Mr. Mark, Thank you kindly for you generous offer to send some emery, however for now at least I’m good to go on buffing and polishing supplies.
For me at least, burr removal is a real trip. Even what appears to be a light burr has many of the same properties of a large gnarly burr. Part of it is very easy to remove, but the part right next to the edge is more difficult. It’s as though that last part next to the edge has become work hardened. That’s just a guess on my part. I suspect that Mr. Jan would be better able to explain what’s going on there that I can.
That last bit of burr can be difficult to impossible detect visually, even with a loupe. It takes a microscope to really see it. Interestingly, that last bit of burr can greatly affect sharpness to the tune of 200+ gf on the PT50B. I’ve seen that many times. I’ll sharpen a blade and check it for sharpness. When I find it’s not as sharp as I expect, I’ll throw it under the microscope and, sure enough, there is still burr.
Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Check out the areas where the arrows point.
That amount of burr is so small it requires a microscope to see it. I can’t see it with my unaided eye or with a 10 X loupe, nor am I able to feel it with my fingers, yet it can greatly increase the sharpness reading. However, even without a microscope when I get a sharpness reading that is not as sharp as expected, I always suspect remaining burr. It’s actually highly indicative of same.
Of course when that happens it is pretty easy to test. Just deburr more and if the sharpness drops into spec then that’s most likely what’s going on. I’ve seen that so many times now that when I find myself in that situation I can guess with pretty high confidence burr is the culprit.
For me, the sharpening part is relatively easy. Grind on one side and get as small a burr as possible. Then do that on the other side. As long as a constant sharpening angle was maintained during sharpening, chances are the blade is sharp. Then the more difficult part, remove the burr without smoothing the nice toothy edge.
If the burr is not completely removed, the nice, sharp edge is not exposed and sharpness suffers.
Umm..., I’m no expert at this stuff, so please don’t take my word for it. You know, try a bunch of stuff and see what pans out. I’m just attempting as best I can to describe my own experience and how that experience impacts my thinking when I’m sharpening.
For me at least, burr removal is a real trip. Even what appears to be a light burr has many of the same properties of a large gnarly burr. Part of it is very easy to remove, but the part right next to the edge is more difficult. It’s as though that last part next to the edge has become work hardened. That’s just a guess on my part. I suspect that Mr. Jan would be better able to explain what’s going on there that I can.
That last bit of burr can be difficult to impossible detect visually, even with a loupe. It takes a microscope to really see it. Interestingly, that last bit of burr can greatly affect sharpness to the tune of 200+ gf on the PT50B. I’ve seen that many times. I’ll sharpen a blade and check it for sharpness. When I find it’s not as sharp as I expect, I’ll throw it under the microscope and, sure enough, there is still burr.
Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Check out the areas where the arrows point.
That amount of burr is so small it requires a microscope to see it. I can’t see it with my unaided eye or with a 10 X loupe, nor am I able to feel it with my fingers, yet it can greatly increase the sharpness reading. However, even without a microscope when I get a sharpness reading that is not as sharp as expected, I always suspect remaining burr. It’s actually highly indicative of same.
Of course when that happens it is pretty easy to test. Just deburr more and if the sharpness drops into spec then that’s most likely what’s going on. I’ve seen that so many times now that when I find myself in that situation I can guess with pretty high confidence burr is the culprit.
For me, the sharpening part is relatively easy. Grind on one side and get as small a burr as possible. Then do that on the other side. As long as a constant sharpening angle was maintained during sharpening, chances are the blade is sharp. Then the more difficult part, remove the burr without smoothing the nice toothy edge.
If the burr is not completely removed, the nice, sharp edge is not exposed and sharpness suffers.
Umm..., I’m no expert at this stuff, so please don’t take my word for it. You know, try a bunch of stuff and see what pans out. I’m just attempting as best I can to describe my own experience and how that experience impacts my thinking when I’m sharpening.