Thread: Knife sharpening for different tasks

Originally Posted by No.3

Polishing is an art form - it's really not easy to keep the edge 'alive' and get it nice and shiny. Thats why the japanese knives are so incredibly sharp - they have mastered the art of polishing without rolling the point of the edge over to one side.

With a polished edge, you know it's good when you can't removed wood off a block on either side of the knife when scraping it backwards over the wood, laying almost flat and the opposite to trying to cut. If there is any sort of roll on one side of the edge it will remove the faintest hint of timber - and it won't cut. Leaving the edge a bit rougher or unpolished is (for those of us that are normal mortals and not at the japanese level of mastery) a far easier way to an acceptably sharp edge.

That's just a burr not really a rolled edge. Finish with some alternating edge leading deburring strokes at the end of your course grit stone then problem solved. Can polish as high as you like and won't have any issue with the burr. Raising a burr is the best way to ensure you have full apexed the edge.

The main reason japanese knives are so apparently sharp is the geometry. They are way thinner with lower edge angles, all leads to better cutting performance.