[Jeremy V. Krause]

Hello everyone,

I know this is answered here somewhere but I just needed the answer to this specific question- didn't need a thesis on the matter.

Specifically I am using a diamond stone and going to sharpen a Reeve which is pretty close to sharp enough for me- I just need to make it a bit more keen. Around what angle should I shoot for along the edge in sharpening this sword?

Thanks for your help!

[Michael A. H.]

hear hear - I also would be interested about the Reeve, as well as the Albion Oakshot ...
Michael

[T. Kew]

So, you have two main options.

The hard way is to figure out how it's been sharpened and match that. You can do this by taking a very fine grit stone, or a hone or similar, and gently making a couple of passes on the edge at some angle. See whether it's polishing exactly to the edge, adjust as appropriate. With some time and practice you can use this to find out exactly how the sword was sharpened and then match that angle on your future work.

The easy way is just to grind a 40 degree edge onto it. This is what I do for HEMA use - belt sander, very light pressure, work from coarse grits up to fine ones. Depending on exactly how it was sharpened this might leave a small secondary bevel, so if you want to optimise for display it might not be the way to go. But functionally it's very effective and makes resharpening extremely easy.

[Chad Arnow]

[Craig Peters]

Out of curiosity, why do you need the sword to be a bit sharper if it's fairly sharp already?

[Lance Morris]

Hey guys!

I'm not sure what degrees but an apple seed edge is a very good edge
I love having sharp sharp swords

[Jeremy V. Krause]

[James Arlen Gillaspie]

An 'apple seed edge' is not a bevel in the simple geometric sense at all. It can be seen macroscopically in (real) Japanese swords which have 'hamaguriba', or 'clamshell' edges, which are convex, like a lens. This makes it much more impact resistant. It does, however, need a degree of skill to sharpen, as you are following the natural form of the convex edge, not imposing a bevel onto it.

[Michael Beeching]

Forgive me of any ignorance I may espouse here, but I would argue the appleseed edge is just about as difficult as it is easy to hone.

1. The difficulty is found in having the initial geometry, and the initial geometry is often flat! Therefore, in today's market of arms made by machine tools, having a lenticular edge is a rarity from the get-go. This in turn means the end user must spend a great amount of time honing this edge, often grinding against some very tough steel in the process. Up against those odds, just following the original edge grind seems like a safer and easier bet.

2. Conversely, once the appleseed edge is present on the weapon, sharpening is not that difficult. Continuously varying the sharpening angle within appropriate limits is quite easy: make long passes at consistent angles, and vary the angle between passes as is necessary to follow the curvature of the edge. All of this can be done by feel. Certainly, planar edges can also be done by feel as well, though I cannot comment on how scientifically effective those edges are. Appleseed edges eliminate a large degree of the numeric quandary by allowing a comparatively broad edge base to transition to an incredibly fine edge, while also having very few of the durability issues associated with fine edges.

...We use cold chisels at work, and I always put an appleseed edge on those. The only problem comes in when someone who doesn't know how to sharpen a chisel comes in and puts a crude planar edge on them. They are in fact incredibly easy to sharpen on a pedestal grinder if you just follow the existing geometry back to the original point - no angles needed! Granted, you will not fit many swords or knives against such a grinder with any easy whatsoever, but the point remains the same.

[Mikko Kuusirati]

On the other hand, if you use hand tools it's quite hard to avoid developing a convex bevel over time, regardless.

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Jeremy V. Krause]

I got it done.

It really was pretty easy as it was pretty close to sharp enough for me.

Thanks everyone, for your help!