alamocdc
Member
I didn't want to hijack Christopher's post with this, so I started another. I've been watching a few videos looking for interesting little projects I can do for the upcoming holidays. A video that caught my attention was Cap'n Eddie's video on how he sharpens his shew. He references it in several of his vids. I have the PSI sharpening jig (Yes, the Wolverine clone) under my grinder. And I use it on everything. So all of my shews have been sharpened on it and I have marks on the slide mech so I know where to set it for each of them. Now Eddie doesn't use the hollow grind (like that obtained by using the jig) on his skews. He actually does the opposite and grinds his shews so they are convex. That means the tips arc outwardly rather than inwardly. Look at the attached graphic to see what I mean. He basically gets the shape freehand, then he uses a 600 grit diamond stone to refine the edge.
So what? Well, I decided to try it on a skew that I don't use often. All I can say is, "WOW!" I really didn't think it would make that big of a difference. But it really does. I've had no real problems using a skew with what I call the traditional grind (only because it is what we "traditionally" get from using either a jig, or flat platform in front of the grinder). But this new grind for me makes transitioning from the bevel to the cut so much easier. Look at the graphic again. The concave grind give you only two points to ride the bevel on and they are both abrupt. In fact, one of the two is the cutting edge. Even if you double bevel it slightly with a diamond hone, you only take that to three points. With the convex grind you have a nearly infinite number of points and except for the cutting edge, it is ALL bevel.
So what's the bottom line? Well, for me (YMMV) the bottom line is I will take any method that makes the job easier and give me better results. The convex grind does both. So all my skews will now sport this grind. You can literally roll the skew into a cut rather than flop it into a cut. And that aspect alone gave me better control. Sorry I got so windy. I just couldn't figure out a way to say all that with less words.
Oh, this may not be news to some of you. If that is the case, this was not written for you. So please comment accordingly. And FWIW, I'll be trying the double bevel grind on one of my gouges soon.
So what? Well, I decided to try it on a skew that I don't use often. All I can say is, "WOW!" I really didn't think it would make that big of a difference. But it really does. I've had no real problems using a skew with what I call the traditional grind (only because it is what we "traditionally" get from using either a jig, or flat platform in front of the grinder). But this new grind for me makes transitioning from the bevel to the cut so much easier. Look at the graphic again. The concave grind give you only two points to ride the bevel on and they are both abrupt. In fact, one of the two is the cutting edge. Even if you double bevel it slightly with a diamond hone, you only take that to three points. With the convex grind you have a nearly infinite number of points and except for the cutting edge, it is ALL bevel.
So what's the bottom line? Well, for me (YMMV) the bottom line is I will take any method that makes the job easier and give me better results. The convex grind does both. So all my skews will now sport this grind. You can literally roll the skew into a cut rather than flop it into a cut. And that aspect alone gave me better control. Sorry I got so windy. I just couldn't figure out a way to say all that with less words.
Oh, this may not be news to some of you. If that is the case, this was not written for you. So please comment accordingly. And FWIW, I'll be trying the double bevel grind on one of my gouges soon.
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