Hello Joe. That is a tricky topic. We say aggressive edge has micro serrations because it's intuitive but if you look with Electron Microscopy you can see these serrations don't exist. The grooves from the abrasives do not coincide with the apex surface. What happens is that the apex breaks on points where carbide clumps and the rough surface is what creates the aggressive feel. These images are available on Science of Sharp. The site is amazing to learn about sharpening. Glazed stones simulate a higher grit stone because rounded abrasive induces less carbide rupture and leave a more polished edge. This may be a bad thing as you said but it could be useful if you want a higher grit finish, like on razors for example.
yes it is a tricky one. i dont have an electron microscope, just my stereo scope and my hands and stones. i can see serations in my scope, and they generally agree with the grit of stone that I used to make whatever edge, as in the serations are larger with a 325 grit stone than a 600 grit stone. i agree that the glazed stone will act sort of like a higher grit stone, but not exactly since you arent sharpening so much on just worn abrasive, but also steel particles. and that is the difference that I see, that a fresh stone will cut with less pressure, and make a cleaner cut on the edge and leave it in a more consistent shape than a clogged to glazed stone same with blade finishes, a finish with fresh 600 grit paper looks alot different than a finish with clogged and worn out 600 grit paper
@@joecalton1449 From your images it makes sense what you said. Image quality on SEM is much better, you can see even broken carbides inside steel and sub micron burr. Todd has many surprising findings I would never have guessed.
Joe is my go to source for anything about knives, especially sharpening! I very recently bought one of his paring knives. It is sharper than any factory edge on other knives that I have purchased. He has turned upside down all of my conceptions I previously held. It makes me sad to think about all of the specialty equipment and stones that I've bought. Disappointed about stropping, I had no idea! Curtis Thomas
thanks for the kind words! sharpening is such a wild topic. it is such a simple thing, but lots and lots of folks out there make a lot of money when they make it sound confusing to be able to sell you sharpening services or devices. enjoy the knife and cook something tasty with it :}
Great tips on dressing stones! And I really appreciate the "I'm pretty sure" statement, on the glazed edge deal. A lot of really smart guys just assume they are right, and thus say- This is what's happening. EVEN when they haven't seen the proof under the scope. Humility/honesty goes a long way.
thanks! this one is a tough one, i can see differences in my scope through the lens, but my camera and tv dont have the resolution to show it. and in outright testing i can tell the differences. so thats why im pretty sure. but its an easy enough tip to share so folks can try it both ways and pick the one that suits them the best :}
@joecalton1449 also, regardless of exactly what's happening, metallurgically, the cure is the same... quality, fresh stone, exposing new and properly cut steel.
There was a great video showing how stropping to maintain an edge is a poor way to maintain an edge. It takes an exponential amount of stropping to return the edge back to new and wears out faster than using a stone.
got a link to that video?? stropping is a great way to clean an edge, its also great for maintaining a straight razor that never cuts anything but clean, soft wet hair. but i really have not had very good luck with maintaining a working edge with a strop at all. edited to add that i have not had good luck with stropping a working knife as in with the regular leather or light wood strop with or without abrasive pastes. I will use a stropping method on sharpening stones, as well as field sharpening on handy rocks, dirty wood, rusty metal and that sort of thing and it will get you home.
If you push hard on your stones you're polishing, not sharpening. Just use a couple of pounds of pressure and think happy thoughts. My grandpa told me that when I was a kid back in the 1970's. He was using the very same stones his great grandfather used back in the 1800's. He used those stones to sharpen the straight razor he used every morning because grandma liked clean shaven men.
i like that saying. i typically say to use just enough pressure to get the stone to cut, unless you have alot of damage to repair on coarse stones and then you can have at it.
@@joecalton1449 - I've come to be of the opinion that the level and qualities of carbides a blade has make the rules of the game. Too much pressure on a super steel during sharpening tears the carbides out of the blade and the "super" part of a super steel becomes mediocre at best. Gotta know what makes a lousy steel great and a super steel mediocre. It's complicated...
