Lately I've been having issues with raising a burr evenly and was hoping to see if anyone could share their techniques in sharpening. At first I tried sharpening one side exclusively until a burr was raised, and then sharpening the other, but this caused the first bevel to become excessively wide and uneven with the other. Later I tried doing a set number of strokes on one side before moving on to the other side, then once I got a burr, I would move on to the next stone. But this seemed to go extremely slow in forming a burr and I was worried I was just removing too much steel. Anyone got some ideas?
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Raising a Burr Properly
- Thread starter Cait_Sith
- Start date
If your edge bevels are even when you start, then grinding the same amount on both sides is the way to go. This isn't an exact science of course; you don't need to count strokes. Just estimate roughly the same amount of grinding on each edge bevel.
With non-premium blades, I usually find one bevel that is narrower than the other and I spend most of my time grinding that side first until either the bevels are even, or I form a burr.
I still have a lot to learn about this, as the geometry can be different depending on how the blade was ground at the factory *and* how it's been worked on by others that tried to sharpen it. Blade centering is something I'm working on recognizing, understanding, and improving.
Brian.
With non-premium blades, I usually find one bevel that is narrower than the other and I spend most of my time grinding that side first until either the bevels are even, or I form a burr.
I still have a lot to learn about this, as the geometry can be different depending on how the blade was ground at the factory *and* how it's been worked on by others that tried to sharpen it. Blade centering is something I'm working on recognizing, understanding, and improving.
Brian.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2008
- Messages
- 1,647
That, and what I do is "testing" the bevels on a fixed angle system, usually with my Spyderco Sharpmaker. I mark the bevel with Sharpie and see whether they are symmetric in the first place, often they are not! Depending on your technique (which would be great to know here!) you can use your thumb at the spine as a gauge or have some lines on the block under the stone for instance (if you use that kind of way) showing you 15, 20 etc. dps. and you can line up the blade with them. At the end it does not matter what angle you have (in terms of number), you have to see how your knife performs for a given task and adjust the angle accordingly. That's the beauty of sharpening/maintening a knife!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,430
My usual practice is is to keep a very close eye on bevel width from the start, and I'll normally start from the side with the narrowest bevel. For a while before the edge is close to full apex, I'll just alternate sides periodically to keep the bevels relatively symmetrical in relation to each other. As the edge gets closer to reaching a clean apex, I'll alternate more frequently, down to just a handful (maybe 3-5) of strokes on each side at a time, until I see evidence of the burr. Then work back & forth between sides to 'flip' the burr along the full length of the edge. Things do tend to slow down at this stage, but that's just part of process, and patience is worth more than most anything in sharpening.
A wider bevel on one side isn't necessarily an indicator that you're more acute on that side. Many (MANY) blades will not be perfectly symmetrical in their primary grinds from the factory, and will be 'thicker' to one side of the centerline of the blade's cross-section (drawn from the center of the spine to the apex of the factory edge). In cases like this, when the angle is exactly the same on each side, the 'thicker' side of the blade will always show a wider bevel as compared to the other. The flipside to this is, if you absolutely MUST see symmetrical bevels on an asymmetrical primary grind, you will have to deliberately sharpen at a more obtuse angle on the thick side of the grind to get those bevels looking perfectly symmetrical. It's very rare when bevels are exactly uniform and symmetrical in width at the same angle from both sides. This becomes painfully obvious if you ever use a guided system for sharpening, which (almost) guarantees the same angle on each side, or as close as possible, anyway; an asymmetrical blade grind can throw those off too, as can a blade with some lateral bend, curve or warp to it. If you happen to notice the bevels aren't exactly the same width on each side, just keep focusing on keeping the angle consistent and making sure the apex is clean & crisp along the full length of the edge. In the end, bevel width is mainly just a cosmetic issue and it ordinarily won't impact everyday cutting tasks at all. Focus on SHARP above all else.
David
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 6,642
Give the blade a good looking over before starting and begin on the side that appears smaller. If both appear about the same and the edge isn't in bad shape, raise a burr on one side, switch to the other, and repeat. If the edge is taking a lot of work to re-establish the bevel, work one side for a few and then switch, shortening the intervals as you can see that you're getting close to the apex - stop and observe often during the process and to see how its progressing.
A big help in crafting the burr is to work the edge in smaller sections, overlapping as you go, and perhaps even shortening the length of each pass. Shortening the pass also allows you a bit more control to stop grinding right at the point where a burr forms or is removed with greater accuracy.
When you detect a burr in a given region, stop working there and only focus on the spots that need it. Doing so allows you to create the smallest possible burr along the entire edge and greatly aids in eventual removal. Contrary to what you might assume, this can lead to the edge being more uniform than if you attempt to use a sweep covering the entire edge with each pass, frequently makes for a more accurate/consistent edge angle along the entire edge length, as your wrists and arms have to make smaller corrections to accommodate the smaller travel distance. Shorter or longer pass aside, working the edge in sections also allows one to approach all edged tools with the same strategy and mechanics regardless of size - this can come in very handy.
Sometimes the edge is so battered it becomes almost unavoidable to create larger burrs in some areas than others, in this case I'll switch sides and beat the burr back a bit where its gotten too large, leave the other areas alone, and then swamp back to side one. By the time I flop over to side two for more thorough work, the burr is more or less the same size along the entire length. However accomplished, you want to avoid creating burrs that are overly large, and avoid creating burrs that are really uneven along the edge - it will only compound any final removal issues. In my sharpening philosophy, a large percentage of the act of sharpening is really the art of controlled creation and removal of the burr, emphasis on 'controlled creation'.
Martin
A big help in crafting the burr is to work the edge in smaller sections, overlapping as you go, and perhaps even shortening the length of each pass. Shortening the pass also allows you a bit more control to stop grinding right at the point where a burr forms or is removed with greater accuracy.
When you detect a burr in a given region, stop working there and only focus on the spots that need it. Doing so allows you to create the smallest possible burr along the entire edge and greatly aids in eventual removal. Contrary to what you might assume, this can lead to the edge being more uniform than if you attempt to use a sweep covering the entire edge with each pass, frequently makes for a more accurate/consistent edge angle along the entire edge length, as your wrists and arms have to make smaller corrections to accommodate the smaller travel distance. Shorter or longer pass aside, working the edge in sections also allows one to approach all edged tools with the same strategy and mechanics regardless of size - this can come in very handy.
Sometimes the edge is so battered it becomes almost unavoidable to create larger burrs in some areas than others, in this case I'll switch sides and beat the burr back a bit where its gotten too large, leave the other areas alone, and then swamp back to side one. By the time I flop over to side two for more thorough work, the burr is more or less the same size along the entire length. However accomplished, you want to avoid creating burrs that are overly large, and avoid creating burrs that are really uneven along the edge - it will only compound any final removal issues. In my sharpening philosophy, a large percentage of the act of sharpening is really the art of controlled creation and removal of the burr, emphasis on 'controlled creation'.
Martin