Is this normal?

S

SarcoBlaster

Joined
Jul 1, 2002
Messages
602
First, I'd like to say that I had entirely too much time on my hands tonight...

That having been said, I was testing the edges of my knives that I sharpened on the Edge Pro Apex and noticed something strange. After using the 3000 grit polish tape on my Sebenza, the edge was spooky sharp. I could move it over my arm with no pressure at all and the hairs would go flying.

I went to cut some printer paper, everything was fine. Next, I cut whatever material East Pack backpacks are made from because I had a really torn up one laying around and it would still send hairs flying afterwards. However, I had an empty Kleenex box and decided to shred that up. After I was done, I ran my fingernail along the edge and felt lots of irregularities. :confused:

The edge was no longer flinging off hairs, but would shave with some pressure. Even with the irregularities that I felt with my fingernail, it still sliced the box very easily. I gave it a few very light passes with the 3000 grit polishing tape on my Apex and now it's back to spooky sharp.

Is that supposed to happen because the Kleenex box material can be abrasive? I'm certain the edge isn't too thin because it's at 20 degrees per side. There shouldn't be a wire edge because I raised the sharpening angle a smidge and gave it a few passes with the polishing tape (also, it shaves hair in both directions with ease, no glint of a wire edge no matter how I tilt the knife under strong light). Any other ideas?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
cardboard is very abrasive, especially if it contains impurities (ie. has material other than pure paper fibres). did you check the edge under magnification?
 
spyken said:
cardboard is very abrasive, especially if it contains impurities (ie. has material other than pure paper fibres). did you check the edge under magnification?
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I looked at the edge under magnification after I sharpened it to make sure there wasn't a wire edge, and didn't seem to see one. Everything looked fine on both sides.

Trixwagen said:
Maybe they should start making ballistic vests out of Kleenex box material.
Click to expand...
Maybe they should. Go field test one and let me know the results.
 
When sharpening, I keep two items nearby:
- Newsprint to test progress of edge formation.
- The hardwood base of my strop to test for wire-edge formation.

A few full-edge slices into hardwood will collapse a wire-edge. If the edge is properly formed, it'll survive this test - and slice newsprint after this test.

It took me a long time to learn freehand sharpening, and I produced a lot of wire-edged results. Attempting to produce a narrow edge on a blade with softer steel will almost certainly produce a wire edge. The compound-tapered edge is the best remedy.

Hope this helps!
 
If your Sebbie is a brand new one with S30V blade, that's normal from my experiences. I have noticed micro chipping in the edge of my S30V Sebbies, that I do not get with my BG42 Sebbies.
 
After slicing into a pice of hardwood, it would still fling hairs and slice newsprint clealy, so I don't know what gives.

I guess it's most likely what Danbo said, since my Sebenza has the S30V blade. I've noticed this kind of micro chipping on other S30V knives as well, which is strange.

Thanks for the help!
 
When one gets to "SPOOKY" sharp, the knife should be retired.

Or at the very least, only carried in "reserve" for ....show....while a duller one is EDC'd.

Spooky Sharp is like Nirvana (the transcendental state..not the band) and should be revered and cherished or kept in a stone in a lake.

:rolleyes:
 
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