Is it just me? (A question about burrs)

Spats McGee

Spats McGee

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
416
No matter what knife I sharpen, no matter what gizmo or stones I use, raising the first burr is always harder than on the second side. Is that just my perception, or is there some reason for it that I'm just not understanding?

Thanks in advance for any light y'all can shed on this.
 
Think about it this way...

While raising the first burr, you're thinning the edge (on the way to apexing). Once you start on the other side, there is now less material needing removal on the way to producing that second burr, and consequently it's less work to create.

At least that's how I see it.
 
I think Elliot (Blues) nailed the answer. I hadn't thought of it that way in years. But I remember running into that back when I used a guided system. I'd spend too much time grinding on one side in asymmetrical fashion. Eventually I figured out I needed to take a few passes on one side and then flip it to do a similar number of passes on the other side, alternating back and forth like that until I saw the first sign of a burr. At that point, I immediately flip it again to see how quickly I can flip the burr from the other side.

And when I was learning freehand, I also had a tendency to hold the blade at a lower angle from one side than on the other. Grinding at a lower angle will take longer to produce a burr, but from the other side at a slightly higher angle, I'd see a burr form much more quickly.

You'll also see this with factory edges that were asymmetrically ground. Sometimes, there's a huge difference in bevel angle from one side to the other and you'll have to grind the shoulder of the bevel on the more obtuse side for a long while, until you begin to touch the apex with your stone.
 
Last edited:
Obsessed with Edges said:
And when I was learning freehand, I also had a tendency to hold the blade at a lower angle from one side than on the other. Grinding at a lower angle will take longer to produce a burr, but from the other side at a slightly higher angle, I'd see a burr form much more quickly.
Click to expand...
I still occasionally find that I'll do that, even when eyeballing the edge while sharpening toward myself on both sides (switching hands).

Sometimes I think it's a difference in the light in the room during the hand shift...or just a focusing issue. I usually spot it pretty quickly and remedy the situation. That said, I'm not going for perfection, but a good serviceable edge. (Which is good because a man's gotta know his limitations. LOL)
 
Blues said:
I still occasionally find that I'll do that, even when eyeballing the edge while sharpening toward myself on both sides (switching hands).

Sometimes I think it's a difference in the light in the room during the hand shift...or just a focusing issue. I usually spot it pretty quickly and remedy the situation. That said, I'm not going for perfection, but a good serviceable edge. (Which is good because a man's gotta know his limitations. LOL)
Click to expand...
I frequently notice how my view of the bevel and the perception of flush contact changes when I flip the blade around. Depending on the lighting in the room and the change in the angle at which it hits the bevel, that always kind of messes with my head a bit in judging if I'm holding the angle well. My eyes are far from perfect too, as my right eye's corrected vision is never as clear as my left eye (which isn't all that good either).

And one of the 'epiphany moments' I had in learning freehand was in realizing how differently each of my hands handles the process. I think my feel for flush contact and my light touch and finesse in sharpening is always better from my left hand. That was an epiphany for me, because I've been right-handed my whole life.
 
Last edited:
I learned to switch hands after being a single hand sharpener my whole life. I usually fall back to single handed though because it's so much faster and easier for me to reduce the burr as I go.

I think the better visual with switching hands having the edge facing me makes it a lot easier to find the correct angle and that's why I always encourage beginners to learn that method.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top