06-02-2020, 09:28 PM
That's good and sharp for a machete! Considering how it's used, anything sharper than that and the edge would be so thin it would just cave in and roll when it hit a branch. Nice job.
I've found that especially with big heavy blades like a machete, it's okay to apply considerable pressure (at sharpening angle) on the SB and leather when deburring. Of course it's going to vary from blade to blade, and WMMV, but it might be worth playing with to cut down on deburring time.
Machetes, axes, cleavers and the ilk are the exception to my preference for a toothy edge. For whacking, hacking and chopping it doesn't seem to me that "toothy" buys you anything. Since a more polished edge works fine for those edges, finer grit belts and really getting into it on leather can really cut down on deburring time.
I'm guessing that the machete is not really hard and brittle steel so that 120 grit belt probably created a good size burr. Maybe spending more time with a finer grit belt might help to just grind away the burr. (Just guessing).
Anyway, great job on that Brian!
"Shaves pretty cleanly too." Umm..., I'm left with a strange mental image of you standing in the shower shaving with a machete. No wimpy razors for Mr. Brian!
Replace "knife" with "razor": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWl8EbNN8NM
I've found that especially with big heavy blades like a machete, it's okay to apply considerable pressure (at sharpening angle) on the SB and leather when deburring. Of course it's going to vary from blade to blade, and WMMV, but it might be worth playing with to cut down on deburring time.
Machetes, axes, cleavers and the ilk are the exception to my preference for a toothy edge. For whacking, hacking and chopping it doesn't seem to me that "toothy" buys you anything. Since a more polished edge works fine for those edges, finer grit belts and really getting into it on leather can really cut down on deburring time.
I'm guessing that the machete is not really hard and brittle steel so that 120 grit belt probably created a good size burr. Maybe spending more time with a finer grit belt might help to just grind away the burr. (Just guessing).
Anyway, great job on that Brian!
"Shaves pretty cleanly too." Umm..., I'm left with a strange mental image of you standing in the shower shaving with a machete. No wimpy razors for Mr. Brian!
Replace "knife" with "razor": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWl8EbNN8NM