Does honing with leather belts impact edge retention?

Joined
Aug 2, 2022
Messages
1,077
I sharpen on Tormek, but for various reasons I like to strop/hone on the Ken Onion Elite with leather belts. I use the lowest speed and a light touch, and it doesn't seem to heat up the blade, but there's that nagging doubt... Could it be heating up that last fraction of a millimeter and affecting the temper?

I aimed to find out by comparing two identical knives -- one stropped on the WSKO and the other on the Tormek using a felt wheel.

If you're interested, you can check out the test here:

 
Back
Top