[Tyson]

Hi all,
I have a spyderco tri-sharpening system that I've had for several years and I love using.  It gets my knifes very, very sharp and the edge angles are just fine for my purposes. 

But, I think my knives get duller more quickly than they ought to, because I don't really know how to effectively deal with the burr that forms during sharpening.  Can anyone give me some advice on how to do this?  Or maybe point to a good tutorial or (even better), some sort of video?

[S Clark]

I use a leather stop mounted on a board.  It takes one or two passes to finish a blade.  There are several available from $25-60.  Mine says "Butz" on the handle.

[jules]

Tyson, do you have and use a steel? I'm not familiar with the spyderco system so I don't quite know what sort of burr you're getting at the end of the process but a steel should be used frequently while your doing a job and it usually gives your knife a finer edge than whatever you've just sharpened it with. I know some people prefer a strop but I think the steel is simpler and more practical.

jules

ps S Calrk posted while I was composing ... I agree that a strop will do that job but from a practical point of view a steel gets my vote, particularly during the course of using a knife. It's a pest to have to stop and clean the knife every time you want to give it a light sharpen.

[Tyson]

Ah yes, a strop is what I need, I've not been using one.

[rahimlee54]

This:  http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/product-p/pkhhone1.htm

 or

This:  http://www.chefknivestogo.com/honebase.html

You also need some rock hard felt to remove the wire edge, or you can run the knife through a cork a few times after each stone.

I have the second one but the first is prettier, just make sure it has some leather included or order some.  I am no expert but I think steel doesn't remove a wire edge it is just a quick fix between sharpening.  You have wire edge, what kind of knives are you using some deburr more quickly than others.

Jared

Jared

[wywires]

Bottom of a ceramic coffee cup works like a charm.

[Rob Babcock]

I usually deal with the burr by trying not to create much in the first place.  Alternating single strokes should mnimize burr creation on your Sharpmaker.  I don't have mine anymore so I'm going from memory a bit.  There are a few methods you can use to deal with a more stubborn wire edge or burr:

1) Slice into the end grain of a chunk 2x4.  This will gently remove the burr.  A wine cork also works well- surprisingly even the rubber ones seems to work.  Gently running the edge into a credit card (as if trying to cut it in half, but not hard, obviously) will also help.

2) Strop on Rock Hard Wool Felt.  It really should be Rock Hard (ie around .8 grams/cubic cm) to keep from deforming the edge.  It works even better if you add a bit of diamond spray, but that's not really necessary except to help polish the edge a bit.

3) For horrible burrs I have a couple of other methods.  The first is edge trailing "steeling" on a pure brass rod.  Brass is very soft and will peel the burr off readily.  For worse burrs you might have to very lightly drag the edge cross the rod as if trying to cut it in half.  The other method for nasty burrs is to very lightly crumple up a bit of aluminum foil into a very loose ball/wad, then slice the wad in half with the knife.  That will generally remove the worst burrs pretty fast.  Be advised the resorting to "The Nuclear Option" will often result in you having to return to the stones again to touch up the edge, but that edge will generally be pretty burr-free unless you go too far.

On the Sharpmaker, I sugged alternating strokes, one at a time is best, to minimize burr creation.  When you get to the finer (light colored) stone, use a progressively lighter touch as the blade gets sharper, being sure to keep alternating sides with each stroke.  If your knife is pretty hard, say 59+ RC, the avoid using the corners, just use the flats; the corner can cause microchipping on those blades (eg Shun).  Finish on a fine ceramic hone, a felt or leather strop, or even light stropping on the cover of a phone book or magazine (the glossy color paper has very fine particles of clay that serve as very fine micro abrasives).  If you need to, don't be afraid to draw the edge thru a wine cork or other such material to remove any vestige of burr.

Hopefully some of those tricks will help you get an edge that holds up a bit longer.

[Rob Babcock]

This:  http://www.chefknivestogo.com/honebase.html

You also need some rock hard felt to remove the wire edge, or you can run the knife through a cork a few times after each stone.

The Hand American strop is great.  All HA's stuff is fantastic and you won't find a better vendor online that CKtG, imoho.

I have the second one but the first is prettier, just make sure it has some leather included or order some.  I am no expert but I think steel doesn't remove a wire edge it is just a quick fix between sharpening.  You have wire edge, what kind of knives are you using some deburr more quickly than others.


Jared

A conventional grooved still can actually make the problem worse.  This is opening a whole new kettle of worms and I know some old-timers, especially meat packing guys, will vehemently disagree, but I consider it true nonetheless.  The only "steels" (which I'll hereafter refer to as "hones" or "honing rods") I would recommend are those made of ceramic (similar to the Sharpmaker but round and finer grit) and glass.  Glass won't do much to softer steel but it works wonders on knives over 60 RC.  Very fine diamond coated rods can also work but those are really more sharpeners than hones.

