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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 6, 2014 19:05:22 GMT
This is my first sword, which I selected after reading such good things about it here (thanks SBG!). I am very happy with it, other than it is not sharp. I can run my fingers down the entire blade and it will not cut me. I am trying to figure out if I should try and sharpen it myself, or perhaps send it to Kult of Athena for sharpening. I read that these blades have historically came with a secondary bevel, that is often deep (or is thick the right word?), and that can make it more difficult because you need to remove so much metal to reprofile the edge. I read that some of the newer ones have been coming out better. I don’t know what I have here, so can you guys shed some light? Here are some pictures of my sword. This is not a secondary bevel, correct? Is this a convex (apple seed) bevel? Is the blade supposed to be a diamond profile, or is it supposed to be more lenticular like mine seems to be? I was planning on using TomK’s updated method of clamping the blade down and using sandpaper blocks and a strop stick. I know this will be difficult if I have a lot of material to remove. So my main question is will this blade need a lot of work, or does it just need a good sharpening? Some side notes in case anyone is curious: The blade does not have very rounded shoulders The tang threaded section looks pretty good. Thanks for the help!
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Post by Alex.Moranz on Jun 6, 2014 22:27:45 GMT
Great choice of a sword!!! I have a bare blade of that same sword that I re-polished and sharpened with sand paper. Mine had a rougher secondary bevel than yours and took a bit to fix. If yours is like mine be prepared to spend some time on it as mine seemed to be rather hard steel all the way through. I didn't notice any one section polishing or sharpening faster than the others. My advice...follow the method of clamping it to the table and take your time and do long even strokes down the whole length of the blade. That's what worked for me, it's going to be hard not to get frustrated and want to go back and forth furiously, resist the temptation and anger.
Again I re-polished the whole blade and sharpened at the same time versus just sharpening so it shouldn't take nearly as long. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you.
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Post by Bryan Heff on Jun 7, 2014 1:04:26 GMT
Your blade actually looks pretty good I'm terms of no secondary bevel. I wouldn't at all be surprised if it cuts pretty well as is. However with some edge refinement I am thinking you could really put a keen edge on that. Many swords IMO don't really need to be sick sharp to be cutters. And the cross section looks right on...it's a very flattened diamond shape...not as crisp as much higher end swords maybe but still a flattened diamond..looks right to me
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jun 7, 2014 5:29:24 GMT
Have a look here - viewtopic.php?f=19&t=13285You may just need to polish the edge to a proper convex, (see half way down on the above link) - take your time and be patient.
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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 7, 2014 21:18:09 GMT
Thanks everyone. It's great to know I got a good one, with a good edge. I tried cutting one 2 liter with it, and it got through it, so it's not bad as is.
I am off to get supplies. I will update when I have some progress to show.
One more question. There is a part of the blade from the hilt to halfway up the fuller that is blunt on the edge. This is for half-swording, and I should not sharpen it, correct? Is that considered a ricasso?
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Post by Voltan on Jun 7, 2014 22:56:32 GMT
Thanks for the vote of confidence my friend. Most of what I know comes from watching Tom Kinder's vids, and from watching fellow board member Razor sharpen a sword for me a few years ago. Link to Tom's vids: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=84Good belt sander info here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16377&hilit=+harbor+freightJason5678, feel free to shoot me a PM if you need any specific info, I'll be glad to help.
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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 9, 2014 16:24:59 GMT
I bought a rubber sanding block and some paper. The rubber block is somewhat flexible, but it is not flexible enough to curve around the "flattened diamond" shape of the blade. So basically I would have to rock my hand to sand from ridge to edge. Is that how it is supposed to work, or should I look for something more flexible so that I can sand from ridge to edge without rocking back and forth? It seems like it will be hard to maintain consistency that way. I was thinking of attaching a mouse pad to it.
