Breaking the Edge?

R

Robert Ptacek

Joined
Oct 8, 2013
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308
No,not the knife edge.Does anyone take a coarse stone to the edges of a brand new oilstone to soften them before first use?Purpose is to remove any coarse edge before initial use or am I overthinking again.I've never done it before but I thought I read of someone mentioning it.
 
Robert Ptacek said:
No,not the knife edge.Does anyone take a coarse stone to the edges of a brand new oilstone to soften them before first use?Purpose is to remove any coarse edge before initial use or am I overthinking again.I've never done it before but I thought I read of someone mentioning it.
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Never heard of it, but I can see the utility of it especially with a synthetic cast stone.
 
I do it to most of mine, UNLESS the edges of the new stone are particularly clean & free of bumps or chips. I don't like finding those bumps with my knife edge while I'm sharpening - it'll ding the edge in an instant. I use a coarse SiC stone in just a very light pass or two along the stone's edges, to do this. Some new stones also tend to be a little dished when new, with the edges upturned above the plane of the central portion. I do the same thing to those upturned edges, at least, if not an additional bit of flattening as well. The upturned edges focus pressure against a very narrow segment of the blade's edge, and can roll it or chip it easily.

I've taken it a bit further with one of my pocket stones, a Norton Fine India. I radiused one edge to make it suitable for some blades with a little bit of recurve.
BSWIDUF.jpg
 
Its a normal practice with waterstones and can be used with any stone. Making a clean edge by rubbing with another stone or diamond plate helps to not only clean the edge but make it stronger. Chipping can happen from contact with other stones but more likely because of sharpening pressure, so cut all your stone edges at 45 degrees and you will have less worries.
 
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