Tips on tips

[MrSwede]

Due to personal circumstances I haven't been able to go all in with my Tormek but I got my FVB from Wootz this week so i started to practice. I've gotten to the point that the bevel is nice and even almost along the whole length, the problem is the tip. As shown in the picture (edge to the right, tip up) the very tip is in a different angel from the rest of the bevel. I don't know if I'm being an*l about it (I'm a surgical nurse so yes, I'm an*l about it) or if it dosen't have any practical implications. I first thought that I lifted the handle to mutch but it looks like a sharp line between the angels. If I just lifted to mutch then, I think, it would have been a smoother transition.
I'm at the start of my learning curve and I want to learn the right way rather than get set in a way that's wrong. So I need some advice from you guys how to solve this problem.

[micha]

Hans,
I'm a bit lost with the image detail. Makes it hard to tell what kind of knife it is and how the tip should look like. The sharp line indeed looks a bit strange, is there some laminated steel involved?

I've had similar problems with tips with my very first knives on the Tormek. I think as beginners we actually tend to overgrind the tips. Some blades require very little lifting, and once you lift, the pressure on the portion of the blade which is ground is proportionally very high, so its quite easily overground.

If tips also feel dull, it's quite helpful to just touch them a little from the spine of the blade.

Mike

[cbwx34]

Due to personal circumstances I haven't been able to go all in with my Tormek but I got my FVB from Wootz this week so i started to practice. I've gotten to the point that the bevel is nice and even almost along the whole length, the problem is the tip. As shown in the picture (edge to the right, tip up) the very tip is in a different angel from the rest of the bevel. I don't know if I'm being an*l about it (I'm a surgical nurse so yes, I'm an*l about it) or if it dosen't have any practical implications. I first thought that I lifted the handle to mutch but it looks like a sharp line between the angels. If I just lifted to mutch then, I think, it would have been a smoother transition.
I'm at the start of my learning curve and I want to learn the right way rather than get set in a way that's wrong. So I need some advice from you guys how to solve this problem.

Hard to tell from such a close up picture... but looking at the striations, it appears you're rotating the knife (which is good IMO), 🙂  so my guess here is your probably inadvertently slightly lifting the blade as you reach the very tip.

I posted a photo a while back where, (not paying attention) 🙄, I did this on a knife...



... you can see the abrupt change at the tip.  So, my .02, pay attention as you reach the tip that you're not slightly lifting the handle.  (I think it's an unconscious thought that I think I need to do it to reach the very tip).

[Hannsi1957]

as the others say ....need to see how much the blade makes a curve.
maybe u cant only lift the handle, maybe u have to pivot also.

cheers Hanns

[MrSwede]

Here is a picture of the knife. It's a cheap $8 knife, soft stainless steel that I bought just to practice on. I want some more skill before I play around with my Wusthofs.
Thanks for the input. I'll try harder not to pivot and make sure I don't over grind the tip. I'll keep on practicing and I'll get back to you with the result.

[cbwx34]

Here is a picture of the knife. It's a cheap $8 knife, soft stainless steel that I bought just to practice on. I want some more skill before I play around with my Wusthofs.
Thanks for the input. I'll try harder not to pivot and make sure I don't over grind the tip. I'll keep on practicing and I'll get back to you with the result.

I don't think "pivoting" (if you mean rotating) is the issue, (like I said, I prefer it)... I think, whether you pivot or just lift the handle, you're trying to "reach the tip" with a little extra lift... maybe unconsciously.

Also, where you clamp the blade in relation to the belly/tip area matters, you might play around with that a bit also... in this case, try clamping a little closer to the tip area, and see if that helps.  (It changes the angle as you approach the belly/tip area, making things match better).

p.s.  If you haven't seen it already, there's a thread you might want to look at... Knife Tip Grinding - To Pivot or Not to Pivot

[MrSwede]

Wow, a nine page thread. I know what I'll be doing for the next few days. Thanks for the tip.

[Ken S]

The nine page thread that CB referenced is one of the things I appreciate on this forum. In a world where short and few replies are the norm, many of our threads are in depth. As one can see in the pivot thread, they can easily span several years.

Ken

[MrSwede]

This whole forum is a treasuretrove of information. I'm very happy to have found it.