When you study the physics of how molecules and atoms work and bind together and move and shift, there are a lot of suprising and amazing things going on.
Like how static electricity and just electricity in general interact with molecules, and how loosely held together some of these molecules are, depending on their structure, and how they interact with each other.
These bonds between molecules are nothing more than electrons shared by atoms.
In some structures, like graphite, the structure is very robust.
In others, molecules can be pushed and moved relatively easily; suprisingly easily in some cases.
When an apple falls off a tree, for example, the molecules in the stem holding the apple lose their electrical bond connections and it falls to the ground. When you touch an object, you are not actually touching atoms or molecules; you are “feeling” the electromagnetic force. This is similar to when you hold two magnets apart with their like-poles facing each other. You feel the magnetic force, which is nothing more than electrons interacting with each other.
When you rub a glass rod with a piece of silk, you are actually rubbing electrons off the glass rod with the silk.
Given some of what I have seen in the world of physics, it does not suprise me at all that the large amount of friction that is created between the surface of the leather and the steel (enough to lift a heavy base off the tabletop) could cause movement at the molecular level on the steel bevel. And when I see the enlarged images, it looks very different to me than the effect I see from mere abrasion.
EDIT: For the record, I didn’t mention “smearing” molecules at any point. That is not burnishing, nor what I was referring to. I am referring to “…the plastic deformation of a surface due to sliding contact with another object. Visually, burnishing smears the texture of a rough surface and makes it shinier. Burnishing may occur on any sliding surface if the contact stress locally exceeds the yield strength of the material…”
