03-13-2018, 10:55 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-16-2018, 04:40 PM by Mike Brubacher.)
Well there you go. The stuff that discussion is made of. Couldn't agree more me2. There does seem to be burrs and then there are burrs. We've scratched up plenty of leather surfaces ourselves and we have also seen Grepper's gold foil. In one memorable occasion that we reported here on the Exchange, we generated both forms of burr and on the same knife on consequent sharpening events. Usually, the burrs we generate are rough, semi-gnarly sorts of things. Occasionally, the flimsy, foil variety. In either case, the burr can usually be bent from side to side of the edge and multiple times.
Our interest here is not so much how sharp an edge can be as how durable that edge is as in its resistance to both wear and rolling. We know that steels that most would regard as poor quality, can be made sharp. We get to see plenty of disposable 303, 304, & 316 stainless edges here and even those edges can be made sharp if one has the patience to hang in until the burr has been removed.
We began with the assumption that most people generate burrs when sharpening because that's what we think most people do. If we're in error with that assumption then we'd be happy to be set straight.
As we read it, steel that has suffered plastic deformation is not good stuff. While it is quite easy to find descriptions of plastic deformation it is not easy to find descriptions of the plastically deformed metal itself. We did find one though in a metallurgical sort of text book. Perhaps someone else could find other references.
"The consequences of real plastic deformation - Almost all properties of metals and
alloys change due to plastic deformation. The chemical and physical properties (
with the exception of some electrical characteristics) change to only a small
degree; however, the changes in the mechanical properties (including strength
and deformation characteristics) are significant."
Sorry for not crediting the author. It was bookmarked at home and we're all in the office at the time of this writing.The passage then went on to say that re-heat treating the deformed metal would restore it's former qualities. EDIT - Got it now - Physical Metallurgy for Engineers - Page 153 MIklos Tisza
Please take note in case there may be some misunderstanding: EOU has no position on this subject. As usual, we just have questions.
Our interest here is not so much how sharp an edge can be as how durable that edge is as in its resistance to both wear and rolling. We know that steels that most would regard as poor quality, can be made sharp. We get to see plenty of disposable 303, 304, & 316 stainless edges here and even those edges can be made sharp if one has the patience to hang in until the burr has been removed.
We began with the assumption that most people generate burrs when sharpening because that's what we think most people do. If we're in error with that assumption then we'd be happy to be set straight.
As we read it, steel that has suffered plastic deformation is not good stuff. While it is quite easy to find descriptions of plastic deformation it is not easy to find descriptions of the plastically deformed metal itself. We did find one though in a metallurgical sort of text book. Perhaps someone else could find other references.
"The consequences of real plastic deformation - Almost all properties of metals and
alloys change due to plastic deformation. The chemical and physical properties (
with the exception of some electrical characteristics) change to only a small
degree; however, the changes in the mechanical properties (including strength
and deformation characteristics) are significant."
Sorry for not crediting the author. It was bookmarked at home and we're all in the office at the time of this writing.The passage then went on to say that re-heat treating the deformed metal would restore it's former qualities. EDIT - Got it now - Physical Metallurgy for Engineers - Page 153 MIklos Tisza
Please take note in case there may be some misunderstanding: EOU has no position on this subject. As usual, we just have questions.