Sharpening choil

It's a little hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like the plunge terminates juuust before the sharpened edge, so that would be a close but no cigar for me. If he had tightened up the plunge just a tad it would have been perfect.

Does this help?

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Okay, but you were also right on the money on the substance.
The only thing about free hand sharpening is you won't get as perfect edge as you can get if you sharpen on guided system
and you don't know at what angle are you sharpening.
One of things I like about free hand sharpening is simplicity. There's no preparation, at least not in my case. I sharpen on diamonds so no sink, water, stone holders, etc. Mostly I just grab my folding sharpener.
OK, I didn't throw away my guiding systems but there's some sort of a magic in free hand sharpening.
 
Thanks for sharing this. I honestly never minded a sharpening choil before as I never had any issues yet. I like how the choil gives me an index when sharping on my Lansky V-sticks or the worksharp.

But it’s interesting to learn more about this.
 
I had a problem with Spartan Harsey Folders not having a sharpening choil. That thought changed when I finally got a SHF in my hand. Now I actually think the designer made a wiser choice there.
 
Crag the Brewer Crag the Brewer any correctly executed knife feature is as sensible as owner's desire to have it. Choils are senseless on my own user knives because I don't need them. But not everyone has quick and easy command over the shape of their blade profile by having a knife making shop.

DocJekl DocJekl if I owned that ember, I'd be so tempted regrind that plunge and sharpen right back to it. Not because my way is "better", just because that's how I like it. But I definitely acknowledge Josh's choice to shape it like that is brilliant.

I am known to make knives without choils, that are sharpened right to the plunge. I also have many models that don't need a choil because the sharped heel has no obstructions, like the EDChef for example. But on a model not like the latter, if anyone were to ask me for a sharpening choil, I would make it for them. I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened in the past four years I've been doing this for a living.
 
I have knives with and without a sharpening choil and to be honest I don’t really have a preference. With that said my current EDC, a Mnandi, has a choil and it is such that it doesn’t snag on anything when cutting.
 
Kizer Magara, a longish blade of about 4 3/4" from the nearest point of the scales to the tip, I ground the choil area to be more ramp like. The blade arrived fairly sharp and for being a thicker blade at the spine, it is ground down fairly thin and cuts well.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

and it's pointy too ;)

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2
 
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