Fixed blades

Horsewright said:
Thank you sir! Yeah we put a new batch up a couple of days ago. Yeah amber bone is one of my favs! That Vaquero is looking great. How ya liking that sheath?
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I love it! The knife fits absolutely perfect and has a great feel to the retention. I like how snug it is sliding in the last half inch or so, it's just a perfect fit. I love the half moons(?) tool work on it. It's hardly noticeable when wearing it, that's one of the reasons I wanted the smaller size of the Vaquero. I honestly didn't expect to be as impressed with the sheath as I am with the knife, you did a fantastic job!
 
Before : Factory Edge @ Around 20+ DPS, I noted several extremely common issues that needed correcting

IMG_6539 by C Blair, on Flickr

IMG_6536 by C Blair, on Flickr

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There was a bit of recurve in the first inch or two of edge just forward of the choil. It is visually quite subtle but easily seen verified with a straight edge placed along the edge, there will be light showing where the edge was overground leading to the recurved section. The correction for this is to begin focused grinding between the choil and where the edge was overground. If I were to just being my sharpening process without correcting this first then it will not be removed and will likely make this even more pronounce by the end of my sharpening process. So it's got to go right off the bat to get the profile right.

I remove these sorts of imbalances at the factory edge angle, although I did change the edge angle radically after this is corrected for improved cutting ability, edge retention AND perhaps most importantly.... ease of sharpening. I get the profile of the edge dialed in prior to lowering the angle because I will find a great deal of issues in the factory edge that need to be corrected first. Things like uneven bevels where it will be wider on one side compared to the other, belly that does not have a nice consistent radius, rounded over tip from belt grinders, etc.

Once this is about 95+% of where it needs to be I will reset the angle to the final desired angle and correct the remaining 5% along the way while I'm getting the edge to the lower angle. This will help also to make sure I get a nice even finished result where everything is nicely blended together. If I were to simply go straight for the intended lower angle without correcting at the factory edge angle first, it will end up throwing the profile off in subtle ways that are not easy to detect or correct. So this is the correct order, first fix the profile/shape or outline of the blade, then change the angle as needed.

All of this takes a great deal of time/focus/effort and goes far beyond a basic 'sharpening'! If my only focus were getting the knife sharp then I could simply freehand grind on the wheel to get the apex thin enough to switch to deburring and/or finishing the apex on a finer grit. This would likely take all of maybe 5 minutes or less from beginning to end but this process can easily take over an hour and often much more to get the shape dialed in just right! The shape is not a consideration if all you need is 'sharp' but all of the corrections I make will often make a large difference in use and/or sharpening for the end user.

You may also notice the slight grinder marks riding inside the choil and unfortunately this is necessary when the edge angle gets under about 14 DPS. It is needed in order to get the edge sharpened properly all the way to the choil when the knife has a small choil like this. Otherwise there will end up being a slight recurve right where the choil ends, which I do not believe is ideal as it will only grow from there as the owner sharpens the knife. One day there will be a large recurve developed there which is unsightly and can complicate sharpening process depending on the sharpening equipment used by the end user.

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After : Edge Angle Now @ 12 DPS w/ 15-17 DPS micro-bevel, Apex Finish @ 600 Grit DMT Diamond

IMG_6744 by C Blair, on Flickr

IMG_6742 by C Blair, on Flickr
 
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pat9198 said:
I love it! The knife fits absolutely perfect and has a great feel to the retention. I like how snug it is sliding in the last half inch or so, it's just a perfect fit. I love the half moons(?) tool work on it. It's hardly noticeable when wearing it, that's one of the reasons I wanted the smaller size of the Vaquero. I honestly didn't expect to be as impressed with the sheath as I am with the knife, you did a fantastic job!
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Thank you sir. Glad thats working out for ya!
 
Smithhammer said:
The Utsidihi is my favorite of the smaller RMJ blades. They nailed it.

Combine that with Da Choppa and you have a very capable duo. 😉

I really want to get my hands on the Combat Africa.
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I had the Combat Africa. Super nice knife, the ergos weren’t a perfect fit for me. Still wouldn’t mind grabbing another down the road someday.
 
Carrying this one today. It's one of my favorite three-finger knives. Heck, it's one of my favorite knives overall.

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adluginb said:
Pretty excited that I ordered the Architect 6.5 today and it’s already shipped. This one in Magnacut was just released today at noon.

Pics from when I built it online.

Actual pics coming soon.

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I have the 5.5 (because no choil) in 3v and it's very nice but haven'tused it yet. First time I held the ESEE 6 handle and it's one of the best I've ever tried. Going to get a Magnacut as soon as it's in stock.
 
shinyedges said:
Crag, at some point maybe ill give aebl another shot with it being ran harder. Assuming you make kitchen knives of course
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I just started doing kitchen knives a couple months ago......
So far, so good. But by the time you're ready, I'll only be better. ;)


*also, there's lots of Great steels to use for kitchen duty
 
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