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I was in a hurry

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  • #52310
    Michael Blakley
    Participant
    • Topics: 29
    • Replies: 28

    I was in a hurry and a friend wanted me to sharpen a knife for him.  So I grabbed my 80 grit stone and used a scrubbing motion to put an edge on the knife as quickly as I could.  Then I proceeded to use that same scrubbing motion on the 100 200 400 600 800 1000 and 1500.  Then I used the usual one-way stroke on the glass/diamond.

    What’s the down side of using a scrubbing motion on all the stones?

    Michael

    #52311
    Marc H
    Moderator
    • Topics: 81
    • Replies: 2755

    A scrubbing stroke is the first stroke I utilize with each grit I use in my sharpening regimen.  I have not experienced any downside in using it.

    Marc
    (MarcH's Rack-Its)

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    #52312
    Organic
    Participant
    • Topics: 17
    • Replies: 929

    I also scrub at the beginning of every grit and it doesn’t seem to cause a problem. I finish each grit with several edge leading strokes and light pressure to establish a uniform scratch pattern.

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    #52322
    tcmeyer
    Participant
    • Topics: 38
    • Replies: 2098

    Scrubbing is OK with higher grits, but in my opinion, you should take care to not hit the apex with very low grits and “up” strokes.  They can create rather deep chips which can be very difficult to remove with higher grits.  If you are scrubbing with 80 grit, for instance, switch to a higher grit (maybe 200?) and edge-leading strokes when you see that you’re getting close to the apex.  Again, IMO.  When you get to 400 or 600 grit and higher, scrubbing is OK, especially if your stones are very well “broken-in.”

    The danger is that you may create a defect (chip?) in the edge that is too deep to be removed with a reasonable amount of effort with the next higher grit, and using the current grit is likely to cause even more damage.

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    #52325
    Michael Blakley
    Participant
    • Topics: 29
    • Replies: 28

    Dear TCMeyer,

    Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it very much.  In sharpening a blade, I think we share the medical doctor’s Hippocratic oath.  Rule #1, do no harm.

    I may have been hasty at pulling out that 80 grit.  On the other hand, at least I didn’t pull out the reverse side (50 grit).

    Fortunately, this sharpening went well,   It passed the paper cut (yellow pages) test without a snag.

    Again, thank you sir!

    Michael

    #52327
    Organic
    Participant
    • Topics: 17
    • Replies: 929

    Scrubbing is OK with higher grits, but in my opinion, you should take care to not hit the apex with very low grits and “up” strokes. They can create rather deep chips which can be very difficult to remove with higher grits. If you are scrubbing with 80 grit, for instance, switch to a higher grit (maybe 200?) and edge-leading strokes when you see that you’re getting close to the apex. Again, IMO. When you get to 400 or 600 grit and higher, scrubbing is OK, especially if your stones are very well “broken-in.” The danger is that you may create a defect (chip?) in the edge that is too deep to be removed with a reasonable amount of effort with the next higher grit, and using the current grit is likely to cause even more damage.

    Do you think this is also dependent on the steel? I would imagine that it would be easier to cause these types of micro chips on the edge trailing strokes if you were sharpening a high hardness steel whereas a softer steel might be more forgiving.

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    #52328
    Marc H
    Moderator
    • Topics: 81
    • Replies: 2755

    Scrubbing is OK with higher grits, but in my opinion, you should take care to not hit the apex with very low grits and “up” strokes. They can create rather deep chips which can be very difficult to remove with higher grits. If you are scrubbing with 80 grit, for instance, switch to a higher grit (maybe 200?) and edge-leading strokes when you see that you’re getting close to the apex. Again, IMO. When you get to 400 or 600 grit and higher, scrubbing is OK, especially if your stones are very well “broken-in.” The danger is that you may create a defect (chip?) in the edge that is too deep to be removed with a reasonable amount of effort with the next higher grit, and using the current grit is likely to cause even more damage.

    In the same scope of discussion as “Organic ” presents I also think besides steel dependence we also have the sharpening medium to consider.  For those harder more chip prone steels I find the whetstone sharpening mediums more effective to sharpen these steels.  I utilize the scrubbing strokes, just the same with the whetstones, with much less chance of the possible adverse results seen with the very course diamond stones “tcmeyer” is referring to.

    Marc
    (MarcH's Rack-Its)

    1 user thanked author for this post.
    #52329
    Brewbear
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 168

    Staying with the same though outlined by tcmeyer,  would it make a difference if you use a edge trailing (?) downward stroke?

    #52346
    tcmeyer
    Participant
    • Topics: 38
    • Replies: 2098

    Brewbear:  Downward strokes are edge-leading.  Edge-leading or edge-trailing are terms describing the blade relative to the stone.  Because the WE system moves the stone, relative to the blade, we tend to get it backwards.

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    #52374
    Pat
    Participant
    • Topics: 16
    • Replies: 114

    I will say that over this past weekend when I employed the Gen 3 pro and LAA, I used, as recommended for ensuring no burr, edge leading (stone moving down upon contact with blade) strokes and got lighter and lighter as the scratches were removed during grit progression.  I used a very bright shop light and 30X loop and saw apexing without any shine whatsoever and the cutting of newspaper for sharpness and feel was smooth and didn’t catch, which often happens when you still have a burr, or your apex is splotchy.  The apex should be cleaner and smoother as grits progress.  I love the system.

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