# Fixing a broken tip



## carboonrider (Oct 16, 2014)

After 12 years owning using and sharpening japanese knives the unthinkable happened - I managed accidently to break a knife tip. It's a Susin Aoko (#2 probably) Funayuki somewhat customised to my requirement and i really like this knife so I'd really want to save it. I tried thining the bevel (with more pressure on the tip) on a Shapton 220 as well as grinding the spine near the tip in an attempt to make it rounder. Results - minor improvement, bleeding fingers and probably more stone the steel ground.

Now, the main issue is that I currently live is Israel (I split my life between the UK and Israel). I am not aware of anyone whom I can trust regrinding such knife here.
Of course, I can try purchasing a good quality very coarse diamond stone and continue my effort, however, given the progress I made so far this seems rather futile.
Option number 2 is sending it to a sharpening specialist in the US who can also repair the knife. if there is one amongst the listed vendors here I am open to recommendations.
Last option, is try and contact Mr Aoki from Suisin and see if they can do the job (maybe the best if i can explain myself?).

Any suggestion?

BTW: I have tried inserting a picture of the broken tip and failed. Not sure what am I doing wrong so it's in the link.

https://plus.google.com/photos/1138...6070754045857860418&oid=113883058986011698552


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## CoqaVin (Oct 16, 2014)

I did the same thing and asked for help, if you don't really have a coarse stone, use a cinder block or sidewalk and grind from the spine to reform the tip, works good in my experience


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## DaninMD (Oct 16, 2014)

i cant open the image either. I recently purchased a no-name yanigaba from ebay and got it super cheap since it had a broken tip. It wasnt that bad to fix honestly, but it does take some time. To cut down on time i did the rough re-shaping and spine work on 100 grit wet/dry sandpaper...from there i finished it up with low grit stones and eventually got it looking good. Probably took an hour or so to re-shape the tip and the of course the entire knife needed to be resharpened. it can be done and its not hard but it takes a while. I would think any of the vendors on here that offering sharpening could handle fixing the tip. 

How much of the tip broke off?? that is going to determine how long its going to take.

i would not start with stones. you are going to waste a lot of stone. wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of granite is the cheapest option.


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## ThEoRy (Oct 16, 2014)

carboonrider said:


> After 12 years owning using and sharpening japanese knives the unthinkable happened - I managed accidently to break a knife tip. It's a Susin Aoko (#2 probably) Funayuki somewhat customised to my requirement and i really like this knife so I'd really want to save it. I tried thining the bevel (with more pressure on the tip) on a Shapton 220 as well as grinding the spine near the tip in an attempt to make it rounder. Results - minor improvement, bleeding fingers and probably more stone the steel ground.
> 
> Now, the main issue is that I currently live is Israel (I split my life between the UK and Israel). I am not aware of anyone whom I can trust regrinding such knife here.
> Of course, I can try purchasing a good quality very coarse diamond stone and continue my effort, however, given the progress I made so far this seems rather futile.
> ...




http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/19215-Fixing-a-chipped-tip?highlight=fixing+tip


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## dough (Oct 17, 2014)

ya that shapton is smooth for a rough stone and not the best tool for the job. its really not a hard job though as long as like you said you are removing more metal then stone. 
id encourage you to just get a diamond plate. its a useful tool for anyone that sharpens particularly if you have few alternatives for sending it to people that you trust to do the work. also you should always go from the spine to the edge or you will change the shape of your edge.


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## CompE (Oct 17, 2014)

As everyone else has said, you need to grind the spine down to form a new tip. Grinding away on a stone can gouge it and it can pop diamonds off of a plate. For my money I'd use a cinder block or coarse sandpaper to do the majority of the work, then buff the scratches with finer sandpaper and/or stones.


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## Asteger (Oct 17, 2014)

carboonrider said:


> After 12 years owning using and sharpening japanese knives the unthinkable happened



12 years??! Usually takes me 12 days, if that!


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## carboonrider (Oct 19, 2014)

Asteger said:


> 12 years??! Usually takes me 12 days, if that!



LOL

Anyway, thank you all for the tips and advices. In the end, I was able to fix the tip quite easily using a tiny grinding stone on power drill (stationary on a stand). Sadly, I needed to thin the bevel around the tip and in the process I nicked about an intch of the edge. Having grown tired of fixing one thing and damaging another I am going to send to send the knife either to Suisin if they agree or to an expert sharpener hoping that the knife can be saved.


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## DaninMD (Oct 20, 2014)

carboonrider said:


> LOL
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for the tips and advices. In the end, I was able to fix the tip quite easily using a tiny grinding stone on power drill (stationary on a stand). Sadly, I needed to thin the bevel around the tip and in the process I nicked about an intch of the edge. Having grown tired of fixing one thing and damaging another I am going to send to send the knife either to Suisin if they agree or to an expert sharpener hoping that the knife can be saved.



well i dont think anyone recommended using a power drill to fix the knife :biggrin: 
bad things can happen when using power equipment spinning at very fast speeds near thin metal...as you found out. this assuming it was the drill of course, which im not sure how else you could do it. No shortcuts!


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## carboonrider (Oct 21, 2014)

DaninMD said:


> well i dont think anyone recommended using a power drill to fix the knife :biggrin:
> bad things can happen when using power equipment spinning at very fast speeds near thin metal...as you found out. this assuming it was the drill of course, which im not sure how else you could do it. No shortcuts!



Actually the part with power drill went absolutely fine.

Is thining the bevel of the very tip on a coarse stone that went wrong


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## DaninMD (Oct 21, 2014)

oh, did you maybe push down to hard and break of the tip again?


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## carboonrider (Oct 22, 2014)

No, the tip needed more thining than the rest of the knife. So about 2 - 3 cm befine the tip became too thin and chipped. I already spoke with Tatsuya san from Suisin (I own three suisin knives and we have had lots of emails coming and going in the past). They will regrind the knife for free and all I have to pay is the shipping cost.

Only thing is - I was planning to go over all my knives (which is quite allot - more than I can use and maintain regularly) and make sure they are properly sharp and thinned; now I got a case of cold feet


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## DaninMD (Oct 22, 2014)

sounds like a freak accident and maybe a weak point in the steel. i have sharpened a lot of knives and never had that happen. great news about them fixing it for free though, cant beat that customer service!

i wouldnt worry about your other knives, get to sharpening!


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