Sharp or not sharp a noob question

M

MGK3

Joined
May 26, 2014
Messages
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I am a long time lurker and first time poster. As a way of introduction, I started collecting knives as a kid, mainly case and bucks, the problem I had was I could not keep them sharp with a whet stone and after a while lost interest and into the sock drawer they went. Fast forward several decades and my son introduced be to the new world with Spyderco, Cold Steel, etc. I bought a couple of Spyderco's (Endura 4 and Paramilitary)and my old problem returned, cannot sharpen a knife on a whetstone. So in looking for help I found this forum and have learned about the "burr", Spyderco Sharpmaker(bought), KME sharpener (bought), Loupes (bought), USB Microscopes (bought).

I can now get a sharp edge except that when cutting paper sometimes it slices cleanly and sometimes it hangs and rips like it is dull.

Any thoughts? Thanks
 
Sharpening on a stone can be tricky. It takes a lot of practice to be able to repeat the same angle over and over. Another issue could be the steel type on the case/buck knives.

If you are creating a burr, you also need to remove the burr you've created by stropping or polishing the edge.
 
MGK3 said:
I am a long time lurker and first time poster. As a way of introduction, I started collecting knives as a kid, mainly case and bucks, the problem I had was I could not keep them sharp with a whet stone and after a while lost interest and into the sock drawer they went. Fast forward several decades and my son introduced be to the new world with Spyderco, Cold Steel, etc. I bought a couple of Spyderco's (Endura 4 and Paramilitary)and my old problem returned, cannot sharpen a knife on a whetstone. So in looking for help I found this forum and have learned about the "burr", Spyderco Sharpmaker(bought), KME sharpener (bought), Loupes (bought), USB Microscopes (bought).

I can now get a sharp edge except that when cutting paper sometimes it slices cleanly and sometimes it hangs and rips like it is dull.


Any thoughts? Thanks
Click to expand...

The bolded part hints that you likely are still having an issue with burrs. Oftentimes a burr can be 'sharp' enough to cut paper fairly cleanly, but it'll then fold over quickly and begin to snag or slip in the paper. Might check out as much info as you can regarding stropping, and the use of strops with compounds to clean up the burrs. Burrs can also be minimized on the stones from the start, and as one improves with technique, it'll become easier to pare them down on the stones themselves; any stropping that follows will be a breeze.

Burrs are both a good thing and a bad thing. They're good because it ensures your edge is fully apexed (look for the burr along the full length of the cutting edge). They can then be 'bad' if one isn't comfortable dealing with them and cleaning them up. Apexing fully and removing burrs cleanly are likely the most common problems encountered when first learning the process of sharpening, so you're not alone. :)


David
 
OWE has it right.
I've encountered it from time to time as well...for me sometimes I'll get a bit of burr in one or two spots...odd how that happens...and when slicing through telly book paper it will hang in said spots...a bit more stropping and it is generally gone. If not a bit more stropping, rinse and repeat until the edge is smooth...if you care about such things.
I'd suspect for the average cutting needs it slices like a hot knife through butter.
 
I took a picture of the knife edge at 200x and it shows a narrow shiny edge. Is that what you would expect?
 
MGK3 said:
I took a picture of the knife edge at 200x and it shows a narrow shiny edge. Is that what you would expect?

added picture
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a630/mgkiefMGK3/20140810_0024_zps702211f4.jpg
Click to expand...

Hard to say looking straight down like that, sometimes a coarse edge can throw light back along the low spots or if the light comes across it at an angle.

How I find them is to hold the blade up at eye level, edge down and broadside. With a strong overhead light source slowly tilt the blade back and forth, getting the light to play straight down across it. The burr will look like a small halo just off the cutting edge - might only be visible from one side or the other.

Sounds like you either have a bit of residual burr, or the edge is a bit coarse. Does it cut well if you use more of a drawing action as you go?
 
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