Should steeling create a burr?

T

Tweek

Joined
Nov 27, 2006
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This is my first experience actually using a steel so I'm not certain this is normal.

I was using my old EDC frame lock which I use for testing. It also had the pleasure of being the first knife I ever hand sharpened on bench stones without any form of guide.

The knife still sees use around the house so I decided I'd try giving it a quick steeling to bring back some of it's life.

I did 8 passes alternating each side of the blade. After I was done I noticed that there was a noticeable burr on the blade which was not there before. I did a few more passes and it finally went away. The blade now shaves just like it did when I first sharpened it.

Is this normal or may I have been using the wrong technique when sharpening or steeling?
 
Not unless you're steeling on a file or ceramic or diamond hone. Normally a steel should be a smooth surface that can be used to straighten a bent edge, or else plaster it to the side of the bevel if the edge has curled over too far to straighten. Could be you are using too much of an angle and bending the edge over to one side.
 
No you shouldn't creat a burr when steeling. Use very little pressure and only 1 or 2 passes per side to steel the edge.
 
Quite right there shouldn't be a burr.

You might need to take the knife back to the stone to take the burr off. When you steel, try to find the same angle you used when stoning your knife. You'll feel it through your hand (and almost hear it) when you have the angle. It's almost like a pitching fork - it vibrates when the right note is hit.

Like DB said, don't put pressure on the knife while you're steeling - just let the weight of the knife on the steel be enough. 8 times is probably excessive. It depends on what you're doing.

By the way, I was spoiled when I was taught to bone - I bought a clicker (a small staysharp device that hangs off your chain) for my first season. I bought an fdick flat steel during my second season and left the clicker in my locker after that. A clicker would only get me halfway through an h and tunnel bone (that is, both legs of a lamb). A steel, I would discover, got me all the way through - and could make a knife last the whole 8 hours instead of just 4. Oh - and it took me months to master a steel. This is critical when boning at tally speed. A bad knife can blow out your wrist and a long and painful shift.
 
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