Problem during the sharpening process.

I leave the sharpening of the knife for last. I have sharpened the knife somewhat to give me an idea of where the edge will go, but it's not give to the customer sharpened. On the last two knives I've made I keep getting an indention that is further up than the original sharpening line. It's happened in the same spot twice now, about an inch and a half from the base of the blade. It's a noticeable indention that drives me crazy. I'll have to go back and regrind the blade line flat again and start over. I'm using the top of a 2x72 belt grinder to sharpen my knives.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is due to me laying the blade on the belt in a certain way? I've attached a photo below with a particular knife I'm having the problem with. It's hard to see, but if you held the knife you'd certainly be able to tell the blade isn't completely flat.

I would appreciate any help.

arrowknife.jpg
 
Uneven grind, over grinds and inconsistent edge thickness can cause this. I had this issue when first starting. Address those three issues and it should take care of it.

Hope this helps.

-Mike
 
Hard to tell from that pic but it looks like it has a machine finish. Hiding the sharpening bevel will be a little harder on those. You should sharpen every knife you make and test it. I do this before putting a handle on them so if I have to reheat treat I don't sacrafice a set of scales or block. I hand sand 99% of the knives I make so hiding that bevel is really easy. If you want to machine finish them go back to the belt you used for the finish and run it thru again and roll the blade to the edge to blend in those distinct, nasty looking sharpening bevels. (I really hate seeing those on anything but a $5 walmart knife.)
 
Clarifying.

Uneven grind, over grinds and inconsistent edge thickness can cause this. I had this issue when first starting. Address those three issues and it should take care of it.

Hope this helps.

-Mike

Uneven grind meaning one side of the blade is angled more than the other towards the centered edge line. Or grinded down more than the other. Which would create an inconsistent edge thickness? Not sure what an over grind is.

I guess this could be resolved by making sure I grind the blade, initially, to the calipered center line that I make before I start the initial grind?

Thanks for your help Mike.
 
Barry,

It is machine finished. I've yet to try and hide the sharpening bevel and I haven't figured out how to hand finish my knives yet. What you're saying is though is to do away with the sharpening bevel completely and have one clean look from the top of the blade to the bottom. Harvey Dean told me to do this as well, but I've yet to really figure out that trick. I'll try that on my next knife and see if that will solve the problem as well. Thanks!
 
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