Over polishing?

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brianleepy

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Hi all

I am new to this forum and would like to ask a question.

I sharpened my 240mm carbonext with a king 1200 followed by an imanishi 4000.

After the king I did the thumb nail drag test and the edge was "sticky" all the way to the tip.
I proceeded to polish the edge on my imanishi.

After I finished I did the paper and leg hair test (for some reason I got no arm hair at all >_<)
Knife push cuts paper/magazine paper and even receipt paper cleanly.

But when I did the thumb drag test it didn't "stick" at all.
I then tried the 3 finger test and could put lots of pressure and not feel scared at all.

Did I over polish the edge?

TL/DR: Knife push cuts receipt paper cleanly but doesn't stick when thumbnail drag test is done. Did I over polish the edge?
 
I am a beginner, so take this with a grain of salt.

I don't think so. You should try and get a burr on each grit. The burr should be smaller the higher grit you go. You likely rounded the edge.

Make sure you use the same angle as the earlier stone.
 
rami_m said:
I am a beginner, so take this with a grain of salt.

I don't think so. You should try and get a burr on each grit. The burr should be smaller the higher grit you go. You likely rounded the edge.

Make sure you use the same angle as the earlier stone.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought at first. But it cuts paper/magazine/receipt paper cleanly. I don't think a rounded edge could cut paper...or could it?!??
 
Well I think it can. You don't remove a lot of steel at 4k, do you. People advised me to get a burr at that grit.

The grain of salt rule still applies. Give it a shot
 
probably not over polished... more likely rounded over or inconsistent angle of sharpening
 
Sometimes I wonder the same, but I usually come to the conclusion that it's not. Something went wrong on 4K stone. Also I would not stress myself on getting feelable burr on 4K. The idea is remove/minimize it, not creating it again.
It will depend on the steel as well, but I believe carbonext alloy should be able to hold 4K easy (no personal experience with it though). And, what Chuckles says. If it cuts food the way you like = good job on stones.
 
So...it's actually possible to round an edge and still cut receipt paper with the knife?

This is what's bugging me. I read that a rounded edge will never cut receipt paper let alone cleanly cut it.
 
Ruso said:
Sometimes I wonder the same, but I usually come to the conclusion that it's not. Something went wrong on 4K stone. Also I would not stress myself on getting feelable burr on 4K. The idea is remove/minimize it, not creating it again.
It will depend on the steel as well, but I believe carbonext alloy should be able to hold 4K easy (no personal experience with it though). And, what Chuckles says. If it cuts food the way you like = good job on stones.
Click to expand...

Ok, I am getting conflicting information here. On high grits people tell me to get a burr which should be smaller the higher you go. I see Jon testing for burrs all through his progression or I am wrong here?
 
thats correct... really, not necessary past the coarse work, but it can be a helpful guide, and quite frankly is easier for many people. The burrs you make on finishing stones will be smaller, but they are still there usually. I say usually because i've had some people ask me about burr-less sharpening recently. its kind of a misnomer, as you need to initially create some kind of burr (though it may not be exactly the same as what i teach). Anyways, the gist of it is that you remove fatigued metal by flattening the edge out, and then work your way back to an apex as you move through your progression. I just tend to prefer and teach the way i do because the burr is a helpful guide as you progress in sharpening, and removal isnt that difficult as long as you have a grasp of some very basic sharpening concepts.
 
Make sure you are hitting the cutting edge when sharpening, or all you doing is slowly thinning the blade at the 1200 grit level. An easy test to find the cutting edge is to wrap the stone in newsprint. Practice stropping it. When the paper starts to tear that can give you a pretty good indicator of where the bevel is in relation to the cutting edge. Also you may find that a quick strop on newsprint, brings the micro teeth of the edge into greater concentration and you get an OMG feeling when cutting paper or shaving hairs.
 
Just so I make sure I got it right
It raise a burr flip raise a burr
Go to higher grit
Do the same but you will get a smaller burr.

At the end deburr/ strop.
 
rami_m said:
Just so I make sure I got it right
It raise a burr flip raise a burr
Go to higher grit
Do the same but you will get a smaller burr.

At the end deburr/ strop.
Click to expand...

pretty much, but if just worry about flipping the burr, you will likely have steering issues down the road
 
JBroida said:
pretty much, but if just worry about flipping the burr, you will likely have steering issues down the road
Click to expand...

What else should I look at/ consider? I try to keep angle consistent. What else.
 
Whew, I took the extra time to make sure my angles were correct.

Outcome:
Thumb drag test: Knife sticks more
Magazine test : It seems to be a bit louder. As smooth as before though


I guess the best test is to go get some tomatoes XD

I know that when doing to tomato test I should be looking at how effortless the knife cuts in.
Is there anything else I should be looking for?
 
JBroida said:
grip/tactile feedback (but dont get that confused with tearing at the food)
Click to expand...

Sorry to repeat my question but what do I look for other than burr formation? I really don't want my knives to steer.
 
pay attention to edge symmetry/asymmetry (i.e. bevel construction and general knife geometry)... i plan to make a video that addresses this at some point soon
 
depends on how you use your stone and how quickly it dishes... on softer stones that dish more quickly, you will have to flatten more often. If you can use the stone more evenly across the surface, you may be able to get away with a bit less flattening.
 
When I was new to sharpening (well, I still am really), I had problems with rounding my edge on my polishing stone (6K). This thread has some good stuff in it: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...rpness-question-from-a-newbie-tomato-problems

What really worked for me was to slow things down (I know after watching Jon's videos there is a real temptation to sharpen at the same pace as he does!), and concentrate on trying to maintain the same angle. Also as you go up your progression I've found using lighter and lighter pressure gives better results (using too much pressure on a polishing stone will round your edge).

As regards trying to raise a fresh burr on each stone in the progression, I posted a similar question a while back here: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...u-raise-a-new-burr-with-your-polishing-stones

I think the key is: do whatever works best for you. I certainly found that focusing on burr reduction/removal with using lighter pressure gave me better results. When I was trying to raise a fresh burr on my polishing stone, I was using too much pressure and ended up with rounded edges.
 
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