Do you circumcise your balisongs? You know, nip the tip?
(pictured: Blue River Kraken Ti, Wehawk, OneBalisong.com)
Yes, I do. If I punched one of these through my couch, my wife would be quite cross about it.
Do you blunt your tips? What’s your technique?
I’m new to flipping, only a couple of months in, but I’ve been a lifelong knife collector and sharpened professionally for about 10 years.
I was talking to Slash2Gash about how I wanted my Cygnus configured (not pictured)and asked if I could get a false edge and blunt tip.
He told me the edge comes false and I could just “strop it on concrete until you’re happy with it.”
Awkward silence. Cricket sounds.
“Okay, thanks for your help.”
Naturally, I looked up concrete stropping and discovered that yes, it is apparently a thing. Definitely not my thing, but to each their own.
I’ve sharpened hundreds, probably thousands, of knives over the years, but until getting into balisongs I had never really considered deliberately blunting one.
I try to find a trainer blade whenever possible. I blunted a Damascus blade once and felt pretty bad about it. For the others, this is the technique I’ve been developing.
Gear:
- Two Tormek-style machines
- 200 and 1000 grit CBN wheels
- Small metalworking belt grinder
- Leather belt with polishing compound
Process:
Draw the edge profile and new tip shape with a micro Sharpie.
Take the existing false edge down to true flat on the 200 grit wheel.
True flat, like Rick and Morty.
Round the tip back to the Sharpie template.
Repeat the shaping on the 1000 grit wheel.
“Sharpen normally,” meaning I put it in the sharpening jig and grind both sides at about 16° so it has the appearance of a real edge while remaining functionally blunt.
Polish on the leather belt with plastic-grade compound.
Clean off the compound with Japanese knife oil, wash with hot soap and water, dry with compressed air, then oil the pivots with Carbon Honey.
That’s where the process is at now. It gets a little cleaner every time.
What do you use?
Do you blunt your tips, leave them sharp, stone them, belt them, file them, or concrete?