Bolster re profiling

Some knives are designed with a bolster ( see "Anatomy of knife" post ). In order to straighten out a concave profile ( see main image ) you'll need to have the bolster re profiled and polished.

Fortunately here at Blade & Butler we adopt discretion to each individual knife, informed by decades of experience.

We'll re bolster your chef knife free of charge. It's all part of our knife sharpening service.

You'll see in the image below why it's important to have a bolster that is in line with the cutting edge. If it's not, it simply will not cut and dice correctly as intended.

We will not re profile bolsters on paring, boning, carving knives or filleting knives as blade profile at the bolster does not affect the performance/use of these types of knives.We do not see benefit in removing blade material unnecessarily in these instances. However, we are more than happy to take alternative direction if customers leave a comment at Checkout.

BEVEL FLARE AT THE BOLSTER JOINT

The thickness of some knives change as the blade nears the bolster due to their design and construction.This can result in the new sharpened bevel flaring as it nears or reaches the bolster. It can also blend slightly into the bolster depending on make or model of knife. See below.

In most cases this can be polished but due to the width of some knives such as paring, filleting or carving knives, the polishing process can affect the blade logo as the new polished surface is blended across the entirety of the blade.

There is always a compromise between aesthetics and blade performance in the sharpening process. As a company we err on the side of practicality over aesthetics. There may be slight bevel creep into the bolster but no more than our 2mm tolerance.

We are more than happy to take direction by leaving a comment at checkout to polish out the blade or administer an abrupt edge that stops short of the bolster. See below. However this finish leaves the bolster more protrusive and so we opt not to do this as standard, unless asked to.

Hollow Bolsters

99% of manufactured knives have solid steel bolsters.

Please note however that some budget knives have hollow bolsters to reduce manufacturing costs. It's not always possible to know which knives will have hollow bolsters.As bolster reduction is essential to create a straight cutting profile following the sharpening and re-bevelling process, in some instances this may result in a hole where the bolster has been reduced.

Customers accept that this is an unavoidable consequence following the servicing of budget/economy knives where the manufacturer has opted to keep the bolster hollow.