this one: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1181501-Ban-Tang-Competition-Chopper-Prototype ). I put it to the test on some firewood that turned out to be quite hard. I'm not sure what kind of wood it was, but it turned out to be un-splittable. I could not baton through it, and I have done my share of battoning. During these batonning attempts, I was very sad to find that the edge of the chopper actually rolled in one section that was getting the most use.

I am just curious, as an amateur sharpener, should I try to get this edge back myself? or would you suggest sending it back for repair? I have a belt grinder (WorkSharp WSKTS) with different grits available, so I could try using that. I also have a Wicked Edge, but that will not restore a convex edge. If I do it myself, could you provide some insight on what grits to use etc. etc.?

Lastly, I realized that whether you hold the logo right-side-up, or upside down, it still reads BanTag!! that was kinda fun to realize :)

Also, this chopper is a little more than 1/4" thick, and it is the sharpest knife I own!! crazy.......and kinda stupid.....

I love this monster!!
 
looking at your bantang I would say. find some one with stropping experance on big knives. matter of fact if you bought that knife from the maker. contact them and ask for a good solution. belt grinders can seriously ruin a temper and run through the toughest layers of steel fast. you don't want a hard looking soft knife.
 
Sounds like you ran into some really hard stuff. Good to know that the edge only rolled and did not chip out. Otherwise, it would take a lot more work to get the edge back. BTW, that prototype chopper is made of s7 steel. I would recommend trying to strop out the rolls with a leather block and a quality green compound. If that doesn't take out the rolls then try stropping with 320grit then 600grit sandpaper on top of the leather strop. Once the rolls are out go back to the green compound. There are plenty of stropping tutorials on youtube. And of course you can also send it back for me to resharpen. I offer this free service for all of my knives.
 
I have actually never seen wood this hard before. Kinda ridiculous.

Thanks for the tips! I have all the materials you mentioned, the only challenge is that I have never worked on such a large knife before. I have stropped many EDC sized knives, but nothing like this monster. Would you suggest something different like clamping the knife in a vice and angling the strop on the knife? Or should I just strop it like I would a smaller knife?

Thanks for being so accessible BAN!!
 
Good man Ban, Super Thumbs Up. This type of stuff is endearing from a knife maker.
And don't feel bad CRKTMike about not being able to strop that monster. I may be able to sharpen a bk7 on a smiths duel stone. But I didn't start there either.
 
I would strop it just like a smaller knife. Will take a bit getting use to but you will eventually get a feel for it. Sharpie the edge to get a feel for the proper angle required. It also helps if you have a longer and wider strop so that you can get the entire length of the edge in one stroke.
 
Ban, you don't even want to know how long and wide my "strop" is haha...
 
Ban said:
And of course you can also send it back for me to resharpen. I offer this free service for all of my knives.
Click to expand...

Man, talk about awful customer service. You should be ashamed.

...You don't even offer to cut stuff for us too. pssshhhh! I guess my steak is just going to lay there next to my psychotically sharp BT knife all in one piece forever. ...Lame.
 
Fletcher Knives said:
Man, talk about awful customer service. You should be ashamed.

...You don't even offer to cut stuff for us too. pssshhhh! I guess my steak is just going to lay there next to my psychotically sharp BT knife all in one piece forever. ...Lame.
Click to expand...

LMAO. Fletcher, I see you're in Alpharetta. I'm not too far from you, in Rome. Small world.
 
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