Tougher, Stronger, AND Easier to Sharpen???

[Uncle Bill]

How can a knife be both tougher and stronger, and easier to sharpen?

Logic tells me anything that makes a blade less willing to give away molecules to, or be rearranged by, wood and rope and vines would make it less willing to give away molecules to, or be rearranged by, a sharpening stone as well.

Am I missing something here? If you understand what I'm failing to grasp, please explain it to me. Use small words and speak slowly.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Blades that are tougher/stronger are usually easier to sharpen as the edge resists impacting/chipping strongly. Since the edge suffers little damage and just wears down, it takes little work to restore it.

Additionally, stronger / tougher blade materials can hold thinner bevels which also make sharpening easier by reducing the amount of material that has to be honed away.

-Cliff

 

[Will Fennell]

Bill,
Were you asking about any specific blade material?



------------------
Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery

 

[Mark Schmitt]

Uncle Bill,

Another point to mention would be that
wear resistance is
independent of hardness/Rc, the standard for
measuring expected blade strength and "tough-
ness".

Mark

 

[Mark Schmitt]

Cliff,

Something struck me while reading your post:

You said:-----------------------------------
Additionally, stronger / tougher blade materials can hold thinner bevels which also make sharpening easier by reducing the amount of material that has to be honed away.
--------------------------------------------

I too, feel that thinner AND tougher edges
are the way to go and are relatively easy to
sharpen (carbon steels). Empirically I
agree with you.

But in theory the less acute the included
angle the LESS material needs to be removed
to form the edge.

Mark

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Mark, by thinner I didn't mean a more acute bevel, I meant that the thickness of the blade at the back of the bevel is decreased. A thinner bevel makes it easier to sharpen a knife (put on a micro-bevel) in the same way a more acute primary grind makes it easier to put on a bevel.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 19 October 1999).]

 

[Uncle Bill]

When we start talking about how much material needs to be removed in order to make the blade sharp again, it's important to say whether we're talking about the primary grind or the secondary grind.

If the primary grind already makes a thinner wedge, then it makes sense that less will have to be removed from the secondary grind.

But if we're talking about the primary grind, then the narrower the angle the longer it takes to create it.

All of this would be much easier to explain with graphics and labels.