10-30-2018, 10:52 PM
It seemed reasonable that belt grinding could heat a blade and could possibly cause softening of the steel.
It seemed reasonable that the super thin edge could heat very quickly, get hot and could possibly cause softening of the steel.
All this seemed reasonable so I was open to the idea that maybe judicious sharpening with a belt might not be optimal.
But… And I won’t cloud a simple statement by rehashing the details, suffice it to say that evidence presented indicates, from a number of perspectives, that for basic knife sharpening it is of little if any real-world consequence.
IMHO, while the molecular metallurgical discussion is all very interesting, practically it just doesn’t matter for sharpening our every day knives.
If hand sharpening with a stone brings enjoyment, that’s great! If belt sharpening or water cooled sharpening brings joy that’s great too. All of these methods will produce sharp edges and all will, for all practical intents and purposes, perform about the same. Happy sharpening!
It seemed reasonable that the super thin edge could heat very quickly, get hot and could possibly cause softening of the steel.
All this seemed reasonable so I was open to the idea that maybe judicious sharpening with a belt might not be optimal.
But… And I won’t cloud a simple statement by rehashing the details, suffice it to say that evidence presented indicates, from a number of perspectives, that for basic knife sharpening it is of little if any real-world consequence.
IMHO, while the molecular metallurgical discussion is all very interesting, practically it just doesn’t matter for sharpening our every day knives.
If hand sharpening with a stone brings enjoyment, that’s great! If belt sharpening or water cooled sharpening brings joy that’s great too. All of these methods will produce sharp edges and all will, for all practical intents and purposes, perform about the same. Happy sharpening!