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Sharpening, spine or edge first?
- Thread starter cart@@n
- Start date
Hey Cart, welcome to the forum...
Most people sharpen by pushing (or pulling) the edge into the stone.... cutting into the stone if you will. Usually, drawing away from the edge is reserved for final stropping or the sharpening of a convex edge.
I'm not enough of a sharpening wizard to be able to say which is best, but just reasoning by logic, I would think it more correct to slice the edge into the stone. It seems it would cut faster and cleaner.
Most people sharpen by pushing (or pulling) the edge into the stone.... cutting into the stone if you will. Usually, drawing away from the edge is reserved for final stropping or the sharpening of a convex edge.
I'm not enough of a sharpening wizard to be able to say which is best, but just reasoning by logic, I would think it more correct to slice the edge into the stone. It seems it would cut faster and cleaner.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2000
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- 2,116
Everything I have ever read or seen has you push the edge into the stone, not pull away. I would think pulling away would be a good way to form a burr, and not remove it. This would leave a weak edge that would fold, break off, etc. When you push into the stone you cut away the burr and form a cleaner edge.
When you strop and pull the edge away, spine first, you are polishing the final edge, and not trying to remove metal, reshape the edge, etc.
When you strop and pull the edge away, spine first, you are polishing the final edge, and not trying to remove metal, reshape the edge, etc.
I think it is largly a matter of personal preference. In general it seems that the burr buildup is smaller when sharpening edge forward. But I know of many people that even grind edge trailing on a beltgrinder and even with edge trailing there are ways to control a burr. For me personal it depends completely on the sharpening medium. On hard abrasives, like ceramic or Arkansas stones I prefer an edge leading motion, while on soft media (anything that can potentially grab the edge) like strops, but also many japanese waterstones, I prefer an edge trailing motion, because on these media, even if you don't really feel it, I think the edge tends to plow which will degrade the edge and from practice I usually don't get as good an edge going edge leading.
I think you really should try both and let the results determine which works better for you.
I assume this thread is going to be moved to the toolshed, and you should get a few more responses there.
I think you really should try both and let the results determine which works better for you.
I assume this thread is going to be moved to the toolshed, and you should get a few more responses there.
Since this came up, let me pose another question:
Some manufacturers say to make circular motions (edge first) instead of the 'cutting' motion. Supposedly it helps you maintain the proper angle better. Personally, I've tried it, but have never gotten very good results (not NEARLY as good as the typical way, in which I can put a shaving sharp edge on...after over 20 years of practice
).
Some manufacturers say to make circular motions (edge first) instead of the 'cutting' motion. Supposedly it helps you maintain the proper angle better. Personally, I've tried it, but have never gotten very good results (not NEARLY as good as the typical way, in which I can put a shaving sharp edge on...after over 20 years of practice
).I think many of these recommendations are largely academic. Never underestimate muscle-memory. If the muscles are trained in a certain way that works well for you, your skills usually don't improve when you change your technique. If you are unhappy with your results, then it is time to try around till you find something that works.
I think it is also important to distinguish between sharpening and shaping. While shaping on coarse stones, nothing of that really matters anyways. All you got to do is scrub away till you have the edge well shaped. The fastest is usually a simple back and forth motion.
You know, these discussions always remind me of two athletes that I have always admired: Michael Johnson and Chad Hedrick. When they started out (and even while they were at their peak) everybody just KNEW that both had incredible bad technique and everyone just KNEW that they would NEVER be able to run/skate fast with such a terrible technique..... Problem was that both have dominated their disciplines in such a way that the world could only watch in wonder and their competitors in awe and dismay. Michael Johnson once said:"I don't have bad form...everybody else does" and the world of speedskating has pretty much copied Chad Hedrick's style to the point were most people believe, that you can not win a race if you don't skate like him.
I think it is also important to distinguish between sharpening and shaping. While shaping on coarse stones, nothing of that really matters anyways. All you got to do is scrub away till you have the edge well shaped. The fastest is usually a simple back and forth motion.
You know, these discussions always remind me of two athletes that I have always admired: Michael Johnson and Chad Hedrick. When they started out (and even while they were at their peak) everybody just KNEW that both had incredible bad technique and everyone just KNEW that they would NEVER be able to run/skate fast with such a terrible technique..... Problem was that both have dominated their disciplines in such a way that the world could only watch in wonder and their competitors in awe and dismay. Michael Johnson once said:"I don't have bad form...everybody else does" and the world of speedskating has pretty much copied Chad Hedrick's style to the point were most people believe, that you can not win a race if you don't skate like him.
From personal experience, it seems that spine leading is more forgiving. Slicing into the stone (i.e. edge leading) is fine if you have reasonable sharpening experience, otherwise just one bad stroke and your edge will be seriously dulled. Spine leading will not degrade the edge even if you do a bad stroke, all the inconsistent strokes will result in a convex edge.