maintaining the profile of the knives and wasting the least amount of steel

[r0bz]

how do you maintain the profile of the knives and waste the least amount of steel?
I can feel burrs only if they are stupidly massive
also, I was wondering do you spend more time sharpening the heel compared to the other parts of the blade since it is thicker ?

 

[Rangen]

how do you maintain the profile of the knives and waste the least amount of steel?
I can feel burrs only if they are stupidly massive
also, I was wondering do you spend more time sharpening the heel compared to the other parts of the blade since it is thicker ?

When you say "maintain the profile," are you talking about thinning behind the edge, or are you talking about the bevel and edge itself? The words point to the former, but the next sentence implies the latter. I'll give a piece of advice that would apply to both: keep your pressure gentle unless your purpose is to take off a lot of metal. A big part of my sharpening journey has been toward being able to use much less pressure, which also increases my accuracy.

I can feel very tiny burrs. Some of that may be finger sensitivity, but I think a lot of it is practice. Try using each of your 10 fingers in turn. You'll probably find, as I did, that some of them are much better than others at feeling burrs, and the winner(s) probably won't be the more-calloused forefinger and thumb. To best feel burrs, you are moving perpendicular to the edge, and toward the edge.

I have not found the heel to need extra attention; it seems to come along for the ride (exception: knives with bolsters). The toe, on the other hand, seems like it should need less attention than the rest, but it seems to want more, at least in my hands.

 

[r0bz]

When you say "maintain the profile," are you talking about thinning behind the edge, or are you talking about the bevel and edge itself? The words point to the former, but the next sentence implies the latter. I'll give a piece of advice that would apply to both: keep your pressure gentle unless your purpose is to take off a lot of metal. A big part of my sharpening journey has been toward being able to use much less pressure, which also increases my accuracy.

I can feel very tiny burrs. Some of that may be finger sensitivity, but I think a lot of it is practice. Try using each of your 10 fingers in turn. You'll probably find, as I did, that some of them are much better than others at feeling burrs, and the winner(s) probably won't be the more-calloused forefinger and thumb. To best feel burrs, you are moving perpendicular to the edge, and toward the edge.

I have not found the heel to need extra attention; it seems to come along for the ride (exception: knives with bolsters). The toe, on the other hand, seems like it should need less attention than the rest, but it seems to want more, at least in my hands.

what i mean is keeping the profile of the knife for example a gyuto stays a gyuto a nakiri stays a nakiri a chinese cleaver stays a chinese cleaver etc and not something like this happen

 

[Rangen]

what i mean is keeping the profile of the knife for example a gyuto stays a gyuto a nakiri stays a nakiri a chinese cleaver stays a chinese cleaver etc and not something like this happen

Ah! I get it now. It's not a problem I've run into. I think the technique used in Jon Broida videos really helps avoid that, because so much of the blade is touching stone at any given time. And when it's doing that, you should be able to spot, by how the water is swept along, whether the edge is touching the stone all along the length. It's one reason why I always sharpen with the edge toward me, so I can spot things like that. The same technique ought to help get the shape back, if things have gone astray.

 

[MowgFace]

Maybe spend more time practicing feeling for a burr?

I am not one of those burrless sharpening guys, so for me, not being able to feel for a bur would be problematic.

 

[r0bz]

Maybe spend more time practicing feeling for a burr?

I am not one of those burrless sharpening guys, so for me, not being able to feel for a bur would be problematic.

i can feel one i sepnd time doing it
the problem is i can only feel very big burrs

 

[Bolt Thrower]

try using something besides your fingers to detect burrs then. dragging a qtip or microfiber towel from spine to edge, burrs will often get hung up on them.

 

[r0bz]

try using something besides your fingers to detect burrs then. dragging a qtip or microfiber towel from spine to edge, burrs will often get hung up on them.

this works only when the burr is big i can feel big burrs with fingers the problem is feeling for a small burr

 

[sansho]

refreshing via stropping can be a good way to waste less steel

 

[r0bz]

refreshing via stropping can be a good way to waste less steel

it is a low HRC knife i maintain it between sharpening using a steel rod and when sharpening i always thin and then sharpen the edge using the scrubbing method and then deburr using stropping edge leading strokes
thinning done with a 100/200 gritstone and sharpening edge using an 800 gritstone

 

[Bolt Thrower]

this works only when the burr is big i can feel big burrs with fingers the problem is feeling for a small burr

I know, which is why I suggested you use something besides your fingers to detect the burr. The objects I listed can help you detect smaller burrs than your fingers can feel.

I do something similar. After I think my edge is good and I've cleaned it and it's passed visual inspection, then I drag the over across dry cloth to see if either side grabs the cloth more than the other, indicating a burr.

If it passes that, final test is stropping once or twice per side on a 1 micron strop with diamond compound. Every once in a while edges will pass the other tests but I'll see way more stropping compound present on one side than the other. Which means there's a burr and I need to go back to the finest stone I used on that particular edge because the knife is not ready to strop at that point.

 

[r0bz]

I know, which is why I suggested you use something besides your fingers to detect the burr. The objects I listed can help you detect smaller burrs than your fingers can feel.

I do something similar. After I think my edge is good and I've cleaned it and it's passed visual inspection, then I drag the over across dry cloth to see if either side grabs the cloth more than the other, indicating a burr.

If it passes that, final test is stropping once or twice per side on a 1 micron strop with diamond compound. Every once in a while edges will pass the other tests but I'll see way more stropping compound present on one side than the other. Which means there's a burr and I need to go back to the finest stone I used on that particular edge because the knife is not ready to strop at that point.

thank you

 

[Blank Blades.]

If you really can't tell with your fingers for small burrs. Use a cheap microscope.

I bought a pocket microscope because I don't have a computer to plug a USB microscope into, and it works very well for this kind of thing.

Some people suggest jewelers loupes, I've never tried one, so idk how it compares to a microscope, but anything that will let you see the burr close up. It can also highlight very small edge damage, and inconsistencies in your sharpening that could be otherwise missed, or misinterpreted.