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I can sympathize with what you are dealing with. That said, once the LOW is pried off the edge the battle is half won. Then it’s just a matter of how to remove the standing up burr that is clinging to the edge. I did a lot of experimenting and found that Scotch-Brite does a great job of popping the LOW off the edge and getting it to stand up. Then with extremely light pressure it does a good job of removing most of it. BUT, you are sharpening straights and I seriously doubt S-B would work because it’s way too coarse. For knives I like a toothy edge, but for straights I’d think toothy is the last thing wanted. So, S-B is probably not relevant here.
So, I guess the question is once the burr is standing up how to remove it without damaging the polished edge. Am I correct?
Imagine what that looks like. There is the edge of the blade with burr stick up, stuck to the edge. If the blade is dragged across just about any surface it will bend to whatever angle the blade is to the surface and then just slide. Flip the blade over and drag it again and the burr will bend slightly and then just slide.
I “think” the question you are posing is if there is a material what will grab on to and stick to the burr as it’s dragged across some material so well that the burr will be torn from the edge. Good luck with that. If you find such a material please let me know.
I went down the same road thinking along the same lines. Not saying I’m right, but just that I’ve done some experimenting to no avail. I tried every material I could find. The list of materials is very long, but suffice it to say I tried everything from the concrete in the driveway to licking it off the blade with my tongue. I even tried slicing it off with a razor blade. Nothing worked.
Once the LOW is pried from the edge and the burr is standing up I “think” there are only two ways to remove it; fracture it off with repeating bending, or grind it off with extremely fine abrasives whilst attempting to not create more burr.
Once the burr is standing up it’s very easily bent back and forth and can be fractured off with repeated bending at a steep angle of 45° - 90° per swipe. This does not need to be time consuming. Just swipe it back and forth, switching sides as fast as possible on leather or against your jeans, etc. 20 swipes take about 5 seconds. The important thing is the steep angle so to bend the burr as much as possible with each pass. That soft, ductile burr is pesky but it will eventually metal fatigue and break off.
All of my experience is with knives and trying to remove the frustrating, hair pulling freak show of the ductile type of burr you are talking about while still keeping a toothy edge. Therefore, I have little experience trying to grind it off with finer and finer abrasives as that removes tooth. That said, I suspect that slightly increasing the sharpening angle when trying to remove the burr with finer abrasives would be helpful.
I applaud your thinking that there must be some material would “grab” onto the burr as the blade is dragged across the surface. I wondered the same thing. But, if you really think about what’s happening… drag the blade across the surface. The burr bends slightly and then slides along the surface. I think it’s doubtful any material will be sticky enough to adhere to the burr enough to tear it off. I think it’s a matter of either fracturing it off with repeated bending or grinding it off with finer and finer abrasives.
I’m surprised the problem has presented whilst producing a polished edge with fine abrasives. LOW is easily created with coarse abrasives but, at least in my limited experience, not so much while producing a polished with very fine abrasives. I guess that shows my limited experience with polished edges.
I know there are other Exchange members who are experienced straight razor sharpeners. Come on folks, help us out here!
Anyway, IMHO, experimenting is the only way to really understand and find solutions. Give that propeller wood a try and see how it goes. If you find a better deburring method I’d love to hear about it and I’m sure others would too. Please keep us informed as to the results of your testing even if it does not work. It’s all part of the journey.
I can sympathize with what you are dealing with. That said, once the LOW is pried off the edge the battle is half won. Then it’s just a matter of how to remove the standing up burr that is clinging to the edge. I did a lot of experimenting and found that Scotch-Brite does a great job of popping the LOW off the edge and getting it to stand up. Then with extremely light pressure it does a good job of removing most of it. BUT, you are sharpening straights and I seriously doubt S-B would work because it’s way too coarse. For knives I like a toothy edge, but for straights I’d think toothy is the last thing wanted. So, S-B is probably not relevant here.
So, I guess the question is once the burr is standing up how to remove it without damaging the polished edge. Am I correct?
Imagine what that looks like. There is the edge of the blade with burr stick up, stuck to the edge. If the blade is dragged across just about any surface it will bend to whatever angle the blade is to the surface and then just slide. Flip the blade over and drag it again and the burr will bend slightly and then just slide.
I “think” the question you are posing is if there is a material what will grab on to and stick to the burr as it’s dragged across some material so well that the burr will be torn from the edge. Good luck with that. If you find such a material please let me know.
I went down the same road thinking along the same lines. Not saying I’m right, but just that I’ve done some experimenting to no avail. I tried every material I could find. The list of materials is very long, but suffice it to say I tried everything from the concrete in the driveway to licking it off the blade with my tongue. I even tried slicing it off with a razor blade. Nothing worked.
Once the LOW is pried from the edge and the burr is standing up I “think” there are only two ways to remove it; fracture it off with repeating bending, or grind it off with extremely fine abrasives whilst attempting to not create more burr.
Once the burr is standing up it’s very easily bent back and forth and can be fractured off with repeated bending at a steep angle of 45° - 90° per swipe. This does not need to be time consuming. Just swipe it back and forth, switching sides as fast as possible on leather or against your jeans, etc. 20 swipes take about 5 seconds. The important thing is the steep angle so to bend the burr as much as possible with each pass. That soft, ductile burr is pesky but it will eventually metal fatigue and break off.
All of my experience is with knives and trying to remove the frustrating, hair pulling freak show of the ductile type of burr you are talking about while still keeping a toothy edge. Therefore, I have little experience trying to grind it off with finer and finer abrasives as that removes tooth. That said, I suspect that slightly increasing the sharpening angle when trying to remove the burr with finer abrasives would be helpful.
I applaud your thinking that there must be some material would “grab” onto the burr as the blade is dragged across the surface. I wondered the same thing. But, if you really think about what’s happening… drag the blade across the surface. The burr bends slightly and then slides along the surface. I think it’s doubtful any material will be sticky enough to adhere to the burr enough to tear it off. I think it’s a matter of either fracturing it off with repeated bending or grinding it off with finer and finer abrasives.
I’m surprised the problem has presented whilst producing a polished edge with fine abrasives. LOW is easily created with coarse abrasives but, at least in my limited experience, not so much while producing a polished with very fine abrasives. I guess that shows my limited experience with polished edges.
I know there are other Exchange members who are experienced straight razor sharpeners. Come on folks, help us out here!
Anyway, IMHO, experimenting is the only way to really understand and find solutions. Give that propeller wood a try and see how it goes. If you find a better deburring method I’d love to hear about it and I’m sure others would too. Please keep us informed as to the results of your testing even if it does not work. It’s all part of the journey.