# Reground, Reprofiled Richmond Ultimatum in M390



## tk59

I reground and reprofiled this knife for a fellow forum member who couldn't bear to use it in the form he received it. When I got it, it was warped, overground toward the tip, underground toward the heel, thick behind the edge, with a handle that was too small for the blade and generally a POS to use. Hopefully, it's a little better now that it's been on a diet, lost a few mm at the tip and the heel and reground to compensate somewhat for warpage. It's still not perfect and I overground the heel a touch. Regardless, he's requested feedback on the blade, in general so I'm taking requests to be included in a short passaround. It's about 235 mm on the edge and 45 mm tall at the heel and heavily right-hand biased. If you're a regular (6 mo 200 posts and I recognize your handle) and you're interested, reply to this post.


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## Mrmnms

I'm in for a 390. Curious why he didn't send it back.


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## tk59

Mrmnms said:


> I'm in for a 390. Curious why he didn't send it back.


He thought he might try fixing it and things weren't working to his liking. Are you a homecook or a pro? That makes two for the passaround so far. I'll take a few more.


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## cheflarge

Don't have enough post's, however, I would still be interestedl


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## Mrmnms

Former pro, now home. Cheflarge has taken excellent care of several of my knives. He's a pro for sure. You want me to leave the knife as is and just use it, no problem. Have done 390 as well


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## tk59

Sounds good. You're both in. That makes three.


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## cheflarge

Thanks Mike.


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## brainsausage

I kinda curious, count me in. Btw- any before and afters?


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## tk59

I don't believe I have before pics but I'll check. At the time I took this up, I thought it would be a private interaction. That makes four.


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## tk59

Here's the order: mhlee, Mrmnms, cheflarge, and brainsausage. The knife is currently with mhlee.


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## Miles

TK, if the list is still open, I'd really love to check it out and see what you've done with it. I'd especially like to be able to compare it side by side with one belonging to a chef buddy. His is axe-like.


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## mhlee

This knife will be going out by early next week. I just have a few more tasks I want to try with it.


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## tk59

Miles said:


> TK, if the list is still open, I'd really love to check it out and see what you've done with it. I'd especially like to be able to compare it side by side with one belonging to a chef buddy. His is axe-like.


Sure thing. I guess you'll be after brainsausage. Geographically, it might work a little quicker to go to Michigan, Maine, Long Island then Texas... Mike, if you haven't already shipped, maybe we can switch this around some? Otherwise, no biggie.


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## mhlee

tk59 said:


> Sure thing. I guess you'll be after brainsausage. Geographically, it might work a little quicker to go to Michigan, Maine, Long Island then Texas... Mike, if you haven't already shipped, maybe we can switch this around some? Otherwise, no biggie.



I bought some stuff to cut today so it'll go out on Monday. Just tell me where you want it to go and I'll send it there.


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## Dave Martell

Tinh, did you do all the work by hand/stone or have you gone down the grinder hole?


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## Miles

tk59 said:


> Sure thing. I guess you'll be after brainsausage. Geographically, it might work a little quicker to go to Michigan, Maine, Long Island then Texas... Mike, if you haven't already shipped, maybe we can switch this around some? Otherwise, no biggie.



Thanks!


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## tk59

Dave Martell said:


> Tinh, did you do all the work by hand/stone or have you gone down the grinder hole?


I've had one of those little cheapie grinders for a couple of years now and ground six knives from blanks on it, in total. After grinding a 330 mm suji on it, I've decided I'm either retiring from doing major grinding jobs or getting a bigger grinder. At this point, retiring is winning, lol. That's a lot of work, not to mentions it's dirty, uncomfortable, too... That said, I'll probably still get a bigger grinder once the kids figure out I'm not the coolest person on the planet. 

@Miles: You're welcome.


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## Dave Martell

tk59 said:


> I've had one of those little cheapie grinders for a couple of years now and ground six knives from blanks on it, in total. After grinding a 330 mm suji on it, I've decided I'm either retiring from doing major grinding jobs or getting a bigger grinder. At this point, retiring is winning, lol. That's a lot of work, not to mentions it's dirty, uncomfortable, too... That said, I'll probably still get a bigger grinder once the kids figure out I'm not the coolest person on the planet.




I can only imagine, yeah you'll have to go one way or the other, LOL.


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## Mrmnms

I've sharpened and thinned this model knife before. They were nothing like this. The improvement is huge. It is nothing like stock and a great improvement. I used it on a large variety of fruits, veggies and protein, comparing against some pretty nice knives, it held it's own for sure. Super hard steel and this was extremely well refined by Mr Tk59. I will use what he as a reference for future challenges.


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## cheflarge

I now have possesion of the M390. I will put it through the paces at work this week. Am very interested to compare to the other Richmonds I have in my kit.


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## Lefty

I don't think this ever happened....


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## cheflarge

Hmmmm........ Then whose M390 do I have?


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## toddnmd

cheflarge said:


> Hmmmm........ Then whose M390 do I have?



"Pics or it didn't happen . . . "


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## cheflarge

TK59... you out there?


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## cheflarge

WOW, WOW, WOW, this thing cuts like a dream. Almost seems as though TK59 did a convex/concave type of grind on this beast. Edge retention, balance and overall performance are WAAAAAYYY above par (compared to the Richmonds I have). If CKTG could profile this knife like this OOTB, they would really have something. Increcible job TK59.


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## cheflarge

:razz::razz::razz::razz::razz::razz::razz::razz:
















[


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## cheflarge

On it's way to Brain Sausage, as this is typed.


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## brainsausage

The eagle has landed.


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## brainsausage

I apologize for dragging my heels on this. I need the addy of whoevers next. It was miles I think? I don't know if the rotation got switched or not.


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## Miles

Cool! Almost forgot about this one. lol. Should be fun!


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## quantumcloud509

Can I get in on the tail end of this passaround please guys?


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## pkjames

Hi tk, great work! i have a m390 guyto coming my way, but I doubt the grind will be perfect for my liking. How do you reprofile the grind? Stone or belt?

James


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## Miles

Landed in TX. Will give it a good workout. Very nice grind. Much improved over the factory grind.


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## labor of love

anybody care to comment on how well it sharpens up? how is the edge retention?


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## Miles

Finally had a chance to take it to the stones. No problems. Sharpened up nicely. Did note some very minor fine microchipping prior to hitting the stones. If it came with the kind of grind it has now, I would be very tempted to buy one.


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## Miles

Will give it a good workout and report back.


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## brainsausage

I put it through its paces, not surprised by the microchipping. Never sharpened it. Held its edge reasonably well. Tinh put an excellent grind on this knife. Very similar to my Shig. If it weighed a good 70-80 grams more, and was 5-6mm taller, it'd be a great knife IMO. Never handled it without tinh's mods, but it screams crappy ITK ripoff to me(without the mods).


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## Miles

My buddy has one which he referred to as a hatchet. It's pretty accurate.


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## Salty dog

My Mario Makeover started as an Ultimatum. Night and day before and after. The steel seems pretty good. It sees a lot of use.


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## tk59

pkjames said:


> Hi tk, great work! i have a m390 guyto coming my way, but I doubt the grind will be perfect for my liking. How do you reprofile the grind? Stone or belt?
> 
> James


 I did almost everything on a belt-grinder. I did use a stone periodically to evaluate the grind, keep track of any warping issues, and to get the edge profile smooth.


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## tk59

This passaround has concluded and I wanted to say thanks to the folks who handled the knife. It's in fantastic shape, all things considered.


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