Thread: How sharp do you like it?

And in the end what is the corn surrounded by?? You're really not getting it no matter how it's explained.

So here is my view of all of this.

The bevel has to be set.

We take 1K as the standard for setting the bevel, at this point we needed to be sharp.

If you look at the drawing below each point meets in an edge of narrow enough width which makes it sharp,

As we move up in grit we refine the bevel making the edge feel smoother it does not meet closer.

Below is an illustration of how I visualize the process,

I have been sharpening tools and knives for a lot of years, I can get things sharp, I can get things shave sharp.

However putting something to my face I want it smooth so I move up much farther in grit.

Smooth and sharp are not the same the analogy just above this about a serrated blade is a right on.

As a side note you cannot get anything to a zero width as the molecules of steel have a width,

The edge needs to be narrower than the space between the shingle like formations of the shell of how your hair grows to cut it effectively.

This will vary slightly from person to person.

Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

And in the end what is the corn surrounded by?? You're really not getting no matter how it's explained.

If the corn is surrounded by anything after that much polishing, that honemeister did not do a good job.

Originally Posted by LikesBBS

If the corn is surrounded by anything after that much polishing, that honemeister did not do a good job.

Guess you've got it all figured out then. Good luck in your journey.

I'd say so, make big sharp teeth smaller to equal smoothness.

I knew this from the start.

This thread wasn't even meant for that - it was meant to see what grit folks stopped at. But due to my poor titling of the thread thanks to my nubiness it exploded into a lot more of what it did not need to be - not complaining though, as from it I've learned a good bit.

It was directed a bit more at some of the other responses,
Like I said for me it is currently 12k (and on a few new to me blades I stop at 8K till I know them a bit)
but I feel it is my experience level that stops me, I need to really learn what I have before I move on.
The good lord knows I want to play with natural stones but I feel I need a solid foundation first.

One can not take the horizontal edge of a blade and reduce it to a completely level surface - even if reduced to an atomic (molecular?) structure given the bonding which takes place to form the solid mixture you shave with and the circular shape of an atom. But what one can hope to achieve is take those atom's or molecules and bring them so closely together so that the distance between the ridge's and the level to which their place is, are both short and even resulting in smoothness which if done right from the bevel setting state results in an edge that meets as close as possible from both sides and teeth (or edge) that are as close together and placed as level as possible along the edge.

I was under the impression a first that one could take the edge after enough refining and make it completely flat IE - no teeth just a flat edge. But this could be dull if what I've been let to believe is correct.

Sharp: established at the low grit bevel setting stage. Could also be referred to as the setting of a blades geometry.

Smoothness: established in the higher grit stages resulting in the finishing of the blade, after the bevel has been properly set. Taking big teeth and making them smaller and closer together.

THIS IS WHAT EVERYONE HAS TAUGHT ME AND I THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!

Originally Posted by pfries

Yes, except that depending on the abrasive used it may have more rounded peaks and troughs.

Additionally (and hopefully obviously) this is a 2D representation of what is really going on. In 3D the edge trace tis both up and down and side to side. It is EASY to imagine why smooth is better.

But not sharper. In fact among knife enthusiasts, many will argue that a coarser edge performs as if it is more sharp and cuts more aggressively (same sorts of steels we use in straights).

I stop at the 12k for only 15-20 light laps

You fellas think of sharpness in a completely different way than I do. Try to see things my way