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Post by tdiamante on Dec 16, 2018 23:00:50 GMT
I was commissioned to grind distal taper into a BKS stage katzbalger, and got it very sharp. It had a welded on hilt which obviously made it very difficult but it's certainly possible. If you're willing to pay the right price for labor there should be plenty of guys who can do it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 23:07:16 GMT
I was commissioned to grind distal taper into a BKS stage katzbalger, and got it very sharp. It had a welded on hilt which obviously made it very difficult but it's certainly possible. If you're willing to pay the right price for labor there should be plenty of guys who can do it. Thanks for the tip. What do you think a normal range for that type of labor should be? The blade I have is not assembled, so it should make the job easier.
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Post by tdiamante on Dec 16, 2018 23:50:59 GMT
@lebleuchevalier That will totally depend on just how much material needs to be removed. 6mm-3mm on the last 10 inches, etc. If you've got a really thick blade it could be $200-300, or more.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 23:55:47 GMT
@lebleuchevalier That will totally depend on just how much material needs to be removed. 6mm-3mm on the last 10 inches, etc. If you've got a really thick blade it could be $200-300, or more. It's about 5mm thick throughout. It is single edged, no fuller. All I would need is to remove the last two thirds of the blade to about 3mm, perhaps 2.5mm at the tip. Thanks for the price range. I think it really boils down to time, doesn't it?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 16, 2018 23:59:34 GMT
I never put a distal taper on a blade, I’ve been lucky but have long thought that the day will come. I’ve used a Work Sharp KO to sharpen blades from factory dull and will use it when I need to taper one. You won't do it in one evening so be patient. I’d use my coarsest grit to do the shaping which is 120. I think a 3rd market vendor sells one coarser and opt for that to begin if possible. As far as overheating run at slow speed and dip after each pass until you get an idea of the heat you create. The very tip where there is less metal will be the prime hot spot. Once you get the taper you want change to progressively finer grits. You will find it easier if you can remove the hilt. Another thing, after you get things about as you want them with a belt sander go to a sanding block working lengthwise to the blade to get a more even surface. I believe it can be done, it’ll take I’m sure a several evenings. Forget speed and a fast grind and you’ll like your finished blade better.
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Post by tdiamante on Dec 17, 2018 0:07:03 GMT
@lebleuchevalier That will totally depend on just how much material needs to be removed. 6mm-3mm on the last 10 inches, etc. If you've got a really thick blade it could be $200-300, or more. It's about 5mm thick throughout. It is single edged, no fuller. All I would need is to remove the last two thirds of the blade to about 3mm, perhaps 2.5mm at the tip. Thanks for the price range. I think it really boils down to time, doesn't it? Yes sir. It sounds like your blade would be pretty easy to work on. For the taper you need you could probably get it done for $150 plus the cost of shipping. More if you want a really fine polish and sharpening done too. If you can't find someone feel free to contact me. I'm not available at the moment but in the future
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 17:59:24 GMT
Update: I just started grinding this afternoon. What an incredibly tiresome little project this is. It's not that I cannot remove the material fast enough, it's that I have to stop what I am doing every thirty seconds to douse the blade in cold water so I don't overheat the metal and ruin the temper. It's amazing how distal tapering changes little in the weight of the blade overall, but can change the weight distribution.
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Post by theophilus736 on Jan 14, 2019 19:25:17 GMT
You can do it with a sander but heat control is very critical to not ruin a temper. It is very time consuming, but I tend to change geometry on a tempered blade by sanding by hand on paper or stones and/or draw filing. Note of caution; this is not for the faint of heart because this is exceedingly time consuming to do. I'll be doing a project on one of Blade Runner 's katana to do just this. Would you have any kind of time estimate? I know that each blade and the amount to take off will greatly affect the time it takes, but how many hours would you say it takes you to change the geometry on a blade by draw filing and sanding?
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Post by Verity on Jan 14, 2019 19:55:18 GMT
You can do it with a sander but heat control is very critical to not ruin a temper. It is very time consuming, but I tend to change geometry on a tempered blade by sanding by hand on paper or stones and/or draw filing. Note of caution; this is not for the faint of heart because this is exceedingly time consuming to do. I'll be doing a project on one of Blade Runner 's katana to do just this. Would you have any kind of time estimate? I know that each blade and the amount to take off will greatly affect the time it takes, but how many hours would you say it takes you to change the geometry on a blade by draw filing and sanding? i've had some take around 20, and some over 200. It really is impossible to estimate without evaluation and going through it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 19:56:08 GMT
I have been touching the blade with my bare hands as I grind and I can feel when it is getting too hot. I grind for about thirty seconds before dousing with water. I have removed about 80 grams of material over two hours. So I am going very slow.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 20:23:30 GMT
I just finished the rough grinding. All I have left to do is go up with the grits to restore the polish, clean up the bevels, and sharpen the edge. I have used my calipers throughout this process and the distal taper is now where I want it to be. I have transitioned from 5mm at the start to 4mm in the middle, 3mm in the last third and just under 2.5mm at the tip. In the end, this process removed 90 grams of weight, or just over three ounces. I assume I will lose a tiny amount of mass as I move up the grits, but it is amazing to me how little this process impacts the overall change in mass.
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