First toothy edge

[Mark Reich]

No worries Mr Sharpco. What is your progression to the polished edge?

[Mark Reich]

Thank you all. 

I had a curiosity about the toothy edge. But my customers don't particularly like it. Most people like shiny and sharp edges.(If they try it, their thoughts may change.)

So I think shiny toothy edge will be a good solution.  Wouldn't it be possible to make a micro toothy edge using a diamond abrasive? I'll try to remove the burr with Tormek honing compound and finish with diamond emulsion by hand stropping.

I wasn't expecting it to turn out like this for you, Mr Sharpco, but in most sharpening circles this is the edge people prefer, both sharpeners and users. Sharpeners like it because it's much more efficient to completely remove the burr through progressive refinement. 

"A shiny toothy edge will be a good solution", you say. That's the most popular notion, and I don't know how to achieve it without diamonds on leather. 4µ poly is very popular. I use it on a Kally for high volume sharpening because it's gentle enough for soft stainless, but polishes edges quickly.

You say you'll "try to remove the burr with Tormek honing compound". It will always work on an 800 grit burr, it will work on soft stainless at 400 grit, and it will always fail on a 220 grit burr. A 220 grit burr is a great way to scrape all the compound off leather so you can add fresh compound.

[grepper]

The general preference for polished edges and shiny bevels does not surprise me.  That polish and shiny looks "finished" and I think folks then naturally equate that to a professionally sharpened edge and sharpness.  Shiny things always attract the human eye, and shiny trinkets have been used in trade for actually useful items like furs, spices and other goods throughout in human history.  I like dazzling and shiny things too.  I'll even wax my car every so often.

A freshly sharpened polished edge cuts like a dream, but at least in my experience rolls quickly into a long smooth and round edge that quickly rides on the surface of things being cut.  That being right or wrong is not really the issue, and folks will like whatever they like.  I think it is true however that only folks really into sharpening have a good understanding of the minutia of edge finish and how it effects performance.  That's perfectly normal and expected.  I'm sure that someone who is an antique expert would look at some old vase as see it very differently than I would.

I agree that it's easy to remove burr on a polished edge as it can be, for all intents an practical purposes simply ground away with fine abrasives.

Like you say Mr. Mark, burrs created with very coarse abrasives are much tougher to remove as they are larger and the LOW is more pronounced.  It's easy to grind it off with fine abrasives but then, in that case, the toothy edge is lost so what's the point of using a coarse abrasive in the first place.

For me at least it took experimenting and practice to be able to sharpen with a coarse abrasive for a toothy edge and remove the burr whilst still maintaining the toothy edge.  I think it was worth the effort.

[Bud]

Hello Gents! Took a few weeks off down south and now back to ruin your day again. I think that shiny/toothy is one of those oxymoron things. I was thinking like wet/dry but then I have one of those vacuum cleaners so maybe that's not a good example. I actually thought about this one for a bit and don't think you could find the road that will get you there. For general purposes, I'm a toothy man but I hope my next surgeon isn't.

I understand totally the appeal of that mirror finish but I think the reality is that you're using a poodle for a coon hound job.

[grepper]

Welcome back Mr. Bud! Personally, I appreciate and enjoy the way your wry perspective and humor ruins my day.

[Mark Reich]

Mr Grepper, have you experimented rolling your toothy edges compared to the very same edge, just taken to higher refinement?

Most people think refined edges are more stable than toothy edges. It makes sense, but I'd really like to know if that holds water.

[SHARPCO]

No worries Mr Sharpco. What is your progression to the polished edge?

My polished edge is quite good. But I'm not proud of it, so I'm considering how to finish it.

[SHARPCO]

Thank you all. 

I had a curiosity about the toothy edge. But my customers don't particularly like it. Most people like shiny and sharp edges.(If they try it, their thoughts may change.)

So I think shiny toothy edge will be a good solution.  Wouldn't it be possible to make a micro toothy edge using a diamond abrasive? I'll try to remove the burr with Tormek honing compound and finish with diamond emulsion by hand stropping.

I wasn't expecting it to turn out like this for you, Mr Sharpco, but in most sharpening circles this is the edge people prefer, both sharpeners and users. Sharpeners like it because it's much more efficient to completely remove the burr through progressive refinement. 

"A shiny toothy edge will be a good solution", you say. That's the most popular notion, and I don't know how to achieve it without diamonds on leather. 4µ poly is very popular. I use it on a Kally for high volume sharpening because it's gentle enough for soft stainless, but polishes edges quickly.

You say you'll "try to remove the burr with Tormek honing compound". It will always work on an 800 grit burr, it will work on soft stainless at 400 grit, and it will always fail on a 220 grit burr. A 220 grit burr is a great way to scrape all the compound off leather so you can add fresh compound.

Mark,

I'm considering using Jende nanocloth strop & PDP. I'll test it for both polished & toothy edge.

[SHARPCO]

grepper, 

In here, South Korea, many people use whetstones and most of them prefer shiny edge. Especially they praise the natural whetstone. I've heard that it is better to remove the burr than the leather&compound and cut the very hard steel well. But I have never used it.

Another advantage of shiny edge they say is corrosion resistance. This is quite important for carbon steel knives. I agree with that.

[Mike Brubacher]

"Most people think refined edges are more stable than toothy edges. It makes sense, but I'd really like to know if that holds water."

Somewhere in this Exchange I believe Mark, it was claimed that toothy edges are less subject to roll than polished. Can't say that was intuitive to me  but that's why it stuck with me. It all could have been a reference to an outside article, post etc. - just don't remember.