Recently i bought these 2 Cold Steel Heavy Duty machetes as modding projects.
One of them now looks a bit like a slender barong with a swedge (maybe this will be sharpened later on, don't know yet)
The contoured & resurfaced polypropylene handle has a bit of a negative angle to the blade which so far seems to work well, but i haven't chopped wood with it yet.
The convex edge measures around 30 degrees inclusive and is armhair shaving sharp.
Just found that someone is now making lapel knives from this same titanium/ceramic hybrid:
We had something of a storm a few weeks ago on the Veluwe, and many forest trails are still littered with broken branches and/or blocked by fallen over small trees like these 3 birches.
The modified Kukri Machete dealt fast & easy with both the de-limbing as well as chopping up the main trunks into moveable sizes.
This is Kukri Machete nr 2 with it's new convex edge (apex at +/- 30 degrees inclusive) and resurfaced PVC handle, currently weighing 504 grams.
Nr. 3 looks the same but it already went to a friend of mine.
Kukri nr 1 with it's new convex edge (apex also remaining at +/- 30 degrees inclusive) and resurfaced handle, but with a convexed area that is a bit thinner & wider compared to nr 2 and 3.
The slope on this one starts higher up the blade, and it currently weighs 474 grams.
A few more pics taken in the woods.
So far it has proven to be indestructible, even with all out chopping of many types of green woods in various thickness up to small trees with a diameter of 15-20 centimeter.
No catastrophic edge failures or even rolling, while binding in thicker woods has diminished due to the thinner convex.
Recently i bought several Cold Steel Kukri Machetes.
I had read quite a bit about this specific model, and when i could get a very good deal i grabbed them.
I mean how could i say no to 3 brand new ones for 40,00 Euro including shipping within the Netherlands ?
For me these Kukri Machetes have a useful size (they fit inside my daypack), with around 2.8 mm blade thickness they are quite rigid for a machete and certainly not flimsy or wobbly, the steel so far seems well hardened, and the handle fits my hand quite well, while the softer PVC plastic material dampens shock quite effectively.
The factory edges however are only rudimentary, coming with at best a heavily burred or at worst a not even apexed "edge", which is then simply covered in a black bake-on coating.
The backs of the blades are very rough as well, with pieces of burring that were almost sharper than the main edge, and a chequered handle surface that can create blisters with prolonged use.
However with a bit of work & a few simple tools all this can easily be solved, and then the true quality of these very useful blades will come out.
First i used an F.Dick coarse double cut basterd file to completely remove the heavily burred (and most likely burned) apex.
Then i used the same file to make a rough convex shape up to the now flattened apex, followed by an Oberg smooth file to refine the surface up to a new apex, but without creating a burr.
Then i used 3 grits of wet & dry with WD40 as a lubricant on a semi-hard rubber backing to smoothen the convex shape even more, bringing the apex to a burr on 180 grit and refining it through 240 grit and 400 grit.
The burr was then taken off on the Tormek leather wheel with some PA-70 paste.
You can click 2 X on each pic for a bit more detail.
One of the kukri's clamped down with it's heavily burred factory apex already filed flat, but with the coarse +/- 45 degrees factory V-bevels bevels still remaining:
Starting the new convex edge by filing away the shoulders of the factory edge, then slowly working towards the flattened "apex":
I think this was actually the first one i did, later this became my tester/user to see how thin i could reasonably take the convexing process.
Almost there btw.
Number two now done with the basterd file, and starting with number three:
During sanding on respectively 180, 240, and 400 grit wet & dry SiC and WD40 as a lubricant backed with an old piece of fiber reinforced rubber conveyor belt.
The new apexes fit almost perfectly in the 30 degrees inclusive slot of the Tormek WM200 Angle Master.
Removing the chequered handle surface with a coarse wood rasp to give it a much more "handpalm-friendly" finish.
Right after the wood rasp treatment on the right, and one that has already seen several days of use on the left.
This is how the second Bowie Machete looks at the moment, with the fuzzy finish coming out a bit more even compared to the first one.
Obviously the edges still need to be reprofiled & sharpened.
And it's a very valid argument i can tell you.
That is also why my Wheels have a coating of cooling wax or oil on top of the abrasive so overheating will not happen.
Something i know for sure as i test every edge i sharpen this way afterwards by cutting several times into a testing block and measuring sharpness before & after testing.
The owner of this Maxamet PM2 had given his knife a forced patina treatment, and besides coming out a bit uneven the acid had also completely eaten away the factory apex as well as the very tip of the blade.
To say that the knife was completely blunt would have been an understatement.
The request was to give the knife a new toothy edge with a lot of bite while making it as sharp as possible.
Before sharpening:
Flattened the acid damaged "apex" some more on a 3000 grit diamond plate so i could start with fresh steel, then made a new edge on a Rubber Wheel coated with ~ 230 grit diamond powder & wax, then deburred on a Paper Wheel with 1.0 micron diamond paste & oil.
