Finishing on a steel

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theflyingplatypus

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Oct 13, 2010
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How many of you guys finish your sharpening session on a steel? I just finished sharpening a tanto (modern) and decided to try something different and finished on a steel after the plain leather strop (waiting on my DMT comound). The sequence was very simple: course DMT diamond till bur, leather strop, steel. I found that the steel gave my edge that extra "pop". Opinions/experiences?

Kaleb
 
If it works, I have no reason to criticize it.

I don't use a steel myself; I finish with stropping on oak, balsa or leather (or a combination of these, all with compound). But, I am a believer that everybody can find a method or routine that fits their needs, and meshes well with their own skills. :thumbup:

I will add, sometimes when I'm looking for that special 'pop' or 'bite' on an edge, I'll make a few passes on medium-grit ceramic rods. This accomplishes essentially the same objective for me.
 
I would expect that sequence to leave you with an edge that is structurally weak, but is very aggressive for slicing or slashing. I would expect you to have remnants of your original burr left behind, but nicely groomed and aligned by your stropping and steeling. If you cut tough materials I would expect the edge to break down quicker than usual. This might be a great method for a butcher knife or a skinning knife, but less ideal for bush knife or whittler.
 
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I have, usually out of a frustrated " let me try, maybe this will work" move. I then nodded and said, "Hmmm, it did !" BUT, now years later I think it was a feel by comparison issue. Could have been the work I did sharpening left a burr that the steel then removed OR I never reached the apex and the steel finally did. I dunno.
These days, I use the steps I have learned work every time :
- raise the burr
- refine the edge
- Remove the burr
- Further refinement of the edge by stropping
- Ahhh

I will say though, I have finished a sharpening session with a couple light passes on the white stones of a Sharpmaker and achieved that final "Pop" you alluded to so, as was said - If it works.........:)
 
Maybe I should also clarify that the steel used was a hardened polished steel, therefore not removing any metal at all but instead burnishing. I hope none of you guys thought I was using one of those "sharpening" steels.

Kaleb
 
Sharpening steels are not all the same in my experience. There are the polished/smooth ones, and then there are the fluted file like ones. One removes metal the other does not.

Kaleb
 
I use the sides of a large ceramic knife blade for a finishing steel. The material is as smooth as glass and as hard as a rock.
 
They both remove metal.

A steel with grooves or grooves steel is a force multiplier, each ridge focuses pressure making the process of deformation work faster and with less force. A grooves steel is not designed to be a "file" but it does look like one.
 
So you are telling me that the highly polished hardened steel removes metal? I have never heard that before. Is it because nothing is truly smooth? How about a glass bottle, would that burnish an edge? Maybe it won't because it is made of silica.

Kaleb
 
theflyingplatypus said:
So you are telling me that the highly polished hardened steel removes metal?

Kaleb
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A quick way to find out what your steel is doing - assuming your knife has fairly sharp corners on the spine, give it three or four passes with the steel of your choice and see how much metal is taken off.
 
HeavyHanded said:
A quick way to find out what your steel is doing - assuming your knife has fairly sharp corners on the spine, give it three or four passes with the steel of your choice and see how much metal is taken off.
Click to expand...

^That.

Moisten a white paper towel or tissue/rag, and wipe the steel after a few passes of the blade. If any metal is coming off the blade, it won't be able to hide on the damp white tissue. Some 'steels' won't remove as much metal as others. But, if the steel is even a tiny bit harder than the blade, it'll remove metal, no matter how smooth the steel is.
 
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Very interesting, I guess when you really think about it every material/surface is abrasive because nothing is truly smooth. I examined my edge before and after the steel with my stereoscope and it was quite apparent that after the steel it looked slightly burnished, but still had quite a bit of tooth to it. I did find that the edge "broke down" pretty quickly as Jeff Clark alluded too. I will redo my edge with the fine DMT that is coming on Wednesday and then hit it with the steel and see what happens. If I see no noticeable improvement I will abandon its use, but I am still curious to see if it offers something extra over the strop (which I will not abandon).

Kaleb
 
theflyingplatypus said:
Very interesting, I guess when you really think about it every material/surface is abrasive because nothing is truly smooth. I examined my edge before and after the steel with my stereoscope and it was quite apparent that after the steel it looked slightly burnished, but still had quite a bit of tooth to it. I did find that the edge "broke down" pretty quickly as Jeff Clark alluded too. I will redo my edge with the fine DMT that is coming on Wednesday and then hit it with the steel and see what happens. If I see no noticeable improvement I will abandon its use, but I am still curious to see if it offers something extra over the strop (which I will not abandon).

Kaleb
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Not to be a dick but first of all if it works for you, then that's awesome and just go on doing it. Second of all, with all the crazy darksiders trying out anything and everything, it's highly unlikely that you've discovered something that works better than what current consensus deems best.
 
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