Sharpening a false edge???

[cerulean]

"False edge" is an extremely old term that was (and still is) used with swords. It referred to the edge on the back of the blade, which was often shorter, but usually sharp. "False" didn't mean fake or unsharpened: the word was used to distinguish the back edge from the "true edge", which was the longer, main edge of the blade.

The term "Swedge" comes from the word "swage", which is a tool used in forging. "Swedge" refers to the bevels near the top of the blade that angle towards the spine, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with edges. On a forged blade, you would use a pair of swages to form the swedge.