After 400

2 questions real quick… 1. Are you using the sharpie trick to make sure you are matching the existing angle and 2.are you raising a burr at the lower levels before advancing the stone progression? We should be able to help you out more after we get these answers 🙂

.are you raising a burr at the lower levels before advancing the stone progression?

I understand where you’re going but I’m actually trying to avoid a burr these days. I watch my edge develope through a loupe at the higher grits until I apex. Once I’m there, alternating strokes keeps it clean.

I think a burr actually weakens the metal under it, even if you remove it during the process.

Ken

I see what you’re saying ken, but for someone who’s new to sharpening this would be very confusing I think.

It can be, Josh, but otoh, it’s not rocket science 😉

I agree with trying to apex the edge at higher grits to conserve metal, but it is impossible to not raise some of a burr, even as hard as you try. Even if you can’t feel it there will still be a microscopic burr there. I think the “not raising a burr” theory only works in theory and not in practice 🙂 but I may be wrong!

You’re technically right, of course. Even a single stroke will raise a slight burr, once you’ve reached the edge. My issue isn’t so much with saving steel as weakening the metal you’re using to form the edge. Never forming one “intentionally” and always alternating strokes seems to minimize this. Removing a single stroke burr is a lot less than 10-20 strokes.

Ken

I do not alternate every stroke.

I would change this. After raising a burr once on either side at the beginning of the process (if you decide to create one at all), switch to alternating strokes for that level and every grit level after. See if that makes a difference.

…and did not travel more than half way with the stone.

I had to reread the thread, I missed this the first time around.

While I can appreciate what Ken was referring to, I don’t think limiting stone travel is a good solution, for a lot of reasons. Perhaps a better solution (that’s been talked about before in other threads) would be… be aware of how you put pressure on the stone, so that you don’t change the angle. In other words, if you put pressure in near the top of the stone, it can, in some cases cause it to tilt in slightly as the pressure point goes over the edge. So, by maintaining an even pressure, or pressure near the bottom of the stone, this won’t occur. (And when I say pressure, I’m not talking alot to begin with.)

Glad your results are improving. Also, it may have been mentioned before, but giving the stones a chance to break in a bit, will result in better edges. Check THIS PAGE, for a bit more info.

Should get even better! :woohoo: