shave one sided,sharpening ques?

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willy m

Joined
Nov 27, 2007
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i have a question. when i sharpen a knife usually at least half the time i get the one side verry sharp(shaves hair easily) the other side(shaves not so easy) i dont know whats goin on? i dont think i have a burr,it wont catch more on one side of my nail than the other. it is on the down stroke away from me that shaves easy. ques #2 when you sharpen one side till a burr forms do you count the number of strokes so you can match on the other side. or do you start to count after a burr is formed on both sides? thanks willy:):)
 
you don't have to count, just make enough strokes to remove the burr after it has formed.

hair is gonna be a little easier to shave in one direction than the other, same reason why you can't go willy nilly when shaving your face :) still, even a burr you cannot readily feel may exist.
 
Could be a microscopic burr, as mentioned by Hardheart. Do you have a magnifying loupe? I use a 10X loupe and a bright light to check for micro-burr. If you look at the blade from spine to edge, you can see light reflected by a burr. I recommend a strop to get rid of small burrs. You could go mad chasing a burr with a benchstone.
 
It's a burr, and that's a classic way to tell that you have one.

When you get a burr on one side, sharpen on the other until you get the burr, and you are almost done. Get rid of the burr, and you're done!
 
I may be going about this the wrong way, and if so please correct me. I don't strop. I keep a piece of corrugated cardboard, and make a few short slices in it to remove a burr. I know it dulls the knife a bit, but it seems to work.

One of these days I'll find a piece of leather and do it right!
 
I think I've heard of guys stropping on a piece of hard maple....maybe even without compound.

Another way to find the burr is to hold the knife, edge up, say in your right hand. Reach up from underneath with your left thumb and index finger. Gently find the edge, rubbing your thumb and index together (with edge inbetween them). WHile rubbing, slowly slide up and down the blade. One side will feel smooth, the other will feel a little rough. There's the burr. THis is probably old news to alot of the sharpening pros, but a guy showed me this a few months ago. Sometimes when you sharpen, because of your technique, you may have a very fine burr - one you can't see without a microscope or 8x loop or something. That's when this particular burr feeling technique comes in handy.

I read this thread in a hurry. Excuse me if someone already made this point and I missed it.
 
Cutting cardboard or anything else to remove the burr isn't a wise idea because it tears off the burr and either leaves flat spots on the blade or very rouch edges on your blade. Strop it off or cut it off with your stone. You can use that piece of cardboard as a makeshift strop very easily (especially if its the card board that backs a legal pad) without compound and it works very effectively. Give it a shot.

NJ
 
Hi

Stroping on lether to remove a bur is not a good idea as bits of metal fall off and stick in the lether to later ruin other edges. Better you use a piece of fine cardbord or paper and coat it with Braso or somthing like it and then throw it away after you finished. Stroping on leather is good idea AFTER you have removed the bur. Actualy I prefer paper to lether because it has less give.

Just be careful with cardbord as many rough ones have hard partecles in them and can scratch the edge. Use good quality stuff. Shiny magazine paper is very good also photocopy paper.

Cheers
Frank
 
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