Touching up a microbevel

T

Thumber

Joined
Dec 8, 2015
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72
Hi

My next sharpening question is as follows. I sharpened up my pm2 at 30 degrees inclusive on the sharpmaker. I finished by using the UF stones to put a 40 degree microbevel then stropped.

If I am going to touch up the edge, do I donut on the 30 and then put a new microbevel, or do I just touch up on 40 again.

Before I do anything I intend to just use the strop, but I was curious if it's better to reprofile back to 30 or just touch up at 40

Thx
 
Use the 40 degree slots for touchup. Keep doing that until one of three things happens:

1. The edge won't respond to microbeveling any more and needs a full sharpening.
2. The microbevel becomes so large that it's no longer a micro and the blade needs a full sharpening.
3. You are bored or otherwise want to reset the edge back to 30 degrees inclusive.

Brian.
 
Thanks Brian. Same technique as setting the micro? Nice light strokes. I assume I'm not trying to raise a big burr. Just apex at 40, switch sides and deburr on a loaded stop.
 
Ideally you'll just need light strokes with a fine stone. But the harder you use your blade, the more damage will be done to the edge. It's just the nature of the beast. So at some point you'll probably find that microbeveling requires more effort. Or a more coarse stone. Or finally, that it just doesn't work at all. Like if you have chips or really bad edge rolling. At that point, you start over, which might include cutting directly into one of the rods at 90 degrees to remove the weakened metal at the edge.

Brian.
 
I don't know what donuts have to do with anything, but I'm excited! [emoji39]

After enough sharpenings at 40, you will experience edge thickening, since you'll be moving up into thicker steel. Even with a perfectly keen edge, you'll notice more cutting resistance, making the edge seem duller in use. This will take a good while using only UF rods. As others have mentioned, you may occasionally have minor edge damage that will require more work.

I don't know for sure, but stropping such an edge would likely round over the shoulder between the main bevel and the microbevel, creating more of a convex profile. That is fine, if it's what you want, but it will probably mean more work to touch up the edge on the Sharpmaker, since you'll be having to restore the perfect V shape of the microbevel.
 
I touched it u on the UFs use increasingly light passes. Once complete I decided to forego the strop as I cud detect no burr and it is razor sharp again

Thanks again for the great advice. I have learned more in a couple of months asking questions than I did for years before.

At one time I thought the Chefs Choice sharpener was the best thing since sliced bread.

I gave it to my brother last month as he will never take the time to learn.

Between the waterstones and SM I will never need it again
 
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