Lost the edge

[Boogiedown]

I am very new to knife making, this is my first b lade I have made, I already had it sharp and was tring to put a satin finish on it by sanding with 400 then to 600 then go over it with a scotch brite belt but it seems after the 400 it lost the edge any ideas what im doing wrong, im sure its me just not sure what. Any help would be great

[Ed Tipton]

Boogiedown....Just a couple of quick comments. First is that you havent given us much to go on. Second is that normally, you should not put the final edge on until the very last step (safety measure). You have not said if the final finish was applied with a machine or by hand but you did indicate that the final finish was to be a satin finish by a scotchbrite belt. Without knowing what type of steel your blade is made of, it is difficult to say, for sure, but off hand, my answer is that final finishing should not adversely affect the edge to any significant degree. It may require some minor touch up if you inadvertantly touched it against a machine belt, but it shouldn't need much assuming it is a quality knife steel. Now....if it is mystery metal...all bets are off. Also, what kind of grind did you have on the blade ofter sharpening it? For the answer to this question we need more info.

[Boogiedown]

Im sorry , I was sanding by hand with the 400 and 600, never made it to the scotch brite belt. Using 440c

[Ed Tipton]

Boogiedown...Since you used 440C , I will admit that I am not the best person to answer your question for you, but I will try and help. Firstoff, 440C is an Air/oil hardening stainless steel that used to be held in high regard for knife building. It has lost some of it's lustre over time, but is still used, mostly in lower to middle grade cutlery. It can be hardened to approximately HRC60 which is suitabl for most applications.
Since this was your first attempt at making a knife, your did not state whether you made it by cutting away everything except the knife, or by forging. I'm guessing the former. You also did not say whether you had hardened the steel prior to sharpening or not, but since it was dulled by hand finishing, again, I'm guessing that it was not hardened. These are the type of things that we need to know to answer your questions.
I suggest that if you are serious about making knives, that you do some research on the subject. Wayne Goddard has a book out on the subject called "The $50.00 Knife Shop" that sells for under $30.00, and is a great place to start. My second bit of advice is that you begin with a piece of 1080 steel or something equally as basic. This steel is very forgiving, and is capeable of making a very excellent knife, and comes highly recommended for newer and less experienced knife makers. It is also one of the cheaper steels available. I would highly recommend staying away from what we term "mystery metals" or "junkyard steels" until you get your feet wet. If you are dealing with a known steel with a known pedigree, then help is readily available.

[Boogiedown]

Ed, thanks for the info, I did have the blade heat treated prior to the sharpening. This is the first time I have ever made a blade, could the way I went about it wrong? Before I started the finish sand on it I tested the edge by slicing some paper and it went right thru. I just bought that book today on my lunch break can't wait to get home and read. Hope the extra info gives you a better idea of what I did wrong thanks for the help.

[Ed Tipton]

Boogiedown...Hard to say. Hard to believe that that simply sanding with 400/600 grit sandpaper for a finish would degrade an edge on hardened steel,so I'm not sure what's happening. I suggest reading through the book and maybr something will jump out at you. I know making a knife seems like pretty tame stuff to most people, but just like most things, until you've done it, you really have no idea as to what is involved. There are many ways to screw up a knife, but the good thing is, there is a fix for just about all of them. Like I said earlier, do some research. Read up on it, and look on u-tube. There is a lot of info out there free for the looking. This forum is full of information from peoplw who really know their stuff, but you need to do a little homework first to be able to take advantage of their help. Good luck.

[Doug Lester]

Hummm, this is a good one. It is possible that you raised a burr on the edge when sanding or maybe the sandpaper caught the edge and dulled the it. As Ed said in an earlier post, it's a little soon to put a final edge on the blade if you are still polishing it. Actually, it's a little risky. A little careless swipe against the edge with your hand and you could be down at the ER getting sewed up. It's easier that you would think. Keep a knife board under that blade and go ahead and do your finishing. After you are done with the polishing and assembly you can go back with some sharpening stones and restore the edge.

Doug

[ckwatson]

I am new to Knife making but as a cook I put many edges on Knives. One thing that may have you loosing your edge so quickly is the angle of your edge. The angle can effect how well an edge holds.