Knife only sharp on one side

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Sep 16, 2017
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So I was sharpening my recon 1 on my spyderco sharpmaker, and after a long while of trying to get it sharp... it would not take an edge... or so i thought. Latter today i tried shaving with it in one direction (using the left side of the blade) and it would shave but just a little then i tried the right side and it shaved like a saftey razor. What is going on here? Am i doing something wrong?

Thanks,
Hector
 
That's a burr, leaning to one side. The side to which it leans will feel 'sharp' (and shave, etc), while the side away from which it's leaning will feel and perform like a blunt or rolled edge.

Give the edge a few more passes on the side that feels sharp, to confirm if the burr is there. If it is, you should notice the 'sharp' side move to the other side as the burr rolls away from the side being honed. As you do so, keep pressure much lighter than what you've been using. The objective is to lightly (very lightly) hone the burr away, as opposed to just forcing it to flip back & forth from side to side. Keep testing and comparing sharpness from both sides, as you've been doing, until you see uniform and symmetrical cutting from both sides.

The higher the pressure used on the hones, the greater the tendency will be to make the edge roll to one side or the other. That's essentially what makes the burr as the edge is being apexed, and doing it with very heavy pressure makes a burr that's much heavier, thicker and tougher to remove. Always keep pressure as light as possible, when doing the finishing touches.


David
 
That's a burr, leaning to one side. The side to which it leans will feel 'sharp' (and shave, etc), while the side away from which it's leaning will feel and perform like a blunt or rolled edge.

Give the edge a few more passes on the side that feels sharp, to confirm if the burr is there. If it is, you should notice the 'sharp' side move to the other side as the burr rolls away from the side being honed. As you do so, keep pressure much lighter than what you've been using. The objective is to lightly (very lightly) hone the burr away, as opposed to just forcing it to flip back & forth from side to side. Keep testing and comparing sharpness from both sides, as you've been doing, until you see uniform and symmetrical cutting from both sides.

The higher the pressure used on the hones, the greater the tendency will be to make the edge roll to one side or the other. That's essentially what makes the burr as the edge is being apexed, and doing it with very heavy pressure makes a burr that's much heavier, thicker and tougher to remove. Always keep pressure as light as possible, when doing the finishing touches.
Thank you that was a big help

David
 
That's a burr, leaning to one side. The side to which it leans will feel 'sharp' (and shave, etc), while the side away from which it's leaning will feel and perform like a blunt or rolled edge.

Give the edge a few more passes on the side that feels sharp, to confirm if the burr is there. If it is, you should notice the 'sharp' side move to the other side as the burr rolls away from the side being honed. As you do so, keep pressure much lighter than what you've been using. The objective is to lightly (very lightly) hone the burr away, as opposed to just forcing it to flip back & forth from side to side. Keep testing and comparing sharpness from both sides, as you've been doing, until you see uniform and symmetrical cutting from both sides.

The higher the pressure used on the hones, the greater the tendency will be to make the edge roll to one side or the other. That's essentially what makes the burr as the edge is being apexed, and doing it with very heavy pressure makes a burr that's much heavier, thicker and tougher to remove. Always keep pressure as light as possible, when doing the finishing touches.


David

^This. I've experienced what OP has as well, the burr can be so small you can't see it easily with your unaided eye, and yet you have this weird state where the blade will shave on one side, and won't on the other.
 
I’ve found on the sharp maker on some steels, you want just the weight of the knife when removing the burr. Any extra pressure causes the burr to flip. My sebenza is bad about it, as is my m4 bark river and a couple others.
 
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