Great video! Do you have any tips on cleaning ceramic hones? Usually, if I'm home I wash them with dishes using a sponge and detergent, and in the field, I usually have disinfecting wipes with spirits in my medkit so I use those.
i have not used ceramics all that much because of the fast loading issue. but I would try a bristle brush and dish soap. that seems to work on just about any stone that i have tried.
that is my understanding. i have a really nice natural whetstones blue/black ark 3x10 that I resurfaced, then worked through the grits to the finest sic powder i had, about 600 or so. then i think i continued on with finer sandpaper till about 2000 grit. and then burnished it with an old chisel. it is as smooth as glass, very shiney and beautifull. took hours and hours to get that stone looking like that. it is the absolute slowest cutting stone in my collection and takes about a week and a half to finish a razor on. i never use it becuase I can set a bevel on a razor on a king 1000, move to the 6000 side and clean it up, strop it on crox, then linen and then leather in just a couple of minutes and be shaving. and the king stone cost me about $30 delivered on amazon and just needs resurfaced with a $12 harbor freight diamond block for about 30 seconds. the remaining week and 3 days i can use to forge, grind, and finish more straight razors.
I think my 400\1000 grit diamond stone is glazed. Is there sure method to clean or fix a diamond stone or at that point is it better to just get a new stone?
i wash mine in the sink with dawn soap and warm water and an old toothbrush. if that doesnt work, then you can use a stiffer brush and do lots of little circles in both dierections to get it really clean. if that doesnt work then you may have stripped the diamonds off the plate and need a new one.
Hey Joe! Great video as always!
thanks erica!
Hello Joe.
That is a tricky topic. We say aggressive edge has micro serrations because it's intuitive but if you look with Electron Microscopy you can see these serrations don't exist. The grooves from the abrasives do not coincide with the apex surface. What happens is that the apex breaks on points where carbide clumps and the rough surface is what creates the aggressive feel.
These images are available on Science of Sharp. The site is amazing to learn about sharpening.
Glazed stones simulate a higher grit stone because rounded abrasive induces less carbide rupture and leave a more polished edge.
This may be a bad thing as you said but it could be useful if you want a higher grit finish, like on razors for example.
yes it is a tricky one. i dont have an electron microscope, just my stereo scope and my hands and stones. i can see serations in my scope, and they generally agree with the grit of stone that I used to make whatever edge, as in the serations are larger with a 325 grit stone than a 600 grit stone.
i agree that the glazed stone will act sort of like a higher grit stone, but not exactly since you arent sharpening so much on just worn abrasive, but also steel particles.
and that is the difference that I see, that a fresh stone will cut with less pressure, and make a cleaner cut on the edge and leave it in a more consistent shape than a clogged to glazed stone
same with blade finishes, a finish with fresh 600 grit paper looks alot different than a finish with clogged and worn out 600 grit paper
@@joecalton1449 From your images it makes sense what you said.
Image quality on SEM is much better, you can see even broken carbides inside steel and sub micron burr. Todd has many surprising findings I would never have guessed.
Joe is my go to source for anything about knives, especially sharpening!
I very recently bought one of his paring knives. It is sharper than any factory edge on other knives that I have purchased.
He has turned upside down all of my conceptions I previously held. It makes me sad to think about all of the specialty equipment and stones that I've bought. Disappointed about stropping, I had no idea!
Curtis Thomas
thanks for the kind words! sharpening is such a wild topic. it is such a simple thing, but lots and lots of folks out there make a lot of money when they make it sound confusing to be able to sell you sharpening services or devices. enjoy the knife and cook something tasty with it :}
Thanks, Joe! I always learn something here!
good to hear that!!
I get a lot out of your videos! Thank you very much! 🙏🏼
Glad you like them!
