Oops! Huge chip.

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AlbuquerqueDan
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Oops! Huge chip.

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

Well, I finally chipped my first knife. :? How would you guys go about repairing this (or should I just leave it alone - I love the profile of this knife and would rather not change it to much).
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

20180615_171740.jpg
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Jeff B »

Personally, if you really like the profile that much I'd just take it out a little at a time over the next few sharpenings unless it starts to get much worse. Then you might not have a choice.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Kalaeb »

Bummer.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Robstreperous »

Hard to tell how large the chip is. Can you show it along with something like a quarter or a dollar bill?

For instance if that's a petty it'll sharpen out easily. If it's a tall gyuto... It'll need a little more effort.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

Robstreperous wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:10 pm Hard to tell how large the chip is. Can you show it along with something like a quarter or a dollar bill?

For instance if that's a petty it'll sharpen out easily. If it's a tall gyuto... It'll need a little more effort.
A dollar bill?!? What am I made of money?
20180615_192710.jpg
Right now, I'm thinking I'll just let it be.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

Kalaeb wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:07 pmBummer.
Yep. And it's on my current favorite: a 245 Mazaki gyuto. Sad times indeed.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Kalaeb »

AlbuquerqueDan wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:29 pm
Robstreperous wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:10 pm Hard to tell how large the chip is. Can you show it along with something like a quarter or a dollar bill?

For instance if that's a petty it'll sharpen out easily. If it's a tall gyuto... It'll need a little more effort.
A dollar bill?!? What am I made of money?

20180615_192710.jpg

Right now, I'm thinking I'll just let it be.

Man, that just can't really be in a worse spot. I think you and Jeff are right...if it was me I would leave it be and sharpen as normal until it was gone.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Igalor »

That's not a big deal, I would let it be, it will come out after a few sharpenings.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Robstreperous »

Yeppp it happens. I'll go along with the consensus here. Leave it be --- It'll sharpen out.

Give it a sharpen this weekend. It'll make you feel better and relieve some of the damage.

Sorry it happened to you on your favorite.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

It's always best for economy of the knife to sharpen it out gradually, but I understand how some can't deal with using the knife with a chip and it annoys them.

BTW don't feel bad about that little bitty chip. You should see some of the stuff that comes into the office for chip repair.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 10:46 am It's always best for economy of the knife to sharpen it out gradually, but I understand how some can't deal with using the knife with a chip and it annoys them.

BTW don't feel bad about that little bitty chip. You should see some of the stuff that comes into the office for chip repair.
Thanks, Mark. I'm not too bent out of shape over it. Wish I hadn't done it, though, but spilled milk and all that...
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by ken123 »

Well if it was closer to the tip I would say take it off the top (you could do that), but that would loose some knife length. That would be the least amount of effort. I would grind it down to remove the chip with a coarse grit - 60 grit or so and then profile it back to the original shape or curvature. Grind it down perpendicular to the blade - this maintains the overall profile best. You will get a slightly skinnier, overall shape (pseudosujihiki? :) ). Reestablish a new edge and go from there.

I'm one of those people Mark refers to. Working with a chipped blade is like running a race with your shoelaces untied :) Just fix it and accept the loss. Better a fixed blade than a damaged finger.

I also hate the tracks a broken blade leaves when cutting food. Very second rate.

You can see this 'broken line' on this blade by looking at the mud lines generated on this Kouzaki aoto stone just to the right of the center line.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by ken123 »

One of the annoying problems with a chip on your blade is that it becomes a point of stress - it becomes the most likely place for more damage to occurr. Sometimes referred to as a stress riser. You see this with poorly placed plunge lines on knives. Fractures have a tendency to propagate into bigger breaks.

So if you just took it off the end of the blade you would probably have a 240 mm blade. Not too shabby :)

Also note that if you grind it down to the base of the chip you would need to 'blend the front of the blade into the rest of the blade so you wind up retouching the whole edge (more work). A bit similar to someone just washing one spot of your car :)

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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by ken123 »

Here's the 60 grit Nubatama stone, demonstrating tip repairs and recreating bevels and stone flattening. A big work saver.



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Ken
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Peter Nowlan »

I’m with Ken. Fix it.
Think of it as an opportunity. Sharpening knives is much more than just making a knife sharp, that’s often the easy part. Removing that chip is going to provide a lesson and it’s going to boost your confidence. You don’t need a 60 grit stone, although that does sound very cool but I recommend you make every effort to rectify the problem, you’ll pat yourself on the back. If it isn’t perfect, don’t worry about it. Failure is the greatest teacher. (I think Yoda said that somewhere)

(Now I’m
Going to check out that 60 grit stone)
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by PaulME »

I would go with fixing it, it’s not that big. Taking it off for from the back looks like it would take off maybe a cm of length maybe a bit less. Maybe heresy but I would take it off the blade and not do the entire blade concentrate on the tip and blend back over first probably inch or two. Yes this will change the profile of the tip slightly but I don’t think I would really notice.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by old onion »

My first Japanese Knife was the 210mm Yuki. I put a chip exactly like that in it while slicing and onion for dicing.No,the onion didn't put a chip in it,my finger put a chip in it.Anyhow,it turned out to be a very easy fix.Now I can't even tell that there was ever a chip.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by Robstreperous »

Hey Ken and Paul and Peter. Honestly you guys may be right with repairing it as the way to go....

I guess what I should have written was:

Run it through a full progression over the stones. By default that's going to minimize the depth of the chip. See how things look after that then he can make a more informed decision about whether it needs a repair.

Further, if it does need a repair his risk of altering the profile of the knife will be minimized -- at least a little.

The depth of Lincoln's head to the edge of a penny is 1/16" which in the photo is about where I'd put the depth of his chip.

I'd wager a guess running through a full progression starting with say a 300 he'd reduce the chp's depth by about half of that.
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Re: Oops! Huge chip.

Post by ken123 »

Peter - well stated! Understanding the philosophy behind the mechanics of sharpening is what gives us meaning to our work.

I had a malamute puppy who was annoyed with us for leaving her home when we went grocery shopping. To 'train us' she tore up a couch ripping the upolstery off the frame. Yea I was pissed off. My wife just said that it was time to redecorate :) When a knife gets damaged you need to think this way too. Knives have a life.

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Peter Nowlan wrote: Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:50 am I’m with Ken. Fix it.
Think of it as an opportunity. Sharpening knives is much more than just making a knife sharp, that’s often the easy part. Removing that chip is going to provide a lesson and it’s going to boost your confidence. You don’t need a 60 grit stone, although that does sound very cool but I recommend you make every effort to rectify the problem, you’ll pat yourself on the back. If it isn’t perfect, don’t worry about it. Failure is the greatest teacher. (I think Yoda said that somewhere)

(Now I’m
Going to check out that 60 grit stone)
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