The new edge is ever so slightly convex, the new apex fits almost exactly in the 30 degree inclusive slot of my Tormek WM200 Angle Master, plus it can whittle one of my chest hairs at about 5.5 centimeters from the point of holding.
(i don't own a BESS tester)
The somewhat "fuzzy" shoulders of the new edge show how deep the acid has eaten away into the sides of the blade in some area's.
After sharpening:
The rough finish as it currently is would probably work very well when using the Bowie Machete as a pig sticker for hunters and also for home defense, but i still have to find out how it works for (sustained) chopping purposes.
If need be some sanding linen would make a finer surface in no time.
With a measured blade thickness of 2.75 mm the knife is actually quite rigid, certainly not flimsy or wobbly.
Probiere Ich es mal auf Deutsch, Verzeihung für die Fehler.
Hab diesen Tipp von ein befreundeter Polizist in Texas.
In seine Arbeit hat er gelegentlich zu tun mit Leute die wegen Chemikalienmisbrauch nahezu keine Schmerzen bemerken, und eine normale ASP Dienstschlagstock kann sie einfach nicht zum stoppen bewegen.
Deswegen haben er und mehrere seine Kollegen die vordere Teile ihre ASP batons ganz mit kleine Bleikugeln ausgefüllt, und zwar bis der Haltungsfeder noch gerade einpasst.
Abschliessen wird gemacht mit etwas JB Weld und fertig ist das Ding.
Ein ASP 21" (daystick) geht so von 464 Gramm nach 502 Gramm, weil ein ASP 26"(nightstick) von 555 nach 607 Gramm geht.
Und weil das Gewicht nur im Vorderteil sitzt sind Schläge damit jetzt um ein vielfalt mehr effectiv.
A few days ago i bought a few Cold Steel Bowie Machetes from a Dutch forum member, and today i changed the plastic grip of one of them a bit more to my liking with the use of a coarse wood rasp.
The contouring makes for a much more comfortable grip when compared to the original handle shape, and snap cuts can now be done much easier and without handle shift.
The rough surface structure left by the wood rasp also offers a much more secure grip, but only prolonged use will show if it needs more smoothing.
The factory edges on these South African made versions had some burring left, but that was an easy fix on the Tormek leather wheel.
The edges are slightly convex, and each apex currently fits in the 45 degrees inclusive slot of my Tormek WM200 AngleMaster.
A bit overkill i think, so some thinning will probably follow later.
Es sieht aus als könnte mann das auch selber machen, aber trotzdem eine gute Idee:
https://www.snaggletoothmf.com/
Ein Mitglied von Bladeforums US hat mal gefragt von welches material die Snaggletooth gefertigt sind:
"The SnaggletoothMF is injection molded of Delrin. Delrin is a very strong and resilient plastic. It has a natural lubricity and is impervious to most chemicals. Bleach seems to be it achilles' heel. Plastic springs and other high demand parts are made of Delrin because of it's great properties. We use only true Delrin which is a DuPont material. The SnaggleToothMF is very tough, not like a 3D print. If you order one, and are not satisfied we will gladly refund your money. I don't think you will be disappointed. Thanks for inquiring and I hope to hear from you again."
Another PM2 in S110V.
The new edge was done on a Paper Wheel with 15 micron diamond compound, and then refined with 6.0 micron, 3.0 micron, and 1.0 micron diamond compound, all on dedicated Paper Wheels.
The apex is keen enough to whittle several curls in a row on one of my chest hairs while holding the hair at the root end only.
After sharpening:
Some TLC for a vintage SOG Tomcat that is the treasured EDC knife of a friend of mine.
The pin on which the lockbar pivots had been seriously deformed over the years due to which the backlock function was compromised, and also the glue under the Kraton grip panels was dried out leaving the panels almost loose.
Exchanged the old pin for a new one made from a piece of hardened spring steel rod and reglued the Kraton grip panels, and everything works again as it should.
Also resharpened the edge to what i call a standard toothy finish (Rubber Wheel with 230 grit diamond powder, deburred with 1.0 micron diamond compound on a Paper Wheel)
You can click 2 X on each pic for a bit more detail.
This vintage Al Mar Applegate Fairbairn dagger from a display collection had factory edges which were rather coarse, had a few flat spots, and a flattened point.
Since the "R" from Rex Applegate's signature was already quite close to the ~ 50 degrees inclusive factory edge i chose not to reprofile but instead just polish the existing bevels a bit with successively 15.0 micron, 3.0 micron, and 1.0 micron diamond compound on dedicated Paper Wheels.
Both new edges can shave the hair on the back of my hand on skin level.
After sharpening:
The knife that Chef Patrick used for two months in a commercial kitchen could still slice a firm tomato in good standard slices (not paper thin ones) with very light pressure, and i think that many non-knife people would have still considered it sharp enough.
I chose to resharpen the edge freehand using a few cheap Chinese diamond plates that i got from E-Bay for under 10 Euro's (about 12 US dollars) including shipping costs from China to the Netherlands.
