Here’s a closer look - note I’ve left the center of the blade at the original material thickness - we’ll be needing that thickness shortly.


Here I’m marking in the centerline of the edge portion of the blade. This will provide a reference for how deep we’ll be grinding in the flake scars, so we can keep the edge reasonably straight and centered. I first darken in the edge with a Sharpie permanent felt tip marker (dark colors only). Then, I select a diamond burr size that is nearest to half the blade blank thickness (other types of grinding/sanding burrs will work as well). I lay the blade blank on a flat surface and then draw the burr along the edge. This will scrape away part of the Sharpie marker color, leaving a bright mark. Flipping the blade end-for-end I repeat this, leaving two closely spaced parallel bright lines. The center of the edge is halfway between these two marks. Repeat for the other side. This is a quick and dirty method of center marking the edge, and works surprisingly well.