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TomK
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Posts: 2,377
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Post by TomK on Jun 10, 2014 16:46:32 GMT
Jason, don't worry about rocking the block, you will naturally follow the curve of the bevel as you press down to meet it. watch your patter of scratches and you will see if you are missing any spots. it is hard to tell but I think your sword has a very small secondary bevel. even still it is likely going to take a long time to get it sharp. the Hanwei Tinker line is well known for being very hard. be patient, if it takes a long time that also means any mistake you might make will happen slowly too and you should be able to catch it before you do real damage, so hard to sharpen is a good thing. just be patient and check your work often. the pattern of scratches will tell you what you need to know. in that way it is just like my first video. what you are doing is actually a polishing technique so neatness of your lines is important. always move in one direction only with your paper, never scrub back and forth especially near the point. the reason I say this is because it is easy to build up a pattern of motion that if you slip off the tip of the sword, if you are going back and forth you will automatically pull your hand back right onto the point. Gus and I have both made this mistake in the past. I only got a little cut but Gus put the point all the way through his hand one time. so move in one direction only
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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 10, 2014 17:33:10 GMT
Thanks Tom! I think I got it now. I will start tonight and update when I make some progress.
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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 12, 2014 15:44:54 GMT
I did the thing where you make sharpie marks perpendicular to the blade so that you can see where you are sanding and got started on one edge. Near the tip I was sanding right to the edge, but further down I was not, so there is a bevel there. Am I supposed to keep removing material until I am sanding all the way to the edge? Is it going to be impossible to get rid of all that metal by hand sanding? I was using 320 grit and it took a while just to get off the rough sanding marks from the factory.
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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 17, 2014 21:19:28 GMT
The sandpaper was taking too long to get rid of the secondary bevel, so I tried a file and it is working ok. I haven't had much time to work on it, but in about an hour I got one side of one edge re profiled. I think it looks good so far. I will post some pictures when I get further.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jun 17, 2014 21:40:56 GMT
You must have a good file. a lot of the hanwei tinker models are very resistant to files.
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Post by Unit731 on Jun 18, 2014 8:01:40 GMT
Whenever I sharpen a dull sword, I typically use a knife sharpener first, just to get it kind of sharp, as opposed to entirely dull, then I switch to a file to remove the secondary bevel, and a double sided stone to smooth it all out. Sandpaper too if I have any around, just to remove the scratches. I can usually achieve a nice, what would you call it... Flat bevel? Or if I want, a shallow convex/appleseed. However this leads to a pretty thin, but very very sharp edge. I wouldn't use it on a heavy working tool meant to take abuse, but this edge gets all my bladed objects through their target like a light saber. And the edge isn't totally weak, my machete hasn't even dulled, much less chipped (I have taken down a tree, but admittedly, my technique is... Less abusive than most people's). It is relatively easy to do and the edges I made have scared my friends. :lol: We used to call my old Cheness (only got one sword now) "the demon sword", and after recently taking a while on my GSOW, its gotten pretty scary. The tip is spatulated, but its so sharp it pierces with ease.
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Post by Jason5678 on Jun 18, 2014 16:11:18 GMT
Tom, The file slides on the sword at first, but with some pressure it raises the grain (I think that is what it's called), then it files easier. I started with a cheap home depot file, which was pretty slow. I borrowed one of my Grandpa's old files (he was a tool and die maker in Chicago in the 40's-70's) from my dad. This file is a beast and works much better. It's still a lot of work to get rid of a little bit of metal, but taking it slow is definitely what I need to be doing. Unit731, I think I'm going to end up with just a small convex edge, like you do. I intend on using this on water bottles and pool noodles and stuff, so it doesn't need to be strong enough to take down oak trees I hope I can get it scary sharp. We shall see. A lot of work to do before then. I'm having fun though. I got the second side re-profiled last night, so half done with this step. This side had a thicker bevel overall than the first and took a couple hours. Some spots don't really have a secondary bevel and some it is thick.
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