Grit 1200 / 2000 / 3000, each one measuring 17 cm x 7.5 cm x 0.99 mm
I found that using just the 3000 grit diamond plate would have taken too long to get the microchips out, so i exchanged it for the 2000 grit plate for the majority of the work and then refined the edge with the 3000 grit plate.
Total sharpening time was about half an hour to 40 minutes, but i took my time, used light strokes, and washed the plates in between with some detergent & an old soft toothbrush.
So far i haven't noticed that sharpening the blade edge leading using just these 2 fine diamond plates produces any kind of burr (or it's just too small to notice it), like it did when i reground the blade on 240 and 400 grit SiC wet & dry and WD40 as a lubricant.
The new edge can slice-shave the hair on the back of my hand fairly well, and the edge angle has increased from 20 degrees inclusive to between 22.5 and 25 degrees inclusive with a small, but visible bevel.
The knife will now be put away until Patrick drops by again.
NB: the edge of the Diamond Titanium knife produced visible scratches on both the grit 2000 and the grit 3000 diamond plates during sharpening.
These scratches are very superficial, but they are definitely there to stay.
The factory edge on this second Kohetsu HAP40 could just shave a few hairs on skin level, so i "resharpened" it with 3.0 micron diamond compound on a Paper Wheel, then removed the extremely fine burr with 1.0 micron diamond compound on a second Paper Wheel.
On this knife i chose to also use this Wheel to blend the V-bevel into the half-sided convex to lower the cutting resistance just a tiny bit more, while keeping the new edge angle the same as that of the factory edge, namely between 17.5 and 20 degrees inclusive according to my Tormek WM200.
The first picture still shows some of the deeper scratches left over from the factory edge, but these end well above the apex.
You can click 2 X on each pic for a bit more detail.
The knife was sold on September 17 to an avid hobby Chef in the Netherlands, and he just yesterday mailed me that he is, and i quote: "lyrical" about the knife.
A few days ago Chef Patrick brought me the two knives, and this morning he came by to collect his own knife again.
These first two pics show Patrick's own Sakai Takayuki santoku in cladded VG10 steel together with the reground diamond titanium santoku.
Patricks knife has already been resharpened again in the pics since he needed it back asap, as it is his main workhorse (bought new over 5 years ago)
I've sharpened this knife many times already and find the VG10 very well heat treated, imo comparable to Tojiro's.
All pics show the Diamond Titanium knife just as i received it from Patrick, only cleaned with a soft toothbrush and some mild detergent, but not resharpened yet.
The Diamond Titanium knife does indeed still cut better than Patrick's Sakai Takayuki, but that is mostly because of the thinner blade coupled with the thinner edge angle (20 degrees inclusive versus 25 degrees inclusive)
Where the used edge on the Sakai Takayuki was nearly worn smooth, the used edge on the diamond titanium blade has become coarser and it's apex has widened.
The remaining sharpness is such that with a little effort it will still slice a piece of copy paper, but it snags a bit here and there on a few microchips (these are visible in the pics).
Patrick's santoku could not slice the same copy paper, no matter how i tried.
When seen through my Victorinox loupe using daylight the entire apex of the diamond titanium knife looks a bit rough, and this has the effect of micro or even nano serrations.
Thickness behind the current edge (measured about a millimeter behind the actual apex) hovers between 0.25 and 0.3 mm.
Tomorrow i hope to test the knife myself on a few tomato's, just to see if the edge will still cut these or not.
For Patrick anyway the current sharpness is no longer sufficient for his kitchen use.
(Pics can be clicked 2 X for more detail)
What surprised both myself as well as Patrick the most is that the knife held up so well with it's reground blade and it's low edge angle of just 20 degrees inclusive, the very apex of which had been sharpened on a DMT Red (about 750 grit) with a bit of WD40 as a lubricant.
Patrick said that he estimated the amount of food that he had cut with the knife during those two months would be comparable to what a standard family could eat in more than a year (easily).
He also told me that he didn't use the knife on hard pumpkins because he was afraid that he might damage the thin blade, but for the rest used it on everything, just like his own knife.
During the time that Patrick had the knife i found that the manufacturer recommended diamond sharpening device has a grit rating of 1200, so in the mean time i've bough 3 cheap Chinese diamond plates on E-Bay in grits 1200, 2000, and 3000, and on the second (also reground) Diamond Titanium santoku that i use in our home kitchen the apex is only sharpened with the 3000 grit diamond plate.
To be continued.
On the 15th of November i received this e-mail from Patrick (translated from Dutch):
"I didn't keep track of how much exactly i used the diamond titanium knife during the past two months, but my best guess is that i used both my own santoku (a Sakai Takayuki in cladded VG10 steel) and your knife about equally as much.
I did touch up my own knife from time to time on a ceramic rod, while i did nothing to your knife.
Could i visit you somewhere next week to show you the results ?
Your knife is clearly still much sharper than my santoku, which will now only get temporarily sharp if i touch it up on the ceramic rod again."
