Seeing the burr?

[Brad I]

Hi all,

I am still using a T-3 and still love it.  But I notice as I age, I am having more and more trouble seeing the burr.  I've tried blasting LEDs at the stone + wearing magnifiers.  Nothing seems to help.  So unless it's a particularly sunny day I tend to sharpen by feel. But I thought I'd ask if there are any tricks out there to being able to see the burr more effectively?  ~ I am open to the idea I might be doing it wrong. 

[Herman Trivilino]

I've never been good at verifying the burr by sight, and I have perfectly good vision when I'm wearing my eyeglasses. 

I wipe the edge across an old cloth towel and then look at the snagged fibers with a lighted magnifier. If I see fibers all along the edge I know I've got a good burr.

[grepper]

Using Herman's method, a cotton ball or probably something like a q-tip will leave fibers behind too.  I suspect that gauze would probably snag pretty good too, but I have not tried it.

A lot of times you can feel the burr by dragging your fingernail along the edge.  Try it along each side and directly along the edge.  {VERY, VERY GENTLY} OF COURSE, watching out for your finger tip.  It's amazing how well you can feel surface differences that way.  Experiment and see what works for you.

Very hard steel can produce a very small, hard to detect burr. Does it happen on all of your blades?

I keep a 10X loupe nearby. Using the loupe under a good light, rotate the blade from one side, over the edge to the other.  More than likely you'll see it.

Or like Herman mentioned, drag some soft fibrous stuff over the blade and then use a loupe and good light and check for fibers.

If all that fails, you might just not have a burr!

Of course, there is always a microscope...



   

[Ken S]

Brad, I tried something with my heavy T7 which should work even better with the T3. With only an unheated garage with poor light for a workshop, I set up a temporary sharpening area placing my workmate just outside the garage door. It was a bright day and the open shade of the north side of the garage had delightfully soft and bright light.

That was the day I discovered the Anglemaster really did work..........

Ken

[tomboyd]

I use a old towel also plus a magnifier light, i make sure i see fiber the full length of the blade. I have excellent results.