Sharpening Problem

[Ed W]

I know you are probably all sick to death of sharpening questions and this may have been asked before but I couldn't find it.

Can anyone help me because my blade edge always feel rough even after stroping, is this normal?

 

[Lost_Patrol]

What type of blade is it, and what are you using to sharpen it ?

 

[Ogri the trog]

What type of blade is it, and what are you using to sharpen it ?

Lost Patrol is right, a bit more information would help a lot. Do you mean that there is a burr, or is the blade rough elsewhere? Are you using a particular sharpening system or a series of abrasives. I have seen advice on using strops that advocate between 3 and 10 times the number of strokes on a strop that you used on the last (finest) abrasive stone, it could just be that you are not stropping the blade enough.

HTH

Ogri the trog

 

[Kepis]

I tend to strop my blades for about 50 strokes on each side, the strop also has some polishing compound on it, find this works a treat and i don't end up with burrs.

 

[Hoodoo]

Perhaps the problem is that you never sharpened all the way down to the very edge and so you are essentially stropping a rough edge to begin with.

 

[Longstrider]

This sounds like problem caused by one of two things. Either the blade is being sharpened on too co**** a stone prior to stropping, or it's being sharpened in an uneven manner i.e. too much work on one side of the edge, not enough on the other resulting in a considerable burr building up on one side.
Co****r stones are great for removing steel down to a workable edge, but a finer stone is the tool for finishing off with. I use DMT Diafolds for almost all my knife sharpening. They range from Extra Co**** down to Extra Fine in four stages, and I'll normally only need the Fine and the Extra Fine to re-sharpen a knife even after serious (ab)use. The co****r grits are for regrinding and reprofiling work but are also handy for tools like slashing hooks and the like.
You might start by giving each edge of the blade half a dozen wipes on the stone each side, but you want to finish off by doing one stroke each side a few times to eliminate any burr before stropping.
A leather strop loaded with chrome polish (I use Autosol - comes in a tube like toothpaste) will give a well polished edge more than sharp enough to shave with, but for a truly miror-like finish you cannot beat using a seperate strop loaded with jewellers rouge to finish off with.
Don't forget that the strop will only be removing the tiniest amount of steel. The edge will only end up smooth and shiny if it's pretty close to that before stropping.

Edit to say that the censor seems to dislike the term "co****" so think of **** indicating the letters a, r, s, and e ! I sometimes think these computers are too darned smart for their own good *LOL*

 

[scanker]

It made me laugh earlier on - in a link that contained the term "pocke****erfilter" - "p o c k e t w a t e r f i l t e r".

Looks like Scunthorpe's OK though - my Father had a call from his IT dept when he referenced that in an email!! I think the swear filter manufacturer needs a better imagination, the ******** ****** ****** ******* ******

(They were just asterixes! )

 

[Ed W]

Sorry for the late reply, my internet was down.

I'm using a set of japanese waterstones, 800 then 1200 then 6000. I may not be sharpening to the edge of the bevel but I'm pretty sure that I am. I end up with a burr and I strop the blade 50 times alternately but with no abrasive polish so I will give that a try.

 

[Hoodoo]

Do you get a burr on one side or both? You have to get the burr after sharpening each side. Then you know you have brought both sides down to meet.

 

[Ed W]

I get the burr on both sides Hoodoo

 

[Ogri the trog]

Ed,
Have you tried what some people call the Brass rod test? You can use your thumbnail but for safety's sake ;
Get a Bic biro or something similar
Place the edge flat against the plastic and elevate the back of the knife until you feel the edge bite. Repeat this at several places along both edges of the blade.
This should give you a good indication of where the knife is sharp and which parts need more attention.
You can then concentrate your efforts where they will give better results.

Failing this, buy yourself a Spyderco Sharpmaker - insanely sharp knives.

ATB

Ogri the trog