Sharpening question (new to sharpening)

A

Andy137

Joined
Oct 3, 2016
Messages
15
I've recently discovered the wonderful world of sharpening, learned a lot about whetstones and finally started using them to sharpen my bushcraft knives. I have encountered somewhat of a problem though. I think I did a fairly decent job (maybe I'm completely wrong about that ;) ) achieving a burr and removing it. (on a 1000 grit stone) For some reason I'm left with a somewhat rough edge. When I run the edge softly between my index finger and thumb I can feel it's a little rough towards the tip, not so much near the heel. When I feel specifically for a burr, I can't really detect any, so why does the edge still feel a little rough??

Any advice would be very welcome! :)
 
Trust your senses.

Either you have a residual burr, or didn't quite make it to the edge and you're still feeling some of the last grit on your progression.

If you get under some direct bright light, hold the edge up at eye level with the edge pointing down. Slowly tilt the edge back and forth so the light plays straight down the face of the blade. Any remaining burr will be visible if there is one. Once they get very small, it can be tough to feel for them - a bright light test can reveal the smallest of burrs.

Is also possible the method you're using - rubbing between thumb and index finger - is catching somewhat more on the belly as there's less surface area. The shape of the arc might be prone to catching more as it moves along.

Does it do a paper cut test the same?
 
From my experience, tip area sometimes are thicker, so you probably haven't really fully apexed it. HeavyHanded's recommendation is good, check under bright light perpendicular to the edge (right on top of the edge), reflections means not apexed.
 
Results of the paper cut test are about the same.. Although it does feel as if the 'rougher' part doesn't cut the paper quite as smooth, it tends to get hung up just a tiny little bit
 
I did get some reflections with the bright light test. So I guess that revealed a burr I wasn't able to detect by using my finger. Edge not apexed then I guess?

And thanks for the advice guys! I really appreciate it!!
 
If you see a flat on the apex (so a light reflection) if you look directly onto the apex, that means you have not apexed it, usually though that feels rather smooth on he finger tip and not rough. If you are confident though that you had a burr all along the edge, then it is more likely you have a residual burr. The snagging while cutting paper is also more an indicator of a burr. A flat part (so not apexed) tends to "slide" along the paper without cutting, depends on the thinner of the blade though I guess.

You could utilize a wooden dowel, "scrape" the edge sideways along the wood to bent over the burr to one side, cut off the burr at that side with the same original sharpening angle and do it again on the other side. You can repeat this too. Do only edge leading strokes at this point. However depending on the waterstone, edge leading strokes may not produce a very keen edge but burr formation is usually less.

Hope that helps too.

P.s. You are in Siberia!? I can not resist to tell you about this. A few winters back, we had the 2nd coldest city on this planet here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I think it was over -50 deg celsius. The coldest though on that day was in Siberia!
 
Thank you my friend, that definitely helps!

Hahaa, yes, I'm originally from Belgium but I spend most of my time here in Siberia since my wife lives here.. I live here in Kyren, a small village not too far from Lake Baikal, close to the border with Mongolia. -45 deg celsius is definitely not uncommon but for -50 and below you'd have to go a little north from here to Yakutia. Damn cold but some good fishing spots out there though! ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top