10-28-2017, 04:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-26-2017, 06:15 AM by KnifeGrinders.)
Let's share technicalities on the method from our own experience. Concrete examples or conceptual approach, all good.
My 2 cents on honing.
Keep honing while the sharpness score keeps improving (i.e. lowering), and stop when the reading has stopped changing.
At this point, should you continue honing - you will lose the edge sharpness you've just achieved.
At this point the right thing to do is either to change to a finer hone, or just enjoy the best attainable sharpness you've already got.
Want your edge to shave - hone it to 150 BESS, but want it to split a hair - change to a finer grit and continue honing to about 120-90 BESS, and then change again to the finest grit and go on honing to 70-50 BESS.
The edge sharpness tester indicates those breaking points in the sharpening sequence, where you have to change to a finer grit, and not to ruin the edge by overhoning.
You know you are overhoning the edge when the BESS reading increases.
When I see this, not only I change to a finer grit, but may also take a shallower honing angle.
The scores the tester gives aren't equally informative, some are more important than others.
I've noticed again and again something special about the 90 BESS. It indicates some crucial events happening at the very edge.
For example, microbevelling improves sharpness of edges that initially had a BESS score of over 90, i.e. of an edge thicker than 0.2 micron at the apex.
But microbevelling has no effect on edges that are already in the 80-90 BESS range, unless of very hard steel.
My 2 cents on honing.
Keep honing while the sharpness score keeps improving (i.e. lowering), and stop when the reading has stopped changing.
At this point, should you continue honing - you will lose the edge sharpness you've just achieved.
At this point the right thing to do is either to change to a finer hone, or just enjoy the best attainable sharpness you've already got.
Want your edge to shave - hone it to 150 BESS, but want it to split a hair - change to a finer grit and continue honing to about 120-90 BESS, and then change again to the finest grit and go on honing to 70-50 BESS.
The edge sharpness tester indicates those breaking points in the sharpening sequence, where you have to change to a finer grit, and not to ruin the edge by overhoning.
You know you are overhoning the edge when the BESS reading increases.
When I see this, not only I change to a finer grit, but may also take a shallower honing angle.
The scores the tester gives aren't equally informative, some are more important than others.
I've noticed again and again something special about the 90 BESS. It indicates some crucial events happening at the very edge.
For example, microbevelling improves sharpness of edges that initially had a BESS score of over 90, i.e. of an edge thicker than 0.2 micron at the apex.
But microbevelling has no effect on edges that are already in the 80-90 BESS range, unless of very hard steel.
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