I have seen a few YouTube video's on this product and the demonstration of their use. I have yet to hear anybody mention the burr? I do own a fine/extra fine plate that works wonderfully on a old 440a kitchen knife but have to admit I don't worry about a Burr on that knife.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
DMT Duo or Disharp Diamond Plates and the 'Burr'?
- Thread starter Rhodies
- Start date
Well the burr is, as I said, a positive indicator that you've apexed an edge. That doesn't mean you can't perfectly apex an edge without the burr. It's just something that many sharpeners look for and use. I'm of the opinion that just about everyone should start by learning exactly how to produce a nice full length burr on both sides and then remove it.
But there are other sharpeners who are quite good that advocate switching sides often and never forming a burr on purpose at all. Cliff Stamp advocates "no burr" sharpening and uses reflected light from the edge (apex) as an indicator of progression. Murray Carter never mentions the burr at all in any of his instructional videos (that I'm aware of) and instead advocates using the 3 finger test of sharpness to judge when you are done.
I've done Stamp style "no burr" sharpening and produced really good results. But I've only played with it and not used it on a regular basis.
As long as you fully apex the edge and end up with an edge that is of equal sharpness along it's entire length, and is durable (not a false sharp edge), it kinda doesn't matter how you get there.
Why don't the youtube videos you've watched mention it? Maybe the sharpeners are very good at the no burr technique. Maybe they have room for improvement and don't know it? I can't be sure. I just know what the burr means, and I think I know what a truly sharp edge is.
You might use some cut tests as an indicator for yourself. Does the edge "stick" when you lightly run it over the flat top of your thumbnail? Will it cleanly slice phonebook paper? How about push cuts in phonebook? Etc.
If I haven't touched what you're after, please ask more questions.
Good luck to you.
Brian.
But there are other sharpeners who are quite good that advocate switching sides often and never forming a burr on purpose at all. Cliff Stamp advocates "no burr" sharpening and uses reflected light from the edge (apex) as an indicator of progression. Murray Carter never mentions the burr at all in any of his instructional videos (that I'm aware of) and instead advocates using the 3 finger test of sharpness to judge when you are done.
I've done Stamp style "no burr" sharpening and produced really good results. But I've only played with it and not used it on a regular basis.
As long as you fully apex the edge and end up with an edge that is of equal sharpness along it's entire length, and is durable (not a false sharp edge), it kinda doesn't matter how you get there.
Why don't the youtube videos you've watched mention it? Maybe the sharpeners are very good at the no burr technique. Maybe they have room for improvement and don't know it? I can't be sure. I just know what the burr means, and I think I know what a truly sharp edge is.
You might use some cut tests as an indicator for yourself. Does the edge "stick" when you lightly run it over the flat top of your thumbnail? Will it cleanly slice phonebook paper? How about push cuts in phonebook? Etc.
If I haven't touched what you're after, please ask more questions.
Good luck to you.
Brian.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,433
If the finishing touches are appropriately light for a diamond hone, it can minimize how much burr is formed in the first place. Diamond cuts the steel much more cleanly, which means there's less tendency for the fine, thin steel at the apex to deflect away from the hone (burring, in other words).
The combination of appropriately light pressure and the diamond's ability to cleanly cut the steel all mean less burring issues in the end. So, if the YouTube posters have a good touch, they may not be inducing much burr and therefore may not feel the need to emphasize it as much. If pressure is very heavy on a diamond plate, the hard steel & nickel backing under the abrasive is what will cause the apex to deflect away from the hone. Minimize pressure to avoid that, so the abrasive itself will do all it needs to do without the burring. The hone itself will be better off for it, as well. They last longer and work better if used with light pressure.
Many modern 'supersteels' also won't burr much anyway, instead just breaking or crumbling away from the apex when it gets thinned enough. That may influence how much the burr is emphasized (or not) in those videos too, depending on what steels they're sharpening.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,844
I've found that diamond hones work best with light pressure.