Uneven factory grind on Delica. Sharpening advice?

[vlawson]

As some of you may know, I've been having some issues with a new Delica 4 PE Saber Grind I purchased a few weeks ago. If you're curious, here's my other thread about them: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69138


Now, problems (hopefully) solved, I just went to hone it on the Sharpmaker. Before deciding on which angle to use, I did the sharpie trick to see where the factory grind was at...

ARGH!!

The left side (I'm speaking of the entire edge bevel) is well over 15 (seems very close to 20 actually)...but the right side is less than 15! WTF?!

I can hit the apex easily on the right at the 30 degree setting (because it's less than 15), but barely even hit the top of the bevel on the left side. I hit the apex on the left side at 40, but scrape off almost the entire sharpie stripe, which tells me the whole factory bevel on that side is at about 20 degrees.

This is after 3 swipes on each side on the 30 setting:
Right:


Left:



I SO BADLY want to love this knife. It's a great all purpose everyday no matter what, working EDC. I love the way it fits my hand, feels great in the pocket and it just feels right when cutting...but it seems plagued with problems. Why is my luck so atrocious with this Delica? I'm glad this wasn't my first Spyderco or I may not have purchased any more! Maybe someone is trying to teach me patience...

Moving forward, should I re-profile to 30 degrees...on both sides? Just the left side? Should I just sharpen (hone) at 40 and move on with my life with the uneven bevels?? It slices paper nicely and cleanly and shaves arm hair...but the unevenness is just so...non-Spyderco...isn't it?

Advice please (again)??

[vlawson]

For now I sharpened it about 15 light swipes per side on med. and fine SM rods at 40 degrees inclusive and then stropped it (I hold my Knives Plus Strop Block against the SM rods to match the angle as I strop...) and it is now currently my sharpest knife. I can push receipt paper onto the resting and upturned blade and slice it cleanly.

So, sure, it's sharp, but it's still pretty uneven. What to do....

[chuck_roxas45]

First of all, congratulations on the knife.

Uneven bevels are pretty common because knives are hand sharpened.

There are two courses of action you can pick between. First is to just keep using and sharpening the way you currently do. Uneven bevels don't really much affect performance as long as you know how to hit the edge.

Second, is to rebevel the knife. You can do it on the sharpmaker but it will take a long time but it's doable. You can get some 100 grit wet/dry and wrap it around the rods and just go on until your bevels are even. You can also send it to somebody to rebevel. I'd do it for free if we were in the same country.

[Surfingringo]

Diamond rods. If it were mine, I would reprofile the side with the steeper bevel to 30 degrees. I would not bother with with the side that is slightly less than 30 other than working it enough to remove any burr and keep your apex clean. From there just microbevel at 40 and life should be good. Subsequent reprofilings will eventually leave you with a 30 degree edge bevel on both sides but no sense removing extra metal when you won't gain any functionality. As far as it coming that way from the factory, they hand sharpen all of those so some will be closer to perfect than others. It's nice when you get one (usually) that's dead on but when they are a bit off it is easily fixed with the diamond rods and SM. :)

[bearfacedkiller]

I would just reprofile it. Do you have the diamond rods? Reprofiling with the brown rods is futile.

[endgame]

Time to reprofile

[anagarika]

Check carefully if the apex is at the center. If the two sides have different angles and the bevel is about the same width, it is likely that the apex is not centered.

In that case, you'll have to rebevel on the less obtuse one to bring the apex to center, which means that side should produce more burrs, and only then reprofile the more obtuse one.

On the other hand, if the bevel width is same, but apex angle is 10°different, AND apex is centered, you have an uneven grind, i.e. the sabre grind angle is uneven. If you try to rebevel to same angle, maintaining centered apex, you'll have different bevel width.

Since the knife is a user, just thin it down to 30°, whichever is the case from either of those scenario, and use it.

And yes, patience is the key in rebeveling, even with diamond. I spent hours reprofiling my SG E4 and happy with the result.

I'm lucky, mine was quite even but the previous owner seemed to have used it hard without sharpening at all.

If the heel is not getting sharpened, look for this tips: https://youtu.be/VMvE-b4259A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Additional thoughts: the one less than 15°, if being reprofiled will bring the apex centered (scenario 1), which I hope is the case here.

This thread might be helpful:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... e-Geometry" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[vlawson]

Sigh. Thanks everyone. Seriously.

I don't really want to buy the Diamonds. At $40 for diamonds, I could easily justify buying a new Delica instead (and selling or gifting this one). I don't mind using sandpaper, which I've done before for smaller re-profiling jobs, or even a whetstone...but I'm just not psyched to do have to do even more work on this knife, right after having to deal with loose screws and rotating pivot pins. I also tend to make at least one mistake whenever I fiddle, which turns a pain in the butt job into a pain in the *** job, usually. ha.

There are two courses of action you can pick between. First is to just keep using and sharpening the way you currently do. Uneven bevels don't really much affect performance as long as you know how to hit the edge.

I'm sort of leaning in this direction, partly in the interest of giving up, but also because I bet you're right. I bought the saber grind version in the first place because I wanted a lightweight EDC tool that cut well and was sturdy. I didn't care so much about supreme slicing ability than I did about all around capability.

So, I think I'm gonna use it while away for the entire week+ of Thanksgiving in Vermont as is (Uneven bevels, but sharpened and stropped at hair-poppin level at 40 degrees) and see how the edge performs over a short time. Once home, maybe I'll add a Delica 4 to my inevitable holiday order and gift this one, or maybe I'll go to town and reprofile.

Check carefully if the apex is at the center. If the two sides have different angles and the bevel is about the same width, it is likely that the apex is not centered.

In that case, you'll have to rebevel on the less obtuse one to bring the apex to center, which means that side should produce more burrs, and only then reprofile the more obtuse one.

On the other hand, if the bevel width is same, but apex angle is 10°different, AND apex is centered, you have an uneven grind, i.e. the sabre grind angle is uneven. If you try to rebevel to same angle, maintaining centered apex, you'll have different bevel width.

Just to clarify: When you say "the less obtuse one" you're talking about the less than 15 degree side, right? It's SO hard to tell if it's centered. I do not have a Loupe or anything.

Thanks again y'all!

PS: I found this thread last night after I posted this, which was helpful: viewtopic.php?t=28470

[average-Joe]

I was bragging kinda sorta about my para 2 when new. A real cool older lady friend of mine used to butcher and do taxidermy point out how my new blade was so poorly sharpened. I kinda understand it's a bummer thinking you gotta buy a sharpmaker to sharpen a new knife. But I opted to buy one anyway.

[anagarika]

To check apex centeredness (?), just eyeball it with the tip towards you & also seeing it straight from above the apex (edge up).

Good luck!