The cutting never lies.
^I say that, because I've found that a long, deliberate and slow slice of the blade through some fine paper, like phonebook pages, can reveal a lot about whether a burr is present. Even better, if this test is done immediately after stropping, followed by a few strokes cross-grain through some hardwood, followed by the same paper-slicing test again.
This is good stuff! I think a lot of people slice paper with a wire edge or a burr, think they have a great edge, then have the edge go to crap the first time they "really" use it.
Unfortunately some of these same people get on BF and trumpet about the horrible edge retention that 8%c8max steel has.
The more I learn about sharpening, the more I realize I don't know. Proper testing after sharpening is one of those things. Russ
After honing on stones, it's likely at least some burrs will be present. If doing the same paper-slicing test at that stage, you'd likely see the edge snag and/or slip over the paper's edge, indicating presence of large/coarse burrs that are likely folded or bent to one side or the other. Followed by stropping, hopefully the burrs will at least be straightened out, as should be indicated by less snagging or slipping in the paper. Following that, drawing the blade edge through some hardwood, like oak, will reveal if the edge has any weakened steel on it (burrs, even if aligned straight), when the paper-slicing test is done yet again. If the burrs alone were primarily responsible for the fine slicing, the cutting performance will likely drop way off after scrubbing the edge through the hardwood. On the other hand, if the remaining edge geometry and apex are in good shape after the burrs are scrubbed off in the hardwood, the cutting performance will not degrade, and will likely even improve by becoming smoother and more effortless. That's when you can be more confident your edge is in good shape.
The idea is that a fully-apexed and crisp edge of strong, burr-free steel will continue to cut effortlessly after some strokes through the wood, while a poorly-ground edge that's not free of the burrs and other weakened remnants will almost immediately go dull, following the same scrubbing through the hardwood.
David
, and use the same angle as on the strop..I guess, it's the paint/give of the aluminum, but seems pretty sensitive to help me determine whether I got it all..what about you?
