I broke a barrier today. Thanks guys!

SC_Dave · Aug 10, 2014

After a recent post asking you guys to vet my sharpening procedure, I followed the advise of several. Especially Heavy Handed, Obsessed With Edges, Jason B and the sticky's by Magnaminous G and Twindog.

I finally understood the importance of the burr and achieving it from choil to tip.
What everyone meant when they say your edge is made on the stone you begin with.
The unimportance of speed. (This one helped me maintain the angle)
The importance of little to no pressure and correct angle when stropping.

Now to the barrier I broke. I FINALLY whittled a hair!

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Sorry for the poor focus, I took it with my USB microscope.

I was also able to chop it suspended in air.

This is the sharpest I have ever gotten an edge. Thanks to everyone who helped me out, I really appreciate it!

Tribial · Aug 10, 2014

That is awesome! Much better than I currently achieve. I can't imagine the self injury that would follow if I did this thoughm i already cut myself.

Obsessed with Edges · Aug 10, 2014

:thumbup:
Always good to see progress being made, and especially nice when it's proudly announced on the forum. Nice work!

David

wvdavidr · Aug 10, 2014

The guys you mentioned contribute a lot to this forum and should be commended!

Good Sharpening,
Dave

Kai Winters · Aug 10, 2014

Whew...well done...now to slice the wing off a fly before it notices it is missing and you are there...

OldMarineVet · Aug 10, 2014

Congratulations sc_dave. Awesome.

The Aflac Duck · Aug 11, 2014

Kai Winters said:
Whew...well done...now to slice the wing off a fly before it notices it is missing and you are there...

off topic

About 2-3 years ago, I stabbed a fly on my cabinet with my BM 51! It was total luck, and probably will never happen again, but I felt like a ninja for the rest of that day

HeavyHanded · Aug 11, 2014

Nice job!

mrdeus · Aug 11, 2014

Well done! Keep at it.

Chris "Anagarika" · Aug 11, 2014

Congrats! :thumbup:
I have difficulty achieving this every time. It means I need to practice more

joejeweler · Aug 11, 2014

Nice edge for sure, but this type of edge does have some limitations in usefulness......

Not trying to be funny way I say there's a fine line to getting a sharp knife edge, and one so sharp that the edge can easily break off and chip in spots has limited uses for most of us. That's why we don't carry scapels as EDC tools. (Surgeon's excepted

)

I also like the way a slightly rougher edge cuts compared to a highly polished and stropped edge. Those micro rougher edges acting much like a mini-serrated blade, and I can depend on the edge holding up under tougher conditions.

Some may strive for ultimate sharpness and spend a huge amount of time and effort trying to achieve it, but I suspect that edge is soon brought back down to basic sharpness in moderate use, or worse fails by chipping out at some point.

Working knives need some "meat" behind the edge to hold up in normal use. Using a super edge for shaving maybe the only use I could see for going that way,......and I prefer an electric shaver for that!

By the way, I'd REALLY be impressed if you whittled that hair in mid air!

mrdeus · Aug 12, 2014

Joejeweler: all the knives I sharpened this summer whittled hair and this was achieved by sharpening on a 1000 grit water stone followed by a few swipes on a #5000 and on newspaper on top of the stone. No elaborate polishing or stropping needed.

halzucati · Aug 12, 2014

mrdeus said:
Joejeweler: all the knives I sharpened this summer whittled hair and this was achieved by sharpening on a 1000 grit water stone followed by a few swipes on a #5000 and on newspaper on top of the stone. No elaborate polishing or stropping needed.

Just a ton of fine motor control and the not too common ability to eyeball and then maintain an angle throughout the entire length of a sharpening stroke. Don't sell yourself short or make the mistake that what you can do with "just these few simple things" anyone can do, because as this thread illustrates, many can't. Kudos to you for your skill and ability, just try not to come off quite so arrogant.

- Hal Zucati

mrdeus · Aug 12, 2014

halzucati said:
Kudos to you for your skill and ability, just try not to come off quite so arrogant.

- Hal Zucati

Excuse me? Where the hell did that come from? I was just saying that it doesn't necessarily have to take "a huge amount of time and effort" for every single edge once you get the hang of it and the edge doesn't need to be all that polished. "And how do you get the hang of it?" you might ask. Well, it isn't by settling for less while learning.

halzucati · Aug 12, 2014

mrdeus said:
Excuse me? Where the hell did that come from? I was just saying that it doesn't necessarily have to take "a huge amount of time and effort" for every single edge once you get the hang of it and the edge doesn't need to be all that polished. "And how do you get the hang of it?" you might ask. Well, it isn't by settling for less while learning.

My 11th grade English teacher (Mr. Smith) said it best I think... MR ZUCATI! #8 - Tone Of Voice! (he had a whole list of things not to do when communicating clearly).

The fact that you re-phrased it in your reply is my exact point. Your reply to me was clear, informative, and showed both compassion and empathy. Why not just lead with that?

Your first reply basically said that if you had the things you listed, making a knife sharp was easy. You know its not, you said so in your reply to me, you know it takes time and patience and practice, along with the right tools, so why start with a post that says what you mean to begin with? Its just about the same number of words... and it comes across WAY better.

I didn't say you were arrogant, I simply said #8 - Tone Of Voice! And you proved my point beautifully in your reply to me. You CAN communicate well, when you want to.

Don't get all twisted up about this, I'm not starting anything. It was a lesson I had to learn, so I'm paying it forward. Say what you mean, and say it how you mean it as well.

If we don't point out each other's flaws and try to help fix them, nobody will improve.

- Hal Zucati

SC_Dave · Aug 12, 2014

joejeweler said:
Nice edge for sure, but this type of edge does have some limitations in usefulness......

Not trying to be funny way I say there's a fine line to getting a sharp knife edge, and one so sharp that the edge can easily break off and chip in spots has limited uses for most of us. That's why we don't carry scapels as EDC tools. (Surgeon's excepted )

I also like the way a slightly rougher edge cuts compared to a highly polished and stropped edge. Those micro rougher edges acting much like a mini-serrated blade, and I can depend on the edge holding up under tougher conditions.

Some may strive for ultimate sharpness and spend a huge amount of time and effort trying to achieve it, but I suspect that edge is soon brought back down to basic sharpness in moderate use, or worse fails by chipping out at some point.

Working knives need some "meat" behind the edge to hold up in normal use. Using a super edge for shaving maybe the only use I could see for going that way,......and I prefer an electric shaver for that!

By the way, I'd REALLY be impressed if you whittled that hair in mid air!

I actually did not set out to whittle or split a hair. I know of no need for this in the real world. But, when I finished sharpening my buddy's knife I was amazed at the edge I had accomplished as a result of applying the things I learned here. Most recently of which was in a thread asking you guys to vet my process. For me, it was so sharp I had to try what I had seen others do as a test of sharpness. I had tried this many times before and this time it did it. I was pretty pleased with that.

David