That is an interesting idea Mr. Steve, and our esteemed fellow forum member Mr. Jan spoke to the effects of burnishing in some post or another when the subject arose before.
I guess microscopically I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that might be happening to some degree. That said, I am doubtful that the contact stress generated with the leather belt is sufficient enough to exceed the yield strength of the steel surface to such a degree as to significantly add material to the burr.
Due to my appreciation of a toothy edge, the deburring I do with a leather belt is with extremely light pressure so as to minimize degradation and smoothing of same. Friction generated between the belt and the blade is never enough to generate any noticeable warming of the blade whatsoever.
The burr on the blade was big enough to easily be seen with the unaided eye. It was a big, gnarly burr. What I found truly amazing was that I was able to bend that thin little piece of steel back and forth at a 45° angle something like 25 to 30 times before it started to fracture off. That is some malleable stuff! I eventually got it done, but it took significantly longer than usual. It would be interesting to know what kind of steel it is and its hardness.
I guess microscopically I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that might be happening to some degree. That said, I am doubtful that the contact stress generated with the leather belt is sufficient enough to exceed the yield strength of the steel surface to such a degree as to significantly add material to the burr.
Due to my appreciation of a toothy edge, the deburring I do with a leather belt is with extremely light pressure so as to minimize degradation and smoothing of same. Friction generated between the belt and the blade is never enough to generate any noticeable warming of the blade whatsoever.
The burr on the blade was big enough to easily be seen with the unaided eye. It was a big, gnarly burr. What I found truly amazing was that I was able to bend that thin little piece of steel back and forth at a 45° angle something like 25 to 30 times before it started to fracture off. That is some malleable stuff! I eventually got it done, but it took significantly longer than usual. It would be interesting to know what kind of steel it is and its hardness.