Ok I got a burr. Now what?

[Roof]

I know that getting a burr means I've hit the apex and can switch sides. But how do I remove the burr I made

 

[Ericz4253]

Switch sides and sharpen until the burr is on the opposite side. Then repeat with a higher grit.

 

[Tim the Wizard]

Knock it off. Then get a smaller burr at a higher grit. If you go to a fine enough grit, the burr will be smaller and smaller or you will begin polishing the bevel. When ready to finish, a very light pass on each side at a very slightly more obtuse angle can help finish it off.

You'll remove it by switching sides.

 

[Jason B.]

First, you should be working both sides equally to form a burr. If you sharpen one side until you have a burr it will only take a handful of passes on the other side to remove or flip it back to the other side. The result is an asymmetric edge with uneven bevel widths.

After you have formed a burr its best to reduce pressure and continue to grind until the burr size is reduced as much as possible on that same stone. This should only take a handful of passes per side. If you have a finer stone to progress to then this is the time, but remember that the edge is already formed and from here on out your are just trying to reduce the size of the scratch pattern.

 

[HeavyHanded]

Push it all to one side. Then elevate the spine a few degrees and lightly grind it off using short leading passes. Check often. When it has shrunk to being difficult to find anymore, drop back down to the original angle and continue, light leading passes till you can no longer detect it. If it should flip while doing any of this, pick it back up on the opposite side.

The more times it flips, the more easily it will flip, so don't knock it back and forth any more than needed.

www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1353408-The-Seven-Secrets-of-Sharpening/page2#37

 

[Roof]

First, you should be working both sides equally to form a burr. If you sharpen one side until you have a burr it will only take a handful of passes on the other side to remove or flip it back to the other side. The result is an asymmetric edge with uneven bevel widths.

After you have formed a burr its best to reduce pressure and continue to grind until the burr size is reduced as much as possible on that same stone. This should only take a handful of passes per side. If you have a finer stone to progress to then this is the time, but remember that the edge is already formed and from here on out your are just trying to reduce the size of the scratch pattern.

How can I get a burr if I work both side. I'm assuming you mean alternating passes on each side. Sorry I am a noob at sharpening

 

[Jason B.]

How can I get a burr if I work both side. I'm asujminh you mean alternating passes on each side. Sorry I am a noob at sharpening

Yes, 5 one side 5 the other and repeat until the burr forms. The burr will form when the bevel slopes meet at the apex, grinding a little on each side until this happens ensures good bevel geometry which also tends to promote a less problematic sharpening.

 

[Twindog]

There are lots of ways to remove the burr, and some good ones have been mentioned. The usual way is to go to lighter and lighter strokes with higher and higher grits.

I like to use a short, finishing, edge-leading stroke on the burr side of the edge. Long strokes will remove a burr and then form a new one. With very short -- may 1/4 of an inch -- strokes, edge leading, you'll cut that burr off without forming a new one. I use this strategy to finish each grit level. By the time I get to the strop, the burr is gone.

Here’s an illustration of burr removal and formation. Whenever you pass a stone over a fully apexed edge, a burr will form on the opposite side of the edge, bending away from the apex.


No. 1 in the figure below is a burr that has been formed by running the stone over the right side of the edge. The stone is just approaching the old burr.


No. 2 is the stone, now on the left side of the edge, cutting off the old burr.


No. 3 is the stone after continuing to move over the edge and starting to create a new burr.


No. 4 is the stone moving grinding still more over the edge and recreating a full new burr on the opposite side of the edge.


If you stop your stone after a very short pass (No. 2), you’ll cut off the old burr and not create a new burr.

 

[bgentry]

That's a really nice illustration TwinDog. Something I think a lot of us easily visualize due to experience, but something that is really hard to explain to someone who's not familiar with the concepts. The illustration explains the process, over time, perfectly. Nice.

Brian.

 

[bucketstove]

How can I get a burr if I work both side. I'm assuming you mean alternating passes on each side. Sorry I am a noob at sharpening

you sharpen left side until you can feel a burr with your fingernail on right side (opposite side)
maybe this takes 100 passes if you're using existing angle and your stone is cutting well
scrubbing back/forth passes work well

then switch sides and sharpen right side for 100 passes,
usually however many it takes for one side, it takes same number for the other side
you should be able to feel burr with your fingernail on left side now (opposite side)
the burr is always on the opposite side

now that you've raised a burr on both sides, you should stand up the burr
do 10 alternating passes, 1 left, 1 right,... five times,
this helps stand up the burr so you cant feel it with your nail
its still there its just standing straight up

now double your angle, if you were using 10dps before , now double to 20dps
and using very light force, under 100 grams
do 1-4 alternating passes
this should get cut off the burr
now check with fingernail again
and repeat cutting off as necessary


then you can go back and do 5-10 alternating passes at original angle and original grit
now your knife is 10dps edge with 20dps microbevel
or you jump to your final grit and microbevel at 15dps with 5-20 light passes per side


or move onto next higher grit and original angle and do some 30 passes per side
then onto next higher grit
cut off burr again at elevated angle using very light force under 100 grams
then do about 30 passes per side
if the grit jumps are small it doesn't take many passes before you can move on

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Twindog's approach is very similar to mine, at least as indicated in his sketches (very good :thumbup. I don't raise the angle at all, to cut off the burr, but instead just rely on ever-lightening pressure at the same honing angle (with only the burr angled down into the stone) and keeping the stroke length to a minimum; just enough to clean up the edge. I also start the stroke at just slightly lower than the honing angle, and very, very gently pivot the bevel into flush contact with the hone during the early part of the stroke, just 'kissing' the apex near the end of the stroke. Practicing the technique with the coarsest hone is a great way to reduce or nearly eliminate burrs altogether; at least to the point they're negligible, requiring little or no stropping afterwards. Burr-removal essentially becomes automatic in the refining steps in sharpening, once you get the technique down.


David

 

[HeavyHanded]

Here's the pages from my Washboard manual that deal with it. Many ways to skin the cat, but the basics are the same.