Proper Maintenance of a Knifes Edge

[wootz]

Thank you John and Jan.
The way we tested was 20 slicing cuts under 2 kg load in the same line on the board, move the edge to a fresh board surface, do another 20 slices and so on.

Both your explanations are exactly what must be happening - burnishing of the metal off the sides of the edge near the apex inside the tiny grooves, and smoothing off the irregularities as Jan has nicely described.
I will give myself more time to think it over and will add a paragraph to the Conclusions explaining what we see in the experiments.

[Dastagg]

Could it simply be that the cutting board is continuing to remove a micro burr and it would not matter where on the board it is performed each time, that the board is helping to keep that micro board removed each pass? Just wondering.

[wootz]

Could it simply be that the cutting board is continuing to remove a micro burr and it would not matter where on the board it is performed each time, that the board is helping to keep that micro board removed each pass? Just wondering.

The tiny grooves on the board seem to be important for