Borosilicate Honing Rod.

[vicv]

ok I see. I think I'd rather just resharpen it but each to their own and if you need a quick touchup I can see the appeal. Even for German knives I don't like honing rods. I just hit the stones. Sorry to take it OT

 

[deanb]

I did a lot of testing with the borosilicate rod on Japanese knives and found that if it's smooth it did do something to bring back the edge (kind of) but where it really worked well is when the rod is roughened by putting scratches in the surface as this then scratched the knife edge making the edge coarser.

For softer German knives the smooth boro rod works very good but IMO a boro rod needs to be roughened with sandpaper to do anything significant to a hard Japanese edge.

What a roughened boro rod is doing to a Japanese knife is very similar to what a grooved steel does for a German knife - it tears at the edge to make it toothier.

Dave,
That's a great explanation of what the boro rod does at the actual edge. How is it that following a few swipes on the boro with a few swipes on on a loaded strop improves the edge so much? What is the strop doing at the edge. I've been toying with the idea of getting a good microscope to actually see it but you probably already know.

Dean

 

[Dave Martell]

I did a lot of testing with the borosilicate rod on Japanese knives and found that if it's smooth it did do something to bring back the edge (kind of) but where it really worked well is when the rod is roughened by putting scratches in the surface as this then scratched the knife edge making the edge coarser.

For softer German knives the smooth boro rod works very good but IMO a boro rod needs to be roughened with sandpaper to do anything significant to a hard Japanese edge.

What a roughened boro rod is doing to a Japanese knife is very similar to what a grooved steel does for a German knife - it tears at the edge to make it toothier.

Dave,
That's a great explanation of what the boro rod does at the actual edge. How is it that following a few swipes on the boro with a few swipes on on a loaded strop improves the edge so much? What is the strop doing at the edge. I've been toying with the idea of getting a good microscope to actually see it but you probably already know.

Dean

Hi Dean,
Using a strop after the boro rod is just like using a strop after a stone, it's just further refinement.

 

[bkdc]

Every time those borosilicate rods are in stock, they sell out fast. I've been using the massive F. Dick polished steel oval rod. Even though the hardness is about equivalent to the very hard steels, it is so massive that I don't think it will form any dings.

It seems to work fine in realigning my CarboNext which I have thinned so much that the edge rolls slightly after sessions. I really don't think the HA borosilicate can do any better.

 

[Benuser]

Consider a single microbevel on your Carbonext.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=NL&hl=en&client=mv-google&p=EBF55079F53216AB&v=xwnFrjiAA_8

 

[tk59]

I haven't used any of my honing rods in a long time...

 

[ThEoRy]

I haven't used any of my honing rods in a long time...

You don't work in a pro kitchen though.... That being said, I've strayed from honing rods as well.

 

[bkdc]

why not just strop your blade on 8000 15000 or some other high grit stone?

 

[Benuser]

why not just strop your blade on 8000 15000 or some other high grit stone?

I would rather suggest a 3k or 5k. A strop with Cr2O3 gets you in the 15k range I believe, but I'm not so sure that is really useful or very lasting with kitchen knives. Give the 15k stone a try and tell about the results.

 

[stevenStefano]

You don't work in a pro kitchen though.... That being said, I've strayed from honing rods as well.

I wish I didn't use mine but sadly I have to. I remember the halcyon days when I'd never use the rod and started sharpening all my knives on my Bester 1200. Now it's the rod and I gotta start at 500 every time

 

[slowtyper]

You don't work in a pro kitchen though.... That being said, I've strayed from honing rods as well.

Do you strop instead? What kind of strop do you like? I never used to hone. I have a leather strop with Chromium ox, but I don't really like it. I made it myself so maybe I made it poorly.

Re Mac Ceramic: Coworker recently brought in a black mac and I liked the results. Thinking about getting one...still on the fence. A "feature" of this is that half is smooth and half is grooved. I haven't used the grooved part and don't think I would....thats probably only needed if your edge is REALLLY bad right?

FWIW I sharpen up to an arashiyama 6K right now.

 

[ThEoRy]

Do you strop instead? What kind of strop do you like? I never used to hone. I have a leather strop with Chromium ox, but I don't really like it. I made it myself so maybe I made it poorly.

Re Mac Ceramic: Coworker recently brought in a black mac and I liked the results. Thinking about getting one...still on the fence. A "feature" of this is that half is smooth and half is grooved. I haven't used the grooved part and don't think I would....thats probably only needed if your edge is REALLLY bad right?

FWIW I sharpen up to an arashiyama 6K right now.

I've started keeping a balsa wood 3 x 10 strop in my knife kit. Diamond on one side, chromium on the other. An elegant solution to bringing the leather pads and such for fear of damaging them.

 

[slowtyper]

How does a touchup compare using your strop or mac ceramic?

 

[ThEoRy]

Well the mac is quicker and more convenient but over time you have to use it more and more frequently. With the strop I think you can go a bit longer between uses. I think the rod weakens your edge over time as well. I still feel the rod is a necessary evil in most pro kitchens though.

 

[slowtyper]

Thanks. I think I'll go with the Mac since I don't usually let it go too long before hitting the stones.