Thread: Serrated edges, or the value of using a loupe

Originally Posted by minstrel

Interesting replies. Thank you gentlemen.

The reason I went with the barber hones is that 1, I can't really justify the expenditure of upwards of $100 on a Norton 4000/8000 hone (which it will be by the time I pay for the hone, shipping and currency conversion) at the moment, since I'm unemployed, and 2, I understand that the barber hones are generally considered slower cutting than a Norton, which I thought would be good - less chance of overhoning.

Those are reason enough to go with barber hones

As for the amount of magnification you need - yes, yes, the more the better, but you have to make do with what you have some times. And even at that low magnification I did get some valuable clues as to what was going on with the edge.

My reason for omitting the water on the finest stone was that the hones can be used dry, as well as lubricated with water or lather, or with a slurry. Since I was getting suboptimal results using both water and a slurry on the hone, I thought I'd give it a go dry, and my gamble paid off, so don't knock it!

You have made the wrong assumption about barber hones here. Not all can be used dry and none I know of are used with a slurry. Most are used with water or lather and some can be used with oil. I would suggest you try lather next time on the fine hone, it is less painful for the edge

I guess I will have to keep experimenting with the hones and inspect the edge with the loupe to find what seems to work best for me.


/Nicholas

I tried to get people on this forum to take part in a test of barber hones so we could all have a better knowledge of their cutting abilities. This fell on deaf ears so the likes of you will have to remain in the dark on what effect you can expect from the hones you have. Experimentation is all thats left, but this is fun in itself

PuFF

Sounds like you’re doing a good job of making the best of what you have. That’s a great way to learn—keeps you from falling prey to the “more equipment = better edges” trap.

I think a 10x loupe is a lot better than nothing. I use the 30x lighted microscope that Randy recommended a while back, and that’s all that I feel I need. Once you know what to look for, you can actually see quite a bit with the naked eye if you use a strong, point light source like an incandescent bulb. I can usually anticipate what I’ll see under the microscope from the way the light reflects off the edge.

The thumbnail test is also good for helping to pick up imperfections in the edge. Sometimes you’ll have a bevel that looks good under magnification but just won’t get sharp. The thumbnail test comes into play here; usually there’s a slight double bevel, and it’ll feel different as you draw it across the nail…

I’ll break from the pack a bit here and offer that I think that it’s the job of the lower grits to take out microchips. In my limited experience, I haven’t seen microchips occur on the higher grits, particularly when using slower hones. (The exception would be a piece of stray grit or something—but that’s not the hone.) I suspect that those microchips were there all along, but you just happen to notice them when you’re trying to figure out why a sharp edge is causing irritation.

For me, at least, once a clean, straight edge is established on a lower-grit hone in the 1K to 4K range, it usually stays that way through the higher grits. I use a 1200-grit DMT to take out chips and straighten the edge. Even at this coarse grit, it can still take quite a few laps to take out a chip.

If you find that you’re still having trouble, I’d suggest working with your coarsest barber hone until the edge appears straight, uniform and chip-free. That gives you a solid foundation to build on for sharpness.

Just my 2 cents,
Josh