BK 7,11,13 Sharpening Angle

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nicktheww2fanatic

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Apr 15, 2010
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I have KA BAR BK7,11, and 13 knives. I was planning on making an angled block of wood so I can get a consistant edge angle. Does anyone know the best sharpening angle for these knives?
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
I have KA BAR BK7,11, and 13 knives. I was planning on making an angled block of wood so I can get a consistant edge angle. Does anyone know the best sharpening angle for these knives?
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I believe it's about 30 degrees inclusive/15 degrees per side, but don't hold me to that. That's just what I use, and it seems to work.:D
 
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15 degrees on the BK11 and BK13, 20 degrees on the BK7. Generally if something is going to be more of a slicer or bush-craft knife, it will be 15ish. If it's anything that's built to chop/baton, it will be 20. As for getting a consistent angle edge, I don't even bother as it makes very little difference so long as you're decent at eyeballing... in fact, I tend to convex the majority of my knives.

If you're REALLY wanting to get a consistent angle, you'll want belt sander or something similar... it's easier to hold the knife steady at a given angle against a moving surface than moving the knife itself ;)
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
is there a better way to get a consistent angle?
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Getting a consistent angle is actually fairly simple using an aligner system. I use the DMT MagnaGuide system (around $35 online), although there are other systems available. In my opinion the expensive systems don't do anything the DMT system doesn't do, they just do it for more money.

With the DMT system you can adjust to any of seven different angles, which should be enough for most people. I can take an edge from dull to hair popping sharp in just a few minutes, and the angle is repeatable, time after time.

If you're not confident of your freehand sharpening skills, I recommend something like the DMT system which will a.) give you sharp edges immediately, and, b.) help teach you how to hold a consistent angle as you learn to freehand.

Or, as has been suggested, you can learn to convex your edges. Personally, I recommend learning how to get a good v edge before you learn how to convex: if you don't know how to hold an angle for freehand sharpening, you'll have trouble holding the angle for convexing, too. Once you learn, though, it's a piece of cake. About 25 percent of my blades are convexed, with the rest v grinds.

Sharpening is an art, but it's not a really difficult one, once you learn. There are people who own knives, yet go their entire lives without being able to get a good edge. It doesn't have to be that way: you can learn the basics fairly quickly, and you'll be set for life.

Go over to the Maintenance and Tinkering forum here on Blade Forums and ask. They're good people, and they'll tell you how to go about it.

Good luck.
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
so something like this...right? Will I need anything else? I am on a bit of a budget (yay college)
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Ah, college. I vaguely remember those days of little sleep and less money.:D

Yes, precisely like that. I began with exactly that one, then added other grits of stones over a period of time.

I had been freehand sharpening for many, many years before I decided to try the DMT MagnaGuide system; now I wouldn't use anything else.

Get it, read the instructions, and you'll be putting great edges on your blades in no time. If you have any questions, just pop in here and ask; I'm here most of the time.

Oh, and no you don't really need anything else... yet. Eventually, you will probably want a strop, too, but we'll save that for another time.
 
I'm a bit of a noob as far as knives go...I've been carrying a knife for 5 years (usually a cheap gerber folder), but never have been good at sharpening. I learned in Boy Scouts, but was never good at it.

As far as angles, 15 degrees for everything?

I plan on using the BK7 as a general all around outdoors knife, hunting, fishing, camping etc

the BK11 I carry daily, use it for opening boxes, generally just screwing around.


the BK13 I want to be able to use for little stuff about the same as the BK11...

is 15 degrees still ideal?

also, any ideas for tightening up the retention on the BK11 sheath?
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
I'm a bit of a noob as far as knives go...I've been carrying a knife for 5 years (usually a cheap gerber folder), but never have been good at sharpening. I learned in Boy Scouts, but was never good at it.

As far as angles, 15 degrees for everything?

I plan on using the BK7 as a general all around outdoors knife, hunting, fishing, camping etc

the BK11 I carry daily, use it for opening boxes, generally just screwing around.


the BK13 I want to be able to use for little stuff about the same as the BK11...

is 15 degrees still ideal?

also, any ideas for tightening up the retention on the BK11 sheath?
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There's not a single person here on Blade Forums — not one — who wasn't a newbie at one point, Nick. Newbies aren't supposed to know everything, but keep asking questions and learning, and someday you'll be helping some other newbie... probably with the same problems you have now.

As far as determining angle, why not just go with the angle that the blade came with until you gain experience? "How do I determine the original angle," you ask, "remember — I'm a newbie."

Well, here's an easy way that a lot of us use. Are you ready? A Sharpie. Just get yourself a Sharpie (or other felt tip marker of your choice) and color the edge black. Now set up your MagnaGuide so that the stone (diamond) matches what you think will be the edge angle, and make a few strokes. If you're lucky the marker will wear off evenly all the way down to the very edge of the blade. If, however, you're only seeing wear at the very edge of the blade, then your angle is too steep. Conversely, it you only see wear at the top of your grind, then your angle is too shallow. In either case, simply adjust the angle on the MagnaGuide until you have the proper setting (it only takes a couple of seconds to make the adjustment).

And there you have it. You've set your device for the proper angle, and you're ready to rock. A word of caution here though: you'll be using a set of diamond hones that haven't been broken in yet, so use only a light pressure — not much more than the weight of the knife — and let the stones do the work.
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
thanks a ton DawsonBob!

Final question...tightening the retention on the BK11? I play with it too much...lol
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Ah, sorry, I forgot that one.

Most of them have pretty good retention right out of the box, but apparently a few slip through that need some "adjustment."

Well, I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that I haven't had to deal with that problem (yet) so, unfortunately, I don't know the answer. The good news is that this question has come up before, and there are several threads here on the Becker forum dealing with the problem. The even better news is that the search feature now works for everyone. Just do a forum search, and you should be able to get an answer.
 
ah, will do.

it came with good retention, I just tend to mess around with my knives a lot (taking it out, resheathing it etc), so its kinda loose
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
ah, will do.

it came with good retention, I just tend to mess around with my knives a lot (taking it out, resheathing it etc), so its kinda loose
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LOL. I understand. I've been known to mess around a little, too.

Come to think about it, between knives and women, I guess I've messed around quite a bit over the years.:D
 
nicktheww2fanatic said:
lol, one last question

What exactly is convexing the blade?
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Most blades are sharpened to a "V" grind. A v shape holds a constant angle of X degrees: it's what you would think of as "normal" sharpening.

A convex edge, on the other hand, doesn't try to hold an angle: it's smoothly rounded down to the edge.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, and a lot of personal preference enters into it, too.

A v edge is most commonly applied with a flat stone, such as the DMT that you're getting, whereas a convex edge is most commonly applied with sandpaper and a mouse pad.

If you want to learn more, go over to the Maintenance and Tinkering forum here on Blade Forums, as I suggested before. They have tutorials available that will tell you how to do it.

As I said, I would learn to sharpen a v edge first, before I tried convexing. Once you get the hang of convexing, it's a relatively simple operation. The problem is that, when you first start, you can ruin a blade pretty quickly because you don't have a feel yet for the pressure and angle required to produce a good edge. Like so many things in life it requires practice before you reach that "oh, I get it" moment.

Also over on the Maintenance and Tinkering forum you should be able to find diagrams that will show you exactly what the differences are between a v edge and a convex edge.

Have fun.
 
I use a spyderco sharpmaker (amazon 50 bucks ) to sharpen my bk7 (20 deg per side) it's cheap fast and fool proof...all the right qualifications for me
 
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