Reprofiling (term): am I using it correctly?

I've been using the word "reprofiling" lately and realized that I'm not entirely sure I've been using it correctly. I heard it from a relative who is a butcher and farrier, but not a bladesmith or knife professional. I am referring to changing the shape of the edge from heel to tip, e.g. bringing up the belly, repairing a recurve, making a certain portion of the edge sit flat on the board, and so on. Is this a word that is used in the knife world and am I using it properly in terms of these alterations?

Thanks

i understand it the same way you do, but i have also seen some people using the term for what most people call thinning.

Yes, edge shape is profile. The other axis is geometry (blade thickness, convexity, etc).

I believe that the term can be used for both changing the geometry of the face of the knife along with the actual shape of the edge (increasing or decreasing the belly or changing the shape of the spine.) repairing the tip by lowering the spine is reprofiling in my opinion.

berko said:

i understand it the same way you do, but i have also seen some people using the term for what most people call thinning.

Click to expand...

I belong to a few outdoor knife forums and the term, as you said, is often used for what we refer to as thinning here. A lot of youtube videos in the same realm use reprofiling to refer to thinning as well. To the same end, what is called primary vs secondary seems to be reversed at a lot of different sites as well. Terms can get confusing if one does not specify what they mean when moving from one forum to the next. It drove me batty for quite some time as I never knew who was referring to what, lol.

Cool, thanks.

I'm looking to get a coarser stone for reprofiling and thinning/low angle sharpening/geometry alteration. I got the medium and fine stones to maintain my new knives, but now it's looking like I could use something like a 300-500 grit for the above tasks and repairs. Any recommendations, and should this be a new thread?

Chosera 400 or shampton 320! 😊