As a recap from the first “Beginner Sharpening Tips” post: learn to keep the same angle and keep your whetstones flat. This post will focus more on the concept of knowing when you’re ready to move onto the next stone or are finished sharpening. Again, I will direct you to the videos that have helped me to learn and understand sharpening at a fundamental (at microscopic) level: Outdoors55 explaining Burrs and IvanYuka-Japan explaining when he moves on to the next whetstone. Alex gives you a more visual representation on a microscopic level of what a burr is, whereas Ivan gives you a more practical/philosophical approach.
I’ve watched both videos countless times to better understand what it is I am doing when I am dragging a triangle shaped piece of metal on a rock over and over again. It’s important to keep in mind that when you are sharpening, you are essentially “scratching” the edge of the knife. If you scratch it correctly for the appropriate amount of time, it will start to realign and reform the little “teeth” on the edge of the knife into an “apex.” Eventually, you should form a burr on the opposite side of the edge you are sharpening. There are many ways to feel for this burr, and you will ideally develop your own feel for it as you continue your sharpening journey. I will hold the knife edge side up and gently rub my thumb in a small upward motion (away from the spine) to feel for a burr.
If you are really struggling with it, you can buy a cheap microscope off Amazon for $20 to check for burrs. I think it’s fun to see what you’re doing on a microscopic level, so I actually spent $40 on my microscope, but I don’t really have any other use for it and I rarely use it anymore aside from when I am testing a new whetstone to see if the scratch pattern is interesting.
One important thing I learned is this: you can pass preliminary paper cutting tests on a knife that still has a burr. If you notice that the cutting edge has “dulled” after only a handful of cutting sessions on actual food, then there is a high probability that you didn’t fully remove the burr. If you do not correctly apex the knife and deburr fully, you will have to go back to the stones. People have all sorts of solutions for burr removal. I use a leather paddle strop. I have heard of others using rolled up magazines, wine corks, and even denim for burr removal.
Today, I will be linking to the Beavercraft Leather Strop. As a reminder, these are products I bought with my own money and do not have a sponsorship with. I purchased this in 2020 and it is still in usable condition. The good thing about this strop is that the leather pad isn’t too bouncy. You want a “firmer” leather pad to avoid having issues with the leather rounding up over the edge and ruining your apexed edge. I say it’s “usable” because I definitely accidentally put several cuts into it when I first started out.