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Removing Serrations on Emerson CQC-8

Started by Thy Will Be Done, September 10, 2023, 02:58:52 AM

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Thy Will Be Done

I've got one of these knives that was sent in by a customer to remove a chip and reprofile the edge to another geometry (lower the DPS) and was surprised to find that it had serrations on the straight part of the edge as I'd not been made aware of this. 

Upon looking further at the blade I decided that I could regrind the edge to both remove the serrations and a sizable chip on the straight edge and the customer was overjoyed about losing the serrations.  I believe I have a game-plan that will work well but I've not done something quite like this but similar. 

The edge bevel is assymetric but the primary grind is identical on both sides.  Somewhere around 5 DPS primary grind and the edge bevel is around 40 DPS inclusive if I recall and ground only on one side.  My plan was to set the edge angle to the setting to match the side of the edge which was ground but only take material from the unground side of edge until the bevel with becomes even.  Then alternate passes on both sides until I've removed the depth of the serrations.

This would be a very high angle so at the point where the serrations are virtually removed I would lower the edge angle to the proper setting to re-profile the edge to the appropriate geometry prior to sharpening.  The steel of the knife is 154CM according to the website and the owner vaguely remembers that being the case but I see no markings on the blade.

https://emersonknives.com/shop/knives/every-day-carry/cqc-8/cqc-8-flipper/

It later ocurred to me after thinking about this that I may not want to grind the serrations into the wheel as I am concerned it may gouge/chip the stone putting a very high contact pressure on the wheel as the tips of the serrations would cause the PSI to skyrocket being such a small contact area touching the stone.  I suspect there is little to worry about here but wanted to get others opinion.

I will be using the SG-250 wheel to make the modification, planned to use the Truing Tool to grade the wheel extremely coarse with a fast 30 second pass to level and condition the wheel surface. 

What are your thoughts on my approach?  How would you approach this?  Have you ever done anything like this and what might you have done differently?  Anything to add here would be of value as I'm planning to work on this blade in the next few days or so.

Ken S

I would be very reluctant to remove the serrations or alter the grind on a $300 knife without express (preferably written) instructions to do so from the customer. You also might want to contact the manufacturer to see if they offer factory resharpening.

Ken

Thy Will Be Done

#2
Quote from: Ken S on September 10, 2023, 04:35:45 AMI would be very reluctant to remove the serrations or alter the grind on a $300 knife without express (preferably written) instructions to do so from the customer. You also might want to contact the manufacturer to see if they offer factory resharpening.

Ken

Respectfully, I do all sorts of what may seem to be radical edge mods on knives far more expensive than $300.   I sometimes sell knives from my own collection and offer reprofiling service on them and fully guarantee the results as in you may send it back for a full refund if you are unhappy for any reason and I've had zero returns.  This is on knives that range anywhere from $100-$700.

I have not had a single person even complain about the results and most everyone has been overjoyed.  That's how bad factory edge work tends to be in regards to providing a functional and properly sharp edge with decent cutting ability.  As knives are delivered factory the common tendency is for a knife to be around 20 DPS, I wouldn't even grind a heavy felling axe at this geometry and I've done stuff like that at 14 DPS with zero issues.

The owner of this said he has had this knife all but forgotten about spending the last year or more in a pickup somewhere getting ignored because he hated the serrations.  I've done many deals with this customer and I am not worried about anything here, I practice the idea of simply doing right by people and I don't worry about the liability.  This is work that I am passionate about and I let that guide what I do, not a bottom line.

Ken S

I happily defer to your reply. My only concern was avoiding a potential customer complaint. I sharpen only my own workaday knives. $300 seems an expensive knife to me.

Ken