No burr on alternating passes?

[Sharp Steel]

A lot of sharpening guides recommend getting a burr on one side and repeating the process for the other. However, some of the sharpening systems seem to have dual stones where you hit both sides of the knife with each pass (Wicked Edge). If you are alternate sides with each pass will it not develop a burr on the edge?

 

[crn3371]

If you’re sharpening both side of the blade simultaneously I can’t see how a burr could be formed.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

If you fully apex the edge, a burr WILL start to develop - that's just the nature of sharpening. It may be less obvious when it happens, if switching sides with each pass. To make sure, it'd be a good idea to focus on one side only when you know you're getting very close to apexing. Maybe do 3-5 passes on one side, before alternating. Should be easier to see the burr when it forms, done this way. Do a few passes on one side, check for the burr, and then switch to the other side for a few passes and check again.

Some steels are resistant to forming obvious burrs. Very hard steels like ZDP-189, oftentimes at low-mid 60s HRC, are known for not showing a burr at apexing. This is because when the steel gets thinned enough at the apex, what would ordinarily be the burr will simply break away instead of deflecting to one side like burrs typically do on less hard steels. But steels like these are the uncommon exception and you won't see such behavior with most other steels.

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

one side till a burr forms then hit the other.

once you knock the initial one off and start progressing you could hit the sides every other.

 

[000Robert]

A lot of sharpening guides recommend getting a burr on one side and repeating the process for the other. However, some of the sharpening systems seem to have dual stones where you hit both sides of the knife with each pass (Wicked Edge). If you are alternate sides with each pass will it not develop a burr on the edge?

If you're trying to sharpen both sides of a blade at the same time with a Wicked Edge, you're doing it wrong. You run the stone down one side and then the other stone down the other side.

 

[ToddS]

You can absolutely create a burr with alternating strokes, it only requires that the burr is bending away from the stone rather than being cleanly abraded.

I think there is some confusion between the very large burrs formed by working one side of a dull knife until the burr can be felt on the other side, and the more common type that form during normal sharpening because they bend rather than abrade.

If you're trying to sharpen both sides of a blade at the same time with a Wicked Edge, you're doing it wrong. You run the stone down one side and then the other stone down the other side.

 

[rm41400]

Yes you will develop a subtle bur if you alternate strokes BUT

+1 for Apexing one side first (on wicked edge style sharpener.)

Then Apex the other side.

Then you can alternate.

Yes you can do alternating from the start but IF your new to sharpening and learning the ropes just follow the instructions in the WE box. This really helped me to FEEL the bur and understand Apexing better. Obviously there are many on here with a high level of skill, touch and experience that won’t need to use this process but for the newer guys out there this is a good procedure to start with

 

[Luke Dupont]

Yes you will develop a subtle bur if you alternate strokes BUT

+1 for Apexing one side first (on wicked edge style sharpener.)

Then Apex the other side.

Then you can alternate.

Yes you can do alternating from the start but IF your new to sharpening and learning the ropes just follow the instructions in the WE box. This really helped me to FEEL the bur and understand Apexing better. Obviously there are many on here with a high level of skill, touch and experience that won’t need to use this process but for the newer guys out there this is a good procedure to start with

I agree 100%.
Grind and apex one side at a time, especially if you're new. And do that on a pretty coarse stone that will raise a burr quickly and noticeably.

As you get confident you can do whatever you like. Some people prefer not to ever make a pronounced burr, and I get the reasoning behind that, but I wouldn't start someone off with such advice.

 

[000Robert]

You can absolutely create a burr with alternating strokes, it only requires that the burr is bending away from the stone rather than being cleanly abraded.

I think there is some confusion between the very large burrs formed by working one side of a dull knife until the burr can be felt on the other side, and the more common type that form during normal sharpening because they bend rather than abrade.

I own a Wicked Edge 130. You should've quoted Sharp Steel since he thought that you sharpen both bevels with each pass with a Wicked Edge. If you try to sharpen both sides with each pass the tops of your stones will hit each other.

 

[000Robert]

Yes you will develop a subtle bur if you alternate strokes BUT

+1 for Apexing one side first (on wicked edge style sharpener.)

Then Apex the other side.

Then you can alternate.

Yes you can do alternating from the start but IF your new to sharpening and learning the ropes just follow the instructions in the WE box. This really helped me to FEEL the bur and understand Apexing better. Obviously there are many on here with a high level of skill, touch and experience that won’t need to use this process but for the newer guys out there this is a good procedure to start with

Clay owns Wicked Edge and is much more experienced using the system than most people. In the video it is clear that Clay is sharpening a blade that already has the bevels apexed. If the apex isn't perfect and the bevels are off, then the blade will have to be reprofiled before you sharpen like Clay was showing in the short video. When reprofiling, I use up/down strokes across the edges until the bevels are reprofiled and you get burrs on the bevels all the way across the apex. Then you use the heel to tip strokes.

 

[wade7575]

A lot of sharpening guides recommend getting a burr on one side and repeating the process for the other. However, some of the sharpening systems seem to have dual stones where you hit both sides of the knife with each pass (Wicked Edge). If you are alternate sides with each pass will it not develop a burr on the edge?

When you sharpen certain steels you will find depending on the stones and the steels your sharpening the burr may not get very big.

For example when I sharpen my Manix 2's in M390 and I use Venev diamond stones the burr takes along time to form and is very small,but when I use my Juuma aluminum oxide stones the burr forms much faster and it's a bit bigger and easier to feel.

Listen to the advice being give to you from others who are saying to sharpen one side until you feel a burr form then do the other,there's a saying that I tell people when they ask me for sharpening advice and wanting to knowing how they can tell when they have hit the apex and I always them (the burr never lies) and it's true the burr never lies.

One last thing to keep in mind never form a burr larger then it needs to be because once you have hit the apex you've hit the apex,and the reason is because with some steels the burr is easy to remove and others it's a bastard to get rid of it with a guided system,you find the real cheapo kitchen knives made from really soft stainless steel can be a real prick to get rid of the burr.