Fustration

[collioure]

OK...sharpening will bring joy when you run a knife you just sharpened along a tomato and is seamlessly cuts through it then you do the arm test and shave off the remaining hairs on your arm

I posted up a thread recently on how I was putting a 15 degree relief edge/ primary bevel on my global with a WSKO and then putting a 19 degree micro bevel with the WEP…starting on 1000 to 1200 to 1600 to leather.

Knife was brilliant, shaving sharp…put only after very little use it will no longer shave hair….which really p*sses my off…….the micro bevel is bloddy like a mirror so WTF…why is it loosing the razor edge so fast…..is it the steel is not good enough or is it my sharpening……. Stropped the hell out of it on the WEPS and ran the plastic edge tester along the edge and it was mega smooth.

 

[Squashfan]

Run your finger backwards across the edge. You are feeling for a burr, though you may not find one. Start at the heel of the blade and go all the way to the toe (tip). Then flip the knife over and try the other side. Why might you not find a burr? Well, if you failed to eliminate it, the knife will cut like crazy for 3 to 4 cuts. Then when the burr rolls or comes off, you have a dull knife. I am trying to deal with this myself. Unfortunately, It doesn't matter what the edge finish is. I have handled a mirror polished blades with giant burrs.

 

[awestib]

Another good test is cutting phone book paper a few more times, imho up to 10 times and suddenly you feel the knife to catch etc. as a proof of a tiny burr remaining. Also gently scrape the edge perpendicular to a wooden dowel towards one direction then feel the opposite side for a burr. Remove the burr if present (I prefer edge leading here !!), do the same in the other direction etc. A clean apex won't bent/knick over doing this, a tiny burr will. I have no experience with the Wicked edge but from what I have seen, it's all edge trailing, right? My benchmark of edge cleaniness (?) is the Spyderco sharpmaker, which is, at least during the finishing step, always edge leading. Even on the dimaond rods I get a clean phone book paper cutting edge, cross cut and in circles. This is the benchmark that I always compare my freehand skills against. So I wonder whether the edge trailing strokes on the WE may contribute to more burr?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

OK...sharpening will bring joy when you run a knife you just sharpened along a tomato and is seamlessly cuts through it then you do the arm test and shave off the remaining hairs on your arm

I posted up a thread recently on how I was putting a 15 degree relief edge/ primary bevel on my global with a WSKO and then putting a 19 degree micro bevel with the WEP…starting on 1000 to 1200 to 1600 to leather.

Knife was brilliant, shaving sharp…put only after very little use it will no longer shave hair….which really p*sses my off…….the micro bevel is bloddy like a mirror so WTF…why is it loosing the razor edge so fast…..is it the steel is not good enough or is it my sharpening……. Stropped the hell out of it on the WEPS and ran the plastic edge tester along the edge and it was mega smooth.

If a shaving test is important, I wouldn't add the 19° microbevel at all.

38° inclusive (I'm assuming) at the edge is quite wide for shaving, to begin with, and will only shave well until the apex itself isn't very crisp anymore, after which the underlying thick geometry is an obstacle. After it's dulled even a tiny bit, cutting or shaving performance will drop off a cliff (this sounds exactly like what you've run into). Compare this to a straight razor, with edge angles at 15-17° inclusive (7.5-8.5° per side). For more consistent shaving performance and very good/great cutting performance otherwise (on tomatos and everything else), I personally wouldn't go anywhere above 30° at the cutting edge. Most modern steels will easily hold up under normal cutting tasks, at this angle. Not much need for microbevelling a 30° edge used for normal cutting tasks, especially if the edge is still expected to shave afterward. A wider microbevel might be useful if it's known the edge will be subjected to heavy & high-wear cutting chores (chopping, or ripping through very abrasive materials like cardboard or fiberglass); but it's also generally expected that such hard-use edges likely won't shave well, if at all, anyway.

If the values mentioned (15°/19°) are the inclusive angles, then I'd most likely believe the steel isn't up to holding such thin angles for long, and the edge is rolling under use.


David