Don Nguyen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2011
- Messages
- 898
- Reaction score
- 139
About your knives or anything about you about knives.
I recently learned about wire edges, but never quite understood whaaat they were. Knew WHAT they were, but never really had the mental picture of what it was.
Until I finished my first knife. Sharpened it; pretty sharp. Used it for thanksgiving; it was not bad. I thought I got it working pretty well. No glimmer when looking down the edge. Passes 3 finger test, slices paper, obliterates hair. Does OK on tomatoes, needs a bit of movement.
Then I started reading more and more about wire edges. Lots of Dave Martell info, and I read through the Sharpening Olympics too. So I took a look at my knife again to see if I could locate a wire edge (which was most probably, definitely, absolutely going to be there; I was sure of it because of my skill level and experience).
Noticed at the edge that there seemed to be some small chips, but instead I had the revelation of a wire edge. They were not chips, they were just sections where the wire edge had come off! I had this BIGGO wire edge on there! I've probably been putting them on every single knife that I have sharpened. No wonder the actual edge looked a little different. It wasn't reflecting light as if I had real dull spots on there, but looking at the edge on the side it was almost a bit shinier. As if the patina wasn't showing itself on the wire edge. Dunno what I was seeing, but now I know what what I see there is a wire edge.
It was also ridiculously, ridiculously hard to get off. Banged it on the cutting board, stropped it a bunch, sawed into soft wood (super aggressive Murray Carter approach). Still there.
Soooo, now I knew. I thought I had a pretty decent understanding of sharpening, but I've only scratched the surface.
More practice time soon to come. Hopefully what I am seeing is an actual wire edge, and not chips in the blade. How embarrasing would that be :sad0:
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Details on the knife/process:
-Forged from a old Nicholson file (probably 1095 or W1)
-About 0.6 mm thick at the spine (from the heel. Yes; it's that thin. It was an accident :O) Slight taper to tip
-Single bevel grind. Flat left, slightly blended partial flat on the right
-About 7 degree angle on right side, with small ~10 degree microbevel on left.
So it was a thin thin narrow narrow knife. Lots of mistakes bringing this one to life, but I learned a butt-ton of stuff.
I recently learned about wire edges, but never quite understood whaaat they were. Knew WHAT they were, but never really had the mental picture of what it was.
Until I finished my first knife. Sharpened it; pretty sharp. Used it for thanksgiving; it was not bad. I thought I got it working pretty well. No glimmer when looking down the edge. Passes 3 finger test, slices paper, obliterates hair. Does OK on tomatoes, needs a bit of movement.
Then I started reading more and more about wire edges. Lots of Dave Martell info, and I read through the Sharpening Olympics too. So I took a look at my knife again to see if I could locate a wire edge (which was most probably, definitely, absolutely going to be there; I was sure of it because of my skill level and experience).
Noticed at the edge that there seemed to be some small chips, but instead I had the revelation of a wire edge. They were not chips, they were just sections where the wire edge had come off! I had this BIGGO wire edge on there! I've probably been putting them on every single knife that I have sharpened. No wonder the actual edge looked a little different. It wasn't reflecting light as if I had real dull spots on there, but looking at the edge on the side it was almost a bit shinier. As if the patina wasn't showing itself on the wire edge. Dunno what I was seeing, but now I know what what I see there is a wire edge.
It was also ridiculously, ridiculously hard to get off. Banged it on the cutting board, stropped it a bunch, sawed into soft wood (super aggressive Murray Carter approach). Still there.
Soooo, now I knew. I thought I had a pretty decent understanding of sharpening, but I've only scratched the surface.
More practice time soon to come. Hopefully what I am seeing is an actual wire edge, and not chips in the blade. How embarrasing would that be :sad0:
-----
Details on the knife/process:
-Forged from a old Nicholson file (probably 1095 or W1)
-About 0.6 mm thick at the spine (from the heel. Yes; it's that thin. It was an accident :O) Slight taper to tip
-Single bevel grind. Flat left, slightly blended partial flat on the right
-About 7 degree angle on right side, with small ~10 degree microbevel on left.
So it was a thin thin narrow narrow knife. Lots of mistakes bringing this one to life, but I learned a butt-ton of stuff.