Enlan EL-01. Outstanding knife

Thanks for the links Vectrex. Just got one from Exduct.

As Vectrex said I did the opposite of hollow grinding, the edge instead of a perfect V is now like a gothic arch.

Since I just convexed the edge not the full height of the blade and because I did it by hand with sandpaper and leather heat was not a issue.

I could have used the belt sander, in that case all that was needed to not ruin the heat treat is to mantain the blade cool while grinding, it is important to not use gloves so that you can feel the heat, and dunk the blade in water every couple passages on the belt. Also is important to notice that because the edge is much thinner than the back of the blade it will heat much faster.

The method I used is similar to this one:

Thoth , Great mod !

I convex all of my blades except my Moras .

So this is called convexing? I usually put a sanding paper disc on my Dremel and use this to convex my edges. Hand must be trained a little to keep the angle on that little machine but it is easily doable. Don't think I am doing it on a $100-200 blade, though.

I think I'll try that. What (speed) level do you use on the Dremel? Slowish, I suppose?

Can't remember the speed but slowish, 2nd or the 3rd setting on the lower end.

I'm sure they'd love to. :) Trouble is Ernest Emerson was smart enough to patent what is, in hindsight, a very simple, straightforward idea. He (or his patent lawyer) just made it seem like the best invention since the microbrewery, while sticking to the legal basics which is one reason why the patent is still valid.

See for yourself. I guess that's the main reason you don't see wave-style hooks on a lot of knives, even 12 years after he filed the patent. And I think that's a shame because it's a great feature. Most legitimate knife makers simply don't want to be sued.

My old Commander is still a favorite of mine and I really want one of those waved Enduras. I just don't want it bad enough to pay 65 bucks for one. ;)

I can't imagine a U.S. patent stopping a Chinese company from make waved knives, considering these companies make axis locks, spyderholes, and "inspired" designs.

Yes, what s.c. said. Same goes for Michael Walker's linerlock, for that matter. While I sympathize with the patent holder, the fact is such designs get copied mercilessly - especially by the Chinese. Heck, I have a copy of the Emerson Commander from DX - the manufacturer not only copied the wave feature, but the entire knife and packaging. SRM may be in a slightly different position, being an OEM supplier to various US companies, and is therefore held to a higher standard of conduct. But the knives we have been buying seem to be intended for the Chinese market anyway, which might insulate them from some criticism.

I was just putting myself in the place of a savvy Chinese project manager when I saw that nice, tall thumbrest on the EL01.

This'll probably be my next budget knife, after the postal strike around here is dealt with. Haven't owned any Enlan blades yet. Thoth, what did you grind with?

Postal strike in Canada is no big deal. Its a rotating strike in different cities, then it will only deliver on M-W-F. I ordered some knives a few weeks ago, and they were both delivered to me fine yesterday.

Perhaps, but it's an exceptional excuse to keep me from spending money as well.

Since this was a small job I did it by hand with sandpaper and leather.

First I started by sanding the shoulder between the primary and secondary bevel with 400, I did this using a piece of thick leather as a backing to the sandpaper. The give of the leather behind the sandpaper naturaly creates the convex curve in the edge. Some people use a foam mouse pad instead of leather, but I find that the foam is to soft and the end result is a deep convex, stronger but with inferior cutting performance, good for big choppers and less appropriate to a folding knife.

Then I repeated the process with 600, 800 and 1000 sandpapers.

In the end I stropped in leather with coarser polishing compound then finally with fine polishing compound.

The hole process took aprox. 30 minutes.

That is a good method, Thoth. I sharpen my Khukri's the same way, but use the mousepad method. Like you said, it's good for big choppers.

Would it be quicker, and perhaps more precise, to use a sharpening system like a Gatco to file a shallower fixed angle at first, to remove the shoulder, and then go to leather/sandpaper to finish the convex? Or are you counting on the compliance of the leather for the entire process to get the correct curvature? Was just wondering about my ability to accurately free-hand for the entire procedure.

I assume that you could use that system, but I dont think that it would be faster, since each stage with the sandpaper wont take more than 5 minutes, plus as you pointed out I count on the compliance of the leather for the entire process to get the correct curvature.

In my experience leather (3 or 4 mm thick) has the right amount of resistence to give a optimal curvature, without having to be very carefull with the pressure applied in the process. You could achieve the same result using a mousepad, but because it is softer one must take care not to apply much pressure, or the result will be a deeper convex and you can easily round the tip of the edge.

If you never tryed it before and dont want to risk the new knife, train on a old knife even a kitchen knife will do. If you start with 600 or 800 sandpaper the process will be slow enough so that you can observe and correct any mistake.

This process seems to be more complicated when reading it, than it really is in practice.

Watch the video that I embeded earlier in this thread and you will have a very good understanding of the procedure, the guy even uses a small microscope to show macros of the edge.

Thoth, thanks. I'll have a go at it with one of my larger, less coveted blades. One trick I use with my conventional file sharpening system is to paint the edge with a black marker to help establish the correct file angle. This might also be useful as a visual aid for gauging the progress of a convex edge.

Yes you can certainly do that.

I find the sharpening one of the most interesting aspects of owning knives, it's a very rewarding feeling when one master the different techniques.

I'm struggling to open the Pdf diagram of the axis lock patent to compare it to the SRM one, do you need to subscribe ?

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5755035/fulltext.html

Just got mine. Wow. Fit and finish are as good as any SRM/LAND/Bee knife I've gotten recently. Great value.