grinding a knife

ampersat · 09-07-2003, 05:25 PM

so i've got a knife with the really deep serrations at the base of the blade. it's my fishing knife and the serration does me no good. i've also got a drill press and a grinding stone and i'm going to grind that serration off. the question is, should i do it at higher speed or lower speed? i know i need to keep a bucket of water handy to cool off the blade as i grind it. does it really matter what speed the wheel turns at? should i just file off the serration instead of using the grinding wheel?

Small Fry · 09-07-2003, 05:51 PM

What ever you do don't get the steel to hot. If it dis-colors it's to hot. What type of stone are you useing? Knife steel is really hard. You may need a diamond stone to do any good. Good luck.

ampersat · 09-07-2003, 06:43 PM

it's already done. it is a cheap smith and wesson (who knew they made knives??) that i got on sale at big 5. but it's light and it's a one-hander and gets the nod for a ride in the fishing vest. i ended up chucking up the stone in my rechargable drill and holding the drill between my knees. it only took me 30 minutes of grinding to make the serration history and even out the blade. now it's on to the whet stone.

byteme · 09-09-2003, 08:50 PM

How did it turn out Amp? I have one that I want to do that to. I don't understand why the mfg's are putting 1/2 straight and 1/2 serrated blades on their knives. If I want a saw, I wll buy one. If I want a knife I will buy one (no serrations)!

ampersat · 09-10-2003, 06:03 AM

half blade, half saw? it's kind of like the swiss army knife: the worst tool for every job.

it turned out just fine. i would never do this with a knife i really cared about, like my buck knife. on the other hand, my buck doesn't have those lousy serrations either.

the stone wheel ate through the blade nicely. i'm thinking the slower speed of my cordless drill was just about right for the job. anything faster and the blade would have heated up more. after you get done on the stone wheel, go after it with a good file. the wheel is only going to work the very edge. you need the right angle coming back off the edge of the blade or you'll never get it to sharpen well.

Thumper · 09-10-2003, 02:03 PM

I love my Spyderco half serrated and half straight blade. It may be a compromise, but it does everything. Cuts rope, boxes, branches and everything in between. It rides in my back pocket all day, every day.