Off Topic How to fix an edge?

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Jun 21, 2020
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15
Hello.

It seems that the factory edge of my Bugout is not even on both sides. Was thinking about fixing it. The question is how? Figure out the angle of the wider edge and then sharpen both sides with that? Is the coating going to cause any problems or sharpening just removes some coating and that's it?
Also the common sharpening angle for Benchmades is 20 degrees but clearly the actual edge is less than that (around 17 or so). Which angle should I use for my "daily" sharpening? The actual angle of the edge or 20?

Here are some pics as well.





Thanks!
 
Hello.

It seems that the factory edge of my Bugout is not even on both sides. Was thinking about fixing it. The question is how? Figure out the angle of the wider edge and then sharpen both sides with that? Is the coating going to cause any problems or sharpening just removes some coating and that's it?
Also the common sharpening angle for Benchmades is 20 degrees but clearly the actual edge is less than that (around 17 or so). Which angle should I use for my "daily" sharpening? The actual angle of the edge or 20?

Here are some pics as well.





Thanks!

I would just use it until it needs sharpened and then sharpen it to the angle that you want.
 
Hello.

It seems that the factory edge of my Bugout is not even on both sides. Was thinking about fixing it. The question is how? Figure out the angle of the wider edge and then sharpen both sides with that? Is the coating going to cause any problems or sharpening just removes some coating and that's it?
Also the common sharpening angle for Benchmades is 20 degrees but clearly the actual edge is less than that (around 17 or so). Which angle should I use for my "daily" sharpening? The actual angle of the edge or 20?

Here are some pics as well.





Thanks!
In my experience, it is common for the factory edge to vary from one side to the other, and even more so from heel to tip, on the same side. It doesn't matter on knife brand either, I've seen it on all brands that I have sharpened. Which angle to match? I don't think it will make much difference. 17 degrees will be slightly sharper, and slightly more prone to edge damage. But I really doubt that you will be able to tell much difference between the two angles.

I use diamond plates on a guided system (Hapstone V8). The coating won't cause any problems for the diamonds. I don't know for sure on other stones, but I doubt that it would. If you don't want your coating to get scratched up, you should mask off as much of the blade as possible, leaving just the edge exposed. You have to get it sharp with your coarsest stone before you move to a finer one, or you will still have a dull knife. Or another way to say it is. You need to raise a burr the full length of the edge on both sides of the blade, before moving to a finer grit. Sometimes that can take a while.

O.B.
 
In my experience, it is common for the factory edge to vary from one side to the other, and even more so from heel to tip, on the same side. It doesn't matter on knife brand either, I've seen it on all brands that I have sharpened. Which angle to match? I don't think it will make much difference. 17 degrees will be slightly sharper, and slightly more prone to edge damage. But I really doubt that you will be able to tell much difference between the two angles.

I use diamond plates on a guided system (Hapstone V8). The coating won't cause any problems for the diamonds. I don't know for sure on other stones, but I doubt that it would. If you don't want your coating to get scratched up, you should mask off as much of the blade as possible, leaving just the edge exposed. You have to get it sharp with your coarsest stone before you move to a finer one, or you will still have a dull knife. Or another way to say it is. You need to raise a burr the full length of the edge on both sides of the blade, before moving to a finer grit. Sometimes that can take a while.

O.B.

You've never sharpened a CPK. I've sharpened two of them and the edge bevels were spot on.
 
Last edited:
Hello.

It seems that the factory edge of my Bugout is not even on both sides. Was thinking about fixing it. The question is how? Figure out the angle of the wider edge and then sharpen both sides with that? Is the coating going to cause any problems or sharpening just removes some coating and that's it?
Also the common sharpening angle for Benchmades is 20 degrees but clearly the actual edge is less than that (around 17 or so). Which angle should I use for my "daily" sharpening? The actual angle of the edge or 20?

Here are some pics as well.





Thanks!
I use 15 dps on all of my Bugouts and it works very well for me. The Bugout has a very thin blade (one of the reasons it's such a nice slicer) so 15 dps suits it well and does it justice. Clearly a Bugout is not made to be a chopping, prying or torque tool, so no need to worry about 15 dps if you use it the way it's meant to be used. Not all EDC knives are worth taking to 15 dps, but it serves the Bugout blade well.

As said above by Old Biker, most (not all, but most) factory knives have very uneven edge bevels. All of my Benchmades had uneven edge bevels when they were new, so I reprofiled all of them to suit my needs and to have an even edge bevel.

The coating just gets ground off as you set your new bevel, and it won't affect your sharpening or edge at all.
 
You've never sharpened a CPK. I've sharpened two of them and the edge bevels were spot on.
No I have never Sharpened a CPK. And there are a lot of other brands I have not sharpened. I have sharpened knives with perfect bevels. But I have sharpened enough that didn't have perfect bevels, across multiple brands, to say it is not uncommon.

O.B.
 
No I have never Sharpened a CPK. And there are a lot of other brands I have not sharpened. I have sharpened knives with perfect bevels. But I have sharpened enough that didn't have perfect bevels, across multiple brands, to say it is not uncommon.

O.B.

Yep, it is common for the bevels to be off at least a little bit. My Kershaw Launch 1 were pretty good. But my CPK's were perfect.
 
I would just use it until it needs sharpened and then sharpen it to the angle that you want.
I've sharpened it multiple times already. I currently have Work Sharp Field Sharpener with a 20 angle guide. I'm planning on buying the Work Sharp Precision Adjust Sharpener. With that I could sharpen at any angle.
 
I've sharpened it multiple times already. I currently have Work Sharp Field Sharpener with a 20 angle guide. I'm planning on buying the Work Sharp Precision Adjust Sharpener. With that I could sharpen at any angle.

I said sharpen it before when I really meant reprofile it. You need to reprofile the bevels to what you want or just sharpen it as you use it until you finally get the bevels to the angle that you want. There was a used WS Precision Adjust sharpener for sale here on the forum but I don't know if it sold yet. It will be under For Sale: Gadgets by Individual or something like that.

Edit: Nope, it sold already.
 
I've had dead even bevels on only a handful of knives in my life. All my Victorinox kitchen knives, a Jarvenpaa Puukko, AlMar Ultralight.

Literally every other one has had some defect in cutting edge or in the primary grind that effected the cutting edge.
 
Factory edges will vary from knife to knife and brand to brand. I agree with what others have said. If you dont mind the felt sharpness from the factory, just use the knife until you need to sharpen it. Then when you do, get some diamond plates and reset it to what you want and go from there.
 
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