Joining the thread cutting club...with surprising results

[Cliff Stamp]

I doubt the side friction is significant given the very low coefficient of criction, when the thread is under tension it will be cut with a much lower force as it will pull itself apart as the cut is started, you can see this readily on thick ropes if you walk on it and pull it really tight and then slice it compared to cutting it free.

-Cliff

 

[HoB]

I am a big waterstone fan. It takes some time, but I am able to get better results with it than with the sharpmaker even with the UF stones. But I am the first to admit that whenever I need a sharp knife RIGHT NOW, I always use the Sharpmaker. It is definitely sharp enough for me and it takes a lot of effort for me to beat the results that I get on the Sharpmaker, but I simply like to sharpen...I guess

My finest stone is the Naniwa 10000 and sharpen pretty much according to the Murray Carter technique with trailing strokes. I don't thin my edges nearly as much as Cliff does. I am usually happy with a 12 deg relief per side and depending on my mood I may or may not use a microbevel of 15 deg per side.

My best edge are those that come from the 10000 waterstone and are not improved when stropped but rather degrade a little. I don't always hit that spot. I have a looong way to go before I get that reliably every time. Just as Cliff noted not too long ago, I find that stropping is an easy way to get rid of edge imperfections and get a very sharp edge quick, but I think it also rounds the edge over a bit. How much depends of course on pressure, stropping and backing material, angle etc. I am sure it does some polishing too, but I noticed on a fully polished edge with the Naniwa you can actually see scratch marks created by freshly applied stropping compound. I use the standart double sided leather strop from Veritas together with the CrO Veritas green.