karambitsandhawkbills

Karambits and Hawkbills

While I don't make a lot of Karambits, I do make some hawkbills, and they
are roughly the same grind type.

Karambits will have a more extreme slope than most hawkbills, so you will
have to adjust for this.

You'll start off like any other knife. Profile the blade, smooth it up, and
scribe your edge lines. To mark the bevel line, I use a template that I made
with a protractor (the same kind you can get at Wal-Mart for around 1$ or
so).   Once you have the bevel marked, the fun begins.

Assuming you've already ground in your bevel guide lines (45 degree angle
leaving a tiny bit more than your bevel lines), you'll want to start.

I will preface this by saying that I don't typically hollow grind hawkbills,
because they have a tendency to get very thin and thus, weak. But if I'm
using 3/16 steel or thicker, I may chance it.

The goal is to have a bevel that matches the blade shape.

Above is the template and the profiled steel. I draw in the bevels on my
templates for a reference. Notice how the grind is not a straight grind, but it
follows the blade shape.

I start off on the 10 inch contact wheel regardless of whether or not it will be
hollow ground.   Only grind up about 2/3 of the way to your bevel line. I
start at level toward the ricasso.

To get the shape correct, you will need to tilt the blade downward (as if you
are pulling the hilt down), but be sure to maintain the angle or you'll get an
uneven grind.

Pulling downward consistently, you'll reach the tip. The severity of your
downward pull will dictate the amount you leave towards the tip. I try to
stay fairly consistent as it creates a more uniform grind.

There is very little room for correction with a curved blade like this, so
expect to have to practice a bit.

To double grind, I use the right hand and don't switch sides. I do this with
most blades, as I will grind edge up and edge down on blades.

Be sure to maintain consistency just as you did on the edge down side. Pull
upward at the same angle which you pulled down on the other side.
Everything is reversed when grinding the opposite side.

If you are hollow grinding the blade, this is the process you'll use throughout,
until you get the desired edge thickness you want before heat-treat.

If you do what I do, then you will be using the hollow grind as your guide
until you get to the flat grinding portion.

After I have the blade down to about 2/3 of the way towards the bevel lines
and about 2/3 of the way to my edge lines, I move to the flat grinding.

I use a 4X36 grinder for most of my flats. Of note: I added a 4X12 ceramic
platen to insure a precise flat grinding surface.

As shown above, you will follow the same grinding pattern as you did
previously.   DO NOT use the entire portion of the flat surface. If you lay
the blade flat, you'll end up with a dead straight across grind.

I adjust the tracking to let the belt hang over the platen edge by about 1/4 of
an inch, and I use the edge to grind the flat grind on this.

Grinding heavily curved blades such as this require practice and patience.
Start off with a small one, and progress from there.