Scratch direction

[SHARPCO]

Sharpening the knife with whetstone creates a diagonal scratch. But when you use a machine, it becomes vertical. How does it affect the edge?

Especially for a kitchen knife, it seems to affect the feeling of cutting food and the edge retention. Has this been studied or tested?

[grepper]

Well, sharpening on a stone could produce scratches that run perpendicularly to the edge. It just depends on the angle of sharpening.

Other than that I doubt it makes a great deal of difference, and I have doubts that I could tell the difference in scratch angle when bifurcating broccoli, chopping chard or slicing salami.

I assume that sharpness and edge finish would influence the feeling of cutting food and edge retention much more scratch angle especially with kitchen cutlery.

[Bud]

This seems to be an interesting question but I think one that would be difficult to measure even with a PT50A and lots of test media. Just too many variables. If I'm right, and sometimes I am, that would mean that's its just not worth worrying our pretty little heads about.
I can tell you this much. This past weekend I fell over the porch rail and into my wife's rose bushes and that put some good scratches on me that I'm still thinking about.

[Edgepal]

So Bud, with so many scratches - you are not sharp any more?

I have never been wrong, except once, and I admitt that I was wrong - but later it shows that I was right - so it was my admitten that was wrong... (As you se, I am a humble man).

Thomas

[EOU]

Well Bud sorry to hear about your accident. We assume it was an accident. You weren't pushed...were you?

[Bud]

Thank you for your kind sentiments Eou. No, I wasn't pushed but i was encouraged. My wife wanted me to change the bug bulb on the front porch and when my step stool went right I went left. My wife says that I should thank her for the rose bushes but I'm not ready to do that just yet.

[grepper]

"I fell over the porch rail and into my wife's rose bushes..."

I just hate it when that happens!

[Mark Reich]

Well Bud sorry to hear about your accident. We assume it was an accident. You weren't pushed...were you?

Unlikely a rose gardener would risk her own rose bushes, even for sport. It's easy to know for sure... Did she capture it on video?  

Scratch direction is very significant IMHO. If you're finishing with a coarse grit, at an angle, it's easy to feel the difference between slicing forward or backward. You can also tell a difference by how much material gets caught and sticks to the edge. It's most noticeable to me when I'm cutting rags, probably because I'm constantly doing that.

Many sharpeners change the angle of the scratch pattern when they go to the next stone in the progression. That way it's easy to tell when you have removed all the scratches of the previous stone.

Every little thing is magnified with straight razors, so scratch direction is absolutely critical for most users.

[Edgepal]

Mark,
To avoid what you describe you can do as I did in this picture, fazets with different diagonal scratch pattern on the edge...

Thomas

[Rupert Lucius]

Precise - the workmanship and etc.

Thomas you are a "master".

Thanks
Rupert