In the past my jack knife has maintained its edge, I would touch it up and it would be fine again. Last week I looked at it, and it had several nicks and was rough, so I carefully cut it down, slowly so it wouldn't get hot. Brought it to what I considered a reasonable edge. But with very little use, it will loose its edge. Did I change the bevel, or what did I do wrong.???

Since (most) pocket knife blades are heat-treated in a highly controlled oven, we can (probably) rule out softer metal as the edge is moved back.

I would guess that you have reduced the thickness of the blade to the point that there is not enough support for the edge. Â*Try a slightly shorter bevel and lightly buff the sharpened edge; that will dull it slightly, but the edge should last much longer.

If that doesn't solve the problem, you may have actually worn out a knife!

The knife is a Buck Knife, and has been a good one. I never understood before about the bevel on a blade. I thought that a lesser bevel might make the blade sharper. An axe apparently would be the same then??

Hugh - Here's my experience with Buck knives. One of my favorite pocket knives is a model 303 Buck. I learned early on that for some reason, probably the stainless alloy they use, it will not take the nice long tapered bevel that some of my other pocket knives (Old Timers for one) will. Like Rick says, you probably need to give it a little shorter bevel. At least that's what I found was necessary to avoid rolling the edge. In the end though, it will be plenty sharp and hold that edge for any whittling you want to do.

[AlArchie]

There's a huge difference in the bevels on axes, just as there are on knives, depending, in large part, on their intended use. Most axes come with a pretty useless bevel on them, probably because there aren't a whole lot of woodsmen left around! Some of the more expensive axes come properly beveled, but most have what appears to be a nearly 45 degree angle on them, and will require, not only adjusting the bevel, but filing back the cheek to the proper width.

A felling or hewing axe should have a bevel of around 20 to 30 degrees, and tapered back from the edge, where an axe set for splitting will have a steeper angle and wider cheeks.

A felling axe, used for splitting will jam in the wood and a splitting axe used for felling will wear a trunk out rather than cutting it!

This is the kind of information I was looking for, thanks. I took Ricks advice, and put an angle back on the blade. It even feels better. Archie, that is exactly what I did, was to put a long taper on the blade. I feel more comfortable about trying to sharpen my knives. I was experimenting, and really not knowing what I was doing. :-[ Hugh