YoshiWhen the blade edge forms a burr, you should stop sharpening your knife.
You also need to be aware of the shape of the edge.
Because you can mess up the edge shape if you only focus on making the burr.
Keep reading and you will find out…
1. It is a little more complicated than making a burr
In my parents’ house, my dad was in charge of sharpening kitchen knives.
There was a small shed with a sink next to my house,
And I would go there to observe his sharpening when I was a kid.
2. You came to the right place
Are you thinking…
“I already bought a whetstone, but it doesn’t do a good job. Am I doing things wrong?”
Well, knife sharpening needs some experience.
But if you read this article,
You will be able to make your knife very sharp.
Because… I am the Master Yoda of knife sharpening.
Welcome to Dagobah!
First, let’s learn about burr…
3. Burr is waste metal at the edge of the knife
A burr tells you if the edge of your knife is well sharpened or not.
It forms when you shave a knife using a whetstone.
It looks like a really thin thread.
How do you check for the burr?
4. You can feel the burr using your thumb
The burr is supposed to be on the other side of the edge that you just sharpened.
Place your thumb on the blade and move it towards the edge.
You will be able to catch some rough metal feeling there.
And it is the burr.
If you can’t feel anything, then you need to use your whetstone to sharpen more.
Here is the part where things get complicated.
5. You need to be aware of the shape of the edge.
When you sharpen a kitchen knife, you get some part that has formed a burr, and…
Some part that doesn’t have a burr on the knife edge.
You would think…
“I should sharpen the part that doesn’t have a burr yet”
Yes, sometimes it works this way,
But sometimes, you can never get a nice burr there.
What you should do might be mind-blowing but…
6. In this case, you have to sharpen the part that has a burr already.
Yes, you read it right.
The reason why some parts of your knife edge can’t form a burr is…
Your knife edge has an unusual curve. Specifically…
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7. The part of the edge is slightly indented
Like the picture above. And this is the reason why you can’t make a burr there.
In order to sharpen this indented part,
You need to shave the part that has a burr already.
And make the height of the edge even,
So you can bring the original edge curve back that the knife had when it was brand new.
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8. This is another pattern of the same problem
Having this shape of knife edge can cause the same problem.
Some parts can form a burr, but some cannot.
In this case, you also need to shave the edge part that has already had burr.
And correct the edge line.
9. Get rid of burr by rubbing on some paper
After successfully forming a burr for all the parts of the knife edge, you must get rid of the burr.
If there is a burr on the knife edge, your knife can’t be sharp.
Getting rid of burr makes your knife cut things well.
You can get rid of it by rubbing the edge of the knife on…
Denim cloth, leather, or a piece of paper a few times.
