Thanks everyone for the kind comments...you learn a lot on here and my cheap 1x30 belt sander and grinder has been a real blessing once you get the right belts and discs...and some simple wet and dry paper with a sanding block...HD has been a great "distance" teacher...many thanks for the help and inspiration Vic <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Great job <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> I really like the sheath and how the Firesteel is placed.

For those who are considering improving their skills with sharpening and being able to mod knives here is a photo of the set up I use...



The S5LE had the ramp removed by using the disc grinder on the side and holding the knife to the disc...working free hand you need to line up the contact area carefully and use the handle as best you can to lay the knife flat so that the blade spine makes a proper 90 degree contact...getting that right is definately the hard part...I keep my head very still and look over the top of the job...work off muscle memory and use the beginning of the grinding of the ramp to check the angle of approach as you need to pull the knife away and cool it in water and dry it off so that the heat in the blade is kept to a minimum.

Essentially you do it in stages and the trickiest part is as the ramp is removed and you need to blend in the grind to the spine...definately work in brief "touches" then and remember that the final clearing of the grind marks will be done with wet and dry paper using a sanding block...

The knives in the picture are the S5LE and a large refurb task I did on a SJTAC Variant which I posted about on the Busse B/F site. The edge on this SJTAC is the best I have done to-date...save for the easier task of thinning some of the factory convex blades Busse have done such as the SAR4 LE, the NMFBM and the KZ which come very well profiled to begin with and thinning the edge down gives an awesome edge...but the flat thin grind of the SJTAC was more of a challenge and to ensure I did'nt remove to much metal I set up the platten on the belt sander and glued some thick sheath hide leather to the platten so that I could get a smooth contact with the belt and the side of the blade to remove the Infi dimples and grind marks when I stripped it. Holding the knife spine slightly away from the belt and using standard strokes I was able to convex the edge to a very effective Hamaguru-ba shape similar to that on my Hattori Cowry X knife which has the best cutting ability of all my knives...it was made by Hattori himself and the 60 years experience shows in the blade profile...it is very effective on cutting and worth using as a "template"...I cut a section of plasticine to show the edge profile side on and tried to replicate this on the Busse...using side by side cuts till the matched the shape.

Here is a close up of the "platten" set up...



and here is a pic of the Busse showing the graduated edge I gave it so that strength in the tip was not dimished but the edge near the handle where most fine cutting is done is maximised for such tasks...

very cool SF .... whats that funky plug? you in the UK?

im consitering getting something like that sander..... sence i dont have time to really get into it like i should , and i wanna shape kydex a bit and do some sharpening and little knife making for myself... but who knows... ill have to check it out more... nice work man

Yes I am in the UK...may prefer the States though! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Nice work. Both blades look great.

Steel Fan,
Thank you for the walk through for us newbs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Looks great SF.

I didn't ante up for the INFI this round, but I made a few mods to my S5CG including removing the ramp.

But, also some handle mods, choil, etc.

If interested in some more ideas:


S5CG - Satin with some modifications

IMO, the Res-C mod at the front of the handle and the ramp mod combine to make a HUGE difference in feel in the hand - for the better. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

The choil mod is also very worthy.

I use a drum-sander kit (with .75" drum for this mod) from Sears on my Drill press. The drill press allows me to hold the knife with two hands for better control. But, I assume a regular drill could work.

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Thanks for the info on the choil modification KG...if I tried it I would need two hands free to do it....I was thinking of fixing the knife as the "solid" object and using a dremmel with the right sized drum...maybe though it would be easier to mount the dremmel...I could do this on my Black and Decker Workmate...I might try this...I do prefer a rounded choil as you do...but I could probably get by with the choil as is...we'll see...I do like your S5 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Very nice!