Burr formation best practices

[MrHollowWeen]

Full disclosure: this question is definitely the result of way too much thinking and time on my hands. But hey, the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

Let's say I'm sharpening an edc knife (anything from S30v to s90v). I've gotten to a point where I can feel a burr on different areas of the edge but it's not continuous and there are still large (relatively speaking) areas without one.

Do I - - a) keep sharpening up and down the entire edge until those areas form a burr or b) focus only on the areas without burr formation?

Thank you and good night!

 

[000Robert]

Full disclosure: this question is definitely the result of way too much thinking and time on my hands. But hey, the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

Let's say I'm sharpening an edc knife (anything from S30v to s90v). I've gotten to a point where I can feel a burr on different areas of the edge but it's not continuous and there are still large (relatively speaking) areas without one.

Do I - - a) keep sharpening up and down the entire edge until those areas form a burr or b) focus only on the areas without burr formation?

Thank you and good night!

Depending on what the angle of the edges are, I would reprofile the edges down a dps or two. If I wanted to keep the same angle then I would sharpen the edge till I reached a burr all the way across. Keep in mind what the edges look like and make sure they look even on both sides. I would sharpen about 10 to 20 strokes alternating from side to side until I get a burr if the edges look even.
I'm not an expert so I am interested in what the experts have to say to your question also.

 

[Bluemantra]

From my experience I try and sharpen the entire length of the edge. When I would focus on one area I would tend to remove to much metal from that area and then lose the shape of the factory edge. I find it important to continue to flip the knife and perform more strokes on the side with the thinner bevel.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I usually work the full length of the edge, while I'm forming the burr initially. I use longer heel-to-tip passes on a bench stone in doing so. In this manner, I'm more concerned with keeping the bevels uniform along the full cutting edge. Depending on your sharpening style or equipment used (like a guided setup), there can be some risk in unintentionally creating flat spots or unevenly ground portions, if focusing for too long in one small portion of the edge. You might be able to work to the burr only where it's lacking, but may end up with bevels looking not so pretty anymore. That's why I prefer to keep working in full-length passes until the burr is formed along the entire cutting edge.

It's also possible to finesse the use of pressure & angle while working in full-length passes on the edge, so more is accomplished in areas needing it, and not overgrinding areas not needing it. But that's dependent upon how experienced your technique is, making sure it can still be done fluidly to keep the bevels looking uniform and clean.

 

[MrHollowWeen]

From my experience I try and sharpen the entire length of the edge. When I would focus on one area I would tend to remove to much metal from that area and then lose the shape of the factory edge. I find it important to continue to flip the knife and perform more strokes on the side with the thinner bevel.

...my experience also (more strokes on side with thinner bevel)

 

[MrHollowWeen]

I usually work the full length of the edge, while I'm forming the burr initially. I use longer heel-to-tip passes on a bench stone in doing so. In this manner, I'm more concerned with keeping the bevels uniform along the full cutting edge. Depending on your sharpening style or equipment used (like a guided setup), there can be some risk in unintentionally creating flat spots or unevenly ground portions, if focusing for too long in one small portion of the edge. You might be able to work to the burr only where it's lacking, but may end up with bevels looking not so pretty anymore. That's why I prefer to keep working in full-length passes until the burr is formed along the entire cutting edge.

It's also possible to finesse the use of pressure & angle while working in full-length passes on the edge, so more is accomplished in areas needing it, and not overgrinding areas not needing it. But that's dependent upon how experienced your technique is, making sure it can still be done fluidly to keep the bevels looking uniform and clean.

I'm using an edge pro apex and my experience level is intermediate. The edge pro is relatively new to me (knife sharpening is not) but even so my experience level is not such that I can alter my pressure in a nuanced enough way yet. As a side note, my current mantra is remembering to let the stone do the work and then actually doing it. The more I allow the stone and gravity to be my friends the better my results continue to get.

 

[Bluemantra]

I saw my results dramatically improve when I made continuous heel to tip strokes. The results have been a consistent edge bevel width heel to tip while maintaining the over shape of the knife and has resulted in less metal removed. It does take a while especially when reprofiling a factory just due to the inconsistent grind from the factory sharpening, but touch-ups are much faster. I’ve learned not to try and get perfection on the first sharpening and instead spread it over 2-3 sharpenings. Sometimes the heel takes a few sharpenings to fix from the factory. I use a blitz360 btw.