Straight vs convex edge
Been using a KME system to sharpen which does a good job, takes time depending on steel, puts a standard V edge on the blade.
Recently got a CRK which has more of a convex edge for more stability.
Wondering why not put convex edges on my Benchmades to enhance edge retention. KME does make a convex rod to do such a thing. Or perhaps I could ditch the KME and go for something like the Ken Onion Worksharp to do it and save time as well.
Anyone have an opinion on straight edge vs convex edge and what they use to do the convex edge?
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I have no opinion but I will tell you the Ken Onion electric system is wonderful followed by the work sharp elite razor sharp in no time I have been sharpening knives for my friends restaurant with these systems and they are amazed at the results.
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Have you burnt or damaged your knives with it at all? I’ve read that it can damage the heat treat as well as scratch the knife. Although I’ve scratched my knives on the KME when I first was learning to use it. It’s why I have two of the same Bugout now. One is my “beater” lol. I think it was because I’d accidentally slip the stone off the knife or pressing too hard on the stone (a no no).
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Never put enough pressure on the knives to damage them. Just let the weight of the blade rest on the belt. If you need the course belt for any reshaping use it very sparingly.I believe using the correct belt for the job is the key. Many video on YouTube.
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I'm probably the biggest proponent of the KOWS, i love it!. But first we should address the cons.
1)The KOWS "can" overheat the edge & temper/reduce hardness. This can only happen with the 3 finner grit belts & only if you do 10 passes without stopping. There are easy ways to avoid this by 1) limiting your passes to 2 (i usually look at the edge after two anyway), 2) dip knife in water every few passes, 3) pull the blade at two inches a second instead of one. Any one or combination of the 3 will eliminate most issues
This is a good video on one specific technique to overheat a blade
2) It can blunt the tip easily if you don't have a good technique. Practice on $5 gas station knife until technique is refined. Sharpen, dull on brick or concrete & repeat until confident
3) it can remove a lot of metal if you don't have a good technique
Now on to why i love it.
1) you can set up, sharpen, & put everything away in less than 5 minutes
2) a belt is the only way to get the toothy convex grind that 95% of Benchmades come with. But there are a range available from toothy to polished
3) takes stropping to the next level, stropping on a belt only makes sense. Stropping a convex edge on a flat strop is significantly reducing its potential. I have 14 different leather belts for stropping/polishing. (5) for CS/HSS with 5 different micron sizes (.5 to 5) of diamond slurry spray, (5) for SS with 5 different micron sizes (.5 to 5) of diamond slurry spray, 1 white & 1 green compound for CS/HSS, & 1 white & 1 green compound for SS.
4) useful for other needs. I removed the serrations from a few knives using it. Came out with decent looking recurves. I have also done some scale work on CF & Micarta
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Excellent, thanks Tu. Although I like my KME it’s easy to mess up scratch my blade at least for me while I’m still getting hang of it. Great pointers on the KOWS. I’m really leaning towards selling the KME (I literally have all the diamond stones even the 50 grit and a full set of the lapping stones. Thinking I’d try putting mirror polished edges on things, quickly learned it’s too time consuming and I didn’t really care.
as far as burning the edges, the elite model has a variable speed setting which I would think helps reduce that risk quite a bit I’d think. I guess like anything it takes practice and as always appreciate your insight on this.
Edit: just watched the video, answers my question, great info.
Thanks,
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I think i skipped a part. Scratching is a possibility with the KOWS, especially with the diamond slurry. I now remove the guides when stropping. They should also be wiped down between sharpenings. Just remember they are guides & let the blade float across the belt. More pressure equals more scratches.
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Also I didn’t realize most Benchmade’s came with a convex edge already. I assumed they were V edges. Might explain why I struggled a bit sharpening a few on the KME taking a long time.
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I think the double edge OTF's & fixed Infidel all have a chisel grinds. The 496 has a combo half hollow & half convex grind. I believe all the others have a convex grind
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I decided to replace my KME system with the work sharp Ken Onion Elite. Just seems easier and more convenient and definitely less time consuming. Also can handle a recurve lol. I didn’t have the jewel stick for the KME and just didn’t like all the time it took to be honest. It’s still a great system just not for me. Put it up on eBay with full set of lapping stones and other extras.
i appreciate the feed back about it earlier.
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[@mention:646324604467407966] posted:
I decided to replace my KME system with the work sharp Ken Onion Elite. Just seems easier and more convenient and definitely less time consuming. Also can handle a recurve lol. I didn’t have the jewel stick for the KME and just didn’t like all the time it took to be honest. It’s still a great system just not for me. Put it up on eBay with full set of lapping stones and other extras.
i appreciate the feed back about it earlier.
Great choice!
I'd recommend watching this video.
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[@mention:589599268366343161] posted:
Thanks I watched that earlier. Good to know. Do you use yours on your high end knives too? It’s going to be a while before I dare do that but all the videos I’ve seen the system works great.
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[@mention:589599268366343161] posted:
Have you sharpened many recurves on the belt grinder attachment? I have a new hinderer recurve and it came with the dullest factory edge ever. Cant even cut paper. Maybe its a pocket butter knife. I'm going to send it back to them to sharpen properly but I'm curious if ill be able to do it myself on the bga. I'm just not sure how your supposed to follow the edge when you initially place it on the belt since is seems the opposite part of the curve would be pressing too hard into the end of the belt. Also can't seem to find any videos on this yet the quick start guide includes an illustration of a recurve so it must work. I just can't picture how you don't damage the blade at the start.
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I have the KOWS with no attachments. I have used it to remove serrations, making a recurve. The technique used for getting the tip sharp is to lift the knife (scale end) up trying to follow the radius of the blade end at tip. You're trying to keep the section of blade touching the belt as perpendicular as possible. You'll want to practice on cheap blades until you feel comfortable.
Another option i found is freehand on the top radius of the belt.
You can also pick up a ceramic rod, less money but tons more work
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Got the worksharp elite today and skipped right to the blade grinder attachment and practiced on a few old kitchen knives then used the fine belt to touch up a knife I use all the time. Wow it makes quick work of things. Touched up with the belts used for honing and stropping then the strop cloth belt kit that came with it.
Felt confident (or stupid) enough to put a my new Hinderer recurve Xm 18 3.5 in which came from factory duller than a butter knife (not kidding).
Started with a medium belt so as not to take off too much steel and progressed through the belts carefully. Worked like a charm and it is now sharp and I didn’t mess up anything thankfully. What a good system. Goodby KME ain’t got no time for you no more 😂😂😂.
watched a ton of videos on this too to try and avoid common mistakes. I’m sure I didn’t do it perfectly but can’t see any real errors so far so gotta say I’m pretty pleased with this system.
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Have you looked into any of the leather belt options?
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[@mention:589599268366343161] posted:
Have you looked into any of the leather belt options?
No not yet. I think the cloth strops do really well. I imagine the leather would be for mirror polish work right?
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[@mention:646324604467407966] posted:
No not yet. I think the cloth strops do really well. I imagine the leather would be for mirror polish work right?
The finest belt is 4 microns i believe. That is enough to polish, just limit yourself to 2 passes & let cool a minute or dip in water
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