is something wrong with my sharpenning technique, my knife, or is my banana too hard?

[Hawkins]

i've got a gin1 native LW that i try to keep hair-poppingly sharp. but it seems that time and very light usage makes it lose that edge. and when i say very light usage, i mean this: i sharpened it last week on my 204, didn't use it at all except when fidgetting (didn't cut anything.) today, i sliced a bananas skin off, washed the blade off about an hour later when i left the room, dried it, and its lost that wondrous edge. it doesn't even catch on the hair on my head (i think some of you know what i'm talking about). it *sounds* like i had a burr and broke it off, but i'm always careful to sharpen it evenly and do the last few strokes lightly enough to remove any bur that forms.

so, is it my technique, the steel, or is the banana from one of those "rates 65 on the rockwell scale" trees?

 

[ThinkOfTheChildren]

Originally posted by Hawkins
it doesn't even catch on the hair on my head (i think some of you know what i'm talking about)

Yea, the "Samurai hair test" right? I learned about that from The Spyderco Story.

it *sounds* like i had a burr and broke it off, but i'm always careful to sharpen it evenly and do the last few strokes lightly enough to remove any bur that forms.

Well, based on your story, I agree that it sounds like a broken off burr.... hmmm.... have you tried steeling it?

Has this knife always had this problem? Is this a problem you've noticed cropping up among all of your knives? This might give more insight as to where the problem is originating.

 

[Carlos]

Classic symptoms of a "wire edge."

Wire edges are very sharp, but they break off after one or two cuts.

1. Wire edge

If the burr is not properly ground off, but is instead turned downwards, your knife will feel razor sharp. However, the burr quickly turns or snaps off, leaving you with a very dull-feeling knife. Be sure to use a light touch at the end of the sharpening process and make sure the burr is gone.

Possible cures: Spend more time on the polishing stage using the flats of the white stone, with very light pressure. Finally, use a knife steel (grooved rather than smooth), 6-10 swipes on each side.

 

[Hawkins]

i guess i'll spend more time on the fine stones.

what exactly do you mean by "use a knife steel"?

also, congrats on the moderatorship

 

[extremefishin00]

I've been having the same problem with my sharpmaker too. Never had this problem with freehand sharpening though..weird. I found that light pressure on the flat side of the white stones works. I've also found that stropping on a leather belt has been working for me

It seems that I always get the wire edge on the same side, even though I'm working both sides evenly.

chris

 

[rdangerer]

Well, I use a different sharpening system, the jig-type (Lansky).

But I try to work that burr back and forth to mechanically work that burr so it wants to snap off. Stropping is a helpful technique after the old "back and forth" to try to break or scrub off the burr.

I also don't go for wicked-hair-jumping, just a decent fairly clean shaving edge that is grabby and aggressive, which I prefer for most tasks short of triming cuticle meat off.

 

[Jeff O]

I have always had that problem with my gin1 Native. No matter how I sharpen or polish, it doesn't seem keep a fine edge very long. Even the factory edge lost its hair popping ability very easily by cutting a few tags off some stuff at work. However, I have a gin1 Navigator that has held its hair popping edge for a surprisingly long time.

To fix the problem, I ordered a new Native in 440V that should be here in the next few days.