Great tips on dressing stones! And I really appreciate the "I'm pretty sure" statement, on the glazed edge deal. A lot of really smart guys just assume they are right, and thus say- This is what's happening. EVEN when they haven't seen the proof under the scope. Humility/honesty goes a long way.
thanks! this one is a tough one, i can see differences in my scope through the lens, but my camera and tv dont have the resolution to show it. and in outright testing i can tell the differences. so thats why im pretty sure. but its an easy enough tip to share so folks can try it both ways and pick the one that suits them the best :}
@joecalton1449 also, regardless of exactly what's happening, metallurgically, the cure is the same... quality, fresh stone, exposing new and properly cut steel.
Nailed it with those cheap diamond plates. They're often more than flat enough to dress just about any stone on the market.
they are really handy, that is for sure :}
Thanks Joe great video and explanation as always !
thank you for the kind words!
There was a great video showing how stropping to maintain an edge is a poor way to maintain an edge. It takes an exponential amount of stropping to return the edge back to new and wears out faster than using a stone.
got a link to that video?? stropping is a great way to clean an edge, its also great for maintaining a straight razor that never cuts anything but clean, soft wet hair. but i really have not had very good luck with maintaining a working edge with a strop at all. edited to add that i have not had good luck with stropping a working knife as in with the regular leather or light wood strop with or without abrasive pastes. I will use a stropping method on sharpening stones, as well as field sharpening on handy rocks, dirty wood, rusty metal and that sort of thing and it will get you home.
@@joecalton1449 ua-cam.com/video/-JGLygqjSfE/v-deo.htmlsi=u1kcNHlMBLyjUWG3
Good informative video. Good content.
Glad you liked it!
Great video
thanks!
If you push hard on your stones you're polishing, not sharpening.
Just use a couple of pounds of pressure and think happy thoughts.
My grandpa told me that when I was a kid back in the 1970's.
He was using the very same stones his great grandfather used back in the 1800's.
He used those stones to sharpen the straight razor he used every morning because grandma liked clean shaven men.
i like that saying. i typically say to use just enough pressure to get the stone to cut, unless you have alot of damage to repair on coarse stones and then you can have at it.
@@joecalton1449 - I've come to be of the opinion that the level and qualities of carbides a blade has make the rules of the game.
Too much pressure on a super steel during sharpening tears the carbides out of the blade and the "super" part of a super steel becomes mediocre at best.
Gotta know what makes a lousy steel great and a super steel mediocre.
It's complicated...
I gotta try that harbor freight diamond stone. They shouldn't cost much.
i think the last one I bought was $12, but that was a couple years ago.
Nice 😊
Thanks 😊
These videos are awesome.
Glad you like them!
Great video! Do you have any tips on cleaning ceramic hones? Usually, if I'm home I wash them with dishes using a sponge and detergent, and in the field, I usually have disinfecting wipes with spirits in my medkit so I use those.
i have not used ceramics all that much because of the fast loading issue. but I would try a bristle brush and dish soap. that seems to work on just about any stone that i have tried.
Thanks this is topic hardly discussed, but when straight razor users talk about burnishing a fine stone are they in fact glazing the surface?
that is my understanding. i have a really nice natural whetstones blue/black ark 3x10 that I resurfaced, then worked through the grits to the finest sic powder i had, about 600 or so. then i think i continued on with finer sandpaper till about 2000 grit. and then burnished it with an old chisel. it is as smooth as glass, very shiney and beautifull. took hours and hours to get that stone looking like that. it is the absolute slowest cutting stone in my collection and takes about a week and a half to finish a razor on. i never use it becuase I can set a bevel on a razor on a king 1000, move to the 6000 side and clean it up, strop it on crox, then linen and then leather in just a couple of minutes and be shaving. and the king stone cost me about $30 delivered on amazon and just needs resurfaced with a $12 harbor freight diamond block for about 30 seconds. the remaining week and 3 days i can use to forge, grind, and finish more straight razors.
I think my 400\1000 grit diamond stone is glazed. Is there sure method to clean or fix a diamond stone or at that point is it better to just get a new stone?
i wash mine in the sink with dawn soap and warm water and an old toothbrush. if that doesnt work, then you can use a stiffer brush and do lots of little circles in both dierections to get it really clean. if that doesnt work then you may have stripped the diamonds off the plate and need a new one.
@@joecalton1449 thanks!