skarb sharpening system

B

basjoo

Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
118
Still can't seem to get the search function to work so I'll throw this out to you: anybody used the skarb sharpening system? skarb Opinions? thanx
 
Nope - but thanks for posting the link. Sure looks interesting, and not that
expensive, either...

There was a reference on the site to bladeforums, from 1999, I believe. One or more of the veterans here must know something about it.. :confused:
 
This contraption looks pretty fine. I wonder if it is good for reprofiling maybe with a diamond stone? One of the reviews claims the angle is very accurate and adjustable and the setup is "easier that an EdgePro." Anybody have any experience with this one?
 
Back a few years ago there were several reviews. I guess the thing that concerns me is that the Skarb fixture constrains the honing stroke to rotate around a pivot post. This causes you to hone more toward the point of the blade than at the base. It also means that you are not honing perpendicular to the edge. I think this can weaken the edge.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89336&highlight=skarb
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89344&highlight=skarb
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89344&highlight=skarb
 
Thanks for the replies. I think it's interesting this system has seemingly fallen off the radar, was just wondering why (it looks good on paper!) Jeff, can you elaborate on the "honing perpendicular to the edge" observation? I've seen people sharpen large blades at rather obtuse angles (blade axis to stone axis) on a bench stone and am wondering if that does indeed weaken the edge.
 
I remember reading about it but haven't even seen it mentioned in years. :confused: For some reason it never did look quite 'right' to me, not sure why.
 
To elaborate: Let's consider the end result rather than the method to produce the result. If your bevel has honing groves that run parallel to the edge it makes the edge more subject to bending over under stress. It is like corrugated metal or paper that is easy to bend along the folds and harder to bend crosswise. If you hone parallel to the edge you produce grooves that are parallel to the edge, hence you produce a weaker edge. The closer you can get to honing straight into the edge the stronger it will be. This effect will be much reduced if you do a thorough job and work your way up to an extremely fine grit, but the effect may still be observed right at the thinnest part of the edge. At the final edge even a fine grit provides distinct grooves that are significant given the thinness of the edge itself. If you examine razor blades under a microscope they are ground perpendicular to the edge.

Honing parallel to the edge is the extreme case. If you hone extremely diagonally to the edge you will weaken it to a lesser degree. I prefer to use bench hones that are long compared to the length of my blades. Mostly I use 8 to 12-inch long hones to allow me to use straighter honing strokes. A lot of my rough work is done on a belt sander that runs perpendicular to the edge. When I use a shorter hone and stroke somewhat diagonally to the axis of the hone I turn my blade so that I am stroking nearly perpendicular to the edge.
 
Ok, obviously it deserved to fade away. Guess I'll stick with the Sharpmaker. Thanks all for the input!
 
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