Grinding Out Serrations

nccole

nccole

Joined
Jun 2, 2011
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My first decent knife was a Tenacious. I made the mistake of buying the combo edge instead of the plain edge. I do not carry the knife very often but I recently bought a low-rider clip for it and want to carry it more. The only negative now is the combo edge. I have nothing against serrations, but have realized that I should either get a fully serrated knife or a plain edge. I have decided to get my extra coarse stone and grind away until I have a nice plain edge. I considered taking it to the grinding wheel for time's sake, but decided I might just ruin it. Has anyone else ground away serrations? Is this the best way, or is the grinding wheel better, or something else? I started it last night, but have not finished it. It seems to be coming along ok. I am putting a 15° per side on it now and then will add a micro bevel once I am happy with the lack of serrations. Any input, pictures, or advice would be appreciated.
 
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I have removed serrations before, you do NOT want to use a grinding wheel. It builds heat too quickly, and will easily ruin the temper on the edge. I use a belt grinder for that, with a coarse belt and very frequent water dipping. Instead of grinding the whole edge back, my usual method is to turn the blade into a plain edge with a strong recurve.
 
Thanks, I do not have a belt yet, so I will stick to my guided rod system w/stones. I can see how a recurve might end up happening with how I am going.
 
There might well be other methods suitable, that's just the one I have used. I know a bench grinder is just too fast, unfortunately. The recurve will end up curving from the heel, to the maximum depth of the serrations, then back smoothly out again to round forward and complete a smooth arc into the fine edge section.
 
Never tried it before, but I am planning on it at some point. For myself, I was thinking of just using a file and turning it into a chisel grind instead of all the extra work of a 50/50 v grind. Wouldn't mind seeing what you end up doing either way though
 
I've ground out serrations by hand with standard or diamond-coated good quality hand files, starting with a flat bastard file and finishing up with a smooth file or a dead-smooth file, before using stones to finish the edge. There's negligible heat buildup, and you have total control if you secure the blade with a proper vise. The resulting bevel is a critical factor to guarantee acceptable results and edge performance. Patience is a virtue that will be well rewarded in this endeavor; stop and check the progress often. Good luck.
 
I say carry it for several years, use it like you stole it, sharpen it as often as you feel like it and it'll change for you.

A big difference with grinding out the serrations is that it significantly changes how the knife performs.

It took me the better part of a decade to sharpen my EDC knife (and I mean EDC) to the point where the serrations were gone, and at that point it was retired until I re-profiled the blade.

I think of you really want the serrations gone, thin the blade out and then work on a re-grind.

You could go chisel ground in the serrated area, but it will cut differently.

I think the best thing is to sell it or trade it to get a plain edge version, or turn it into a knife you carry in your vehicle/tackle box and go buy a plain edge.
 
Former BF member Vassili repeatedly talked about how he used a DMT XXC to remove serrations from several knives. I just found his original post on the topic, right after he got his XXC.

To my big surprise, this Extra Extra Coarse DMT works same as sander! In 20 minutes I have perfectly plain edge on ATS-34! I may say that same time or more I may spend on belt sander, but stones give you much more control over this process to make it more precise etc.
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Read it here.

I have to kind of agree after using the XXC: It's like a belt sander, just slower, more controlled, and no heat. It ridiculously abrasive.

Brian.
 
nccole said:
Thanks, I do not have a belt yet, so I will stick to my guided rod system w/stones. I can see how a recurve might end up happening with how I am going.
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If you're using sharpening rods, that's going to take FOREVER.
 
THG said:
If you're using sharpening rods, that's going to take FOREVER.
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I have an extra coarse stone that is doing alright. I do not mind really, I quit carrying the knife because I bought others I like better, so I am in no hurry to get it done. Per answers here, it seems as though I need to be careful with the resulting geometry so I think using the guided rod setup will ensure a better end result, and might be worth the extra time considering this is my first attempt. I am glad I checked first before trying a grinding wheel. I will post pictures when I am done and maybe some in process pics. I have not got back to it since the original 15 minutes I put in it.
 
Here is the progress so far, I am going to do more tonight

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I do not think I will worry about the serration closest to the handle. I would have to take the knife apart because the stone holder rubs on the G10 at the angle when grinding close to the handle. The edge is not even yet, I think I can even it out a little more. The back side of serrations is basically a no grind so more like a chisel grind. I do not want a chisel grind however, so like I said in first post a 30/38 degree microbevel is what I am going for.
 
Funny.... Here you guys are all grinding your serrations out, and i'm over here looking to add them in!! :rolleyes:
 
Here it is, you will always be able to tell it was a combo edge, and I have not put the microbevel on it yet, but overall I am very pleased with it. This along with the clip swap will put this knife back in my pocket more often!

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Very nice!! Where did you get that deep carry clip? I'd like that for my Para2 and Manix!!
 
Thanks. There are two places I know to get the Ti clips. One is from STR here on BF, and the other (where the one in the picture came from) I will email you. Not sure about their status as paying advertisers and the specific rules so I will play it safe. STR's are about $40 I believe, so I just could not see putting that on a $35 knife, but for a PM2 it would be worth it. The one you see pictured needed the holes drilled out, but for $7 it is a steal. Like I said, I am very pleased with my Tenacious now.
 
That's an excellent job, very good work! Looks nice and clean, can hardly tell that there ever WAS a combo-edge. Only the heel of the blade where the last serration remains, and that could actually be fairly useful. Keep THAT one sharp with a diamond rod or the corner of the Sharpmaker's rods, and it's a made-to-order rope-cutting notch.

Again, great work!
 
:thumbup:
That does look good. Much, much better than I would've imagined for an undertaking like this. These types of 'mods' often end up looking pretty rough, to put it mildly. ;)
 
Thanks for the compliments. I have since broken that burr off the remaining serration and will clean it up a bit. I would say anyone could do it, was not that bad using the guided rod system. I did clog up my GATCO extra coarse stone (that I bought outside of the original kit) and went to the coarse diamond that came with the kit and it was actually faster and by design easier to clean with a little oil (lots of metallic dust of course). So if I were doing it over, I would just grab the orange coarse diamond and go to town. Re-profiling like this I go both directions across the blade to speed it up, and then just go one direction for all other stones. I should have taken some pictures of the burrs I was raising before I would switch sides, forget feeling them you could see them ten feet away!
 
I'd definitely believe the burrs! If you ever get a chance, watch someone do a major reprofile or serious repairs with a belt grinder. Some of the burrs that come up when you're doing that are absolutely crazy-huge.
 
I really like the look leaving that last serration gives to the knife. Great job.

cbw
 
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