Apr 22 2008
Sharpness Flatness Godness Agnes!
…Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Honing. When it comes to sharpening, abrasives are abrasives the world around. All paths are means that will lead to a similar end. Waterstones, oilstones, sandpaper, etc. The steel does not care; the abrasives don’t care either, as long as the grit equivilents of abrasiveness are appropriate to the goal. Sharpness. For the sake of this discussion, I am referring to the abrasive grits, as they correspond to the grits common to waterstones. I do this simply for the reason that waterstones are very popular, but I am in no way advocating that waterstones are the best abrasive. Most all abrasives will sharpen, and it is up to the end user to investigate the pros and cons of the various abrasives to determine the best paths for themselves. For cross-reference please refer to this cross reference chart to derive the equivilent grit for the media you choose.
It is important to keep in mind that the goal of sharpness has stages. Coarse grits are for grinding, heavy material removal, bevel forming, flattening. Initial flattening and bevel angle forming are the biggest jobs and to aid getting the job over with, the coarsest grits should be used to get the bulk of these tasks done. Fine grits are for honing and polishing. Removing coarse scratches in steel with finer ones is what creates finer sharpness. Creating the wire or feather edge needed to establish a fresh edge on the tool can be done with any of the grits.
It is up to the sharpener to determine how dull the tool is, and select the coarsnees or fineness of grit needed to restore the edge to sharpmess, fastest way. This means, it comes down to how much steel needs to be removed to form the wire, or feather. If only a lttle honing is needed to restore the edge, don’t select coarse abrasives when you begin. If a lot of honing is needed, don’t select fine abrasives when you begin, but know you will have to polish all the way up through the grits to the fine abrasives to restore the sharpness. It is important to get a feel for the finish your honing equipment will give you as a finish result at each stage of the work. It will aid you to learn to evaluate what is needed, where to start, how long to hone, and when you have reached what was needed. Knowing this simplifies the task and helps you save time. This is learned by using the sharpening tools you have on your edge tools. It is getting to know one another, sharpening intimacy. Continue Reading »