[jules]

At the risk of joining the "old timers" I'll make a couple of comments:

I totally agree with Rob that a grooved steel is to be avoided, however the steels that meat packers swore by were almost dead flat/smooth. A good steel should be about the same length as your knife to allow a good stroke. It should also be smoothed off with wet and dry paper until you reach a grit that is slightly finer than that of the stone you are using to sharpen your blade.

On a scale of hardness a conventional strop [diamond excluded] is relatively soft, a conventional steel comes next followed by ceramic and diamond at the hard end of the scale. In my opinion [though there's always going to be many ways to approach this task] a strop is good initially after sharpening on a stone where you have an ultra-sharp edge that needs a little refinement. As you use the knife and the edge gets blunter, recovery is better achieved with something harder than a strop. Either way, if you can use a steel or hone [ceramic, diamond or other] you'll extend the time between having to use your stone. In continuous professional use, depending on the hardness of your knife, a steel/hone might be used as frequently as once every five minutes and the difference achieved is very noticeable. Without that option blade sharpness becomes sub-optimal very quickly.

jules

[Rob Babcock]

A strop can also be used with Chromium Oxide which is almost as hard as diamond; that works well but it messy.  An unloaded strop and a smooth steel will do a lot of the same things but in a slightly different way- both will sort of push the edge back into alignment.  But neither one does a lot to remove a burr after sharpening.

Completely smooth steels are nice, but rare nowdays.  Dick makes a nice one ("insert" Dick joke here! ).  I'll agree that if if your steel is coarser than your stone you're really attempting to sharpen on it which isn't good; a hone is not a sharpener, and the phrase "sharpening steel" is an oxymoron.  While the crossed crock sticks of old can do a decent job, the ideal sharpening surface is flat, not round.  Round sharpeners make it very difficult to avoid rounding the tip of the knife.

[Tyson]

I picked up a large piece of scrap veggie tanned leather today (for the amazing total of $6.30!).  I sharpened all my Global kitchen knives through all the Sharpmaster steps.  At the end, they felt like they always do, sharp but not "super-sharp".  Then I stropped the blade 20 times per side at a 20 degree angle.  One side seemed to drag and pull a bit more than the other side, at least for the first dozen strokes or so.  After 20 swipes, both sides glided over the leather very smoothly.  Tested it again - RAZOR SHARP. 

Thanks all!!!!!!!

[S Clark]

When using a leather strop, I usually use 0 degrees, laying the blade flat against the leather- all per instructions that came with it.  If I angle the blade or push a bit too much into the leather, the strop actually takes the edge off the blade and rounds it slightly. 

[turkey]

I use an Ultra Fine Spyderco ceramic bench hone to remove the burr and then a smooth steel to burnish the edge, followed by more use of the smooth steel to extend the length of time before I need to sharpen the knife again.

[Tyson]

Frustratingly, my Global kitchen knives continue to get dull at an alarmingly fast rate.  They start out razor sharp and after a few jobs, I can't even get them to go through a tomato skin.  Perhaps a ceramic hone is what I need....

[gonefishin]

    Sounds like you could be sharpening at too great an angle for the knives or rolling a wire edge (because you didn't get rid of the initial burr).

    good luck,
  dan

[Tyson]

I foolishly decided to buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Minosharp-3-Sharpener-Grey-Black/dp/B000WZFBOS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1281233857&sr=1-3

It was worthless and is going back. 

Luckily, I also decided to try this, which works great for a quick hone/resharpen:

http://www.surlatable.com/product/cutlery/sharpeners+%26+steels/ultimate+edge+diamond+sharpener.do?sortby=ourPicks

[SET Man]

I foolishly decided to buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Minosharp-3-Sharpener-Grey-Black/dp/B000WZFBOS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1281233857&sr=1-3

It was worthless and is going back. 

Luckily, I also decided to try this, which works great for a quick hone/resharpen:

http://www.surlatable.com/product/cutlery/sharpeners+%26+steels/ultimate+edge+diamond+sharpener.do?sortby=ourPicks

Hey!

    Man! That sharpener gadget is sure pricey You could have got yourself a decent two sided stone for that price for your Global

    I used to use honing steel but when I got myself a stone all I can say is that I will never go back to honing steel or one of those knives sharpening gadget things again. Well, that's can be just me.

Take care,
Buddy

[Tyson]

I have the Spyderco Tri-Angle sharpening system, which works great but is labor intensive, so the diamond steel is only to hone things a bit between "real" sharpenings.

[turkey]

I have the Spyderco Tri-Angle sharpening system, which works great but is labor intensive, so the diamond steel is only to hone things a bit between "real" sharpenings.

I would never use anything but a smooth steel, because the grooved, textured, or diamond-coated ones just seem to tear up the edge.

[jules]

I would never use anything but a smooth steel, because the grooved, textured, or diamond-coated ones just seem to tear up the edge.

At the risk of being repetitive, I agree with you turkey. Diamond is harder than blade steel so it stands to reason that it does remove metal and IMHO it's is an aggressive approach to doing a job that a smooth steel can do with more finesse.

As far as the Globals go, failing the tomato test after "a few jobs" is totally normal. Depending on the job, a knife often needs attention during a job and not just before or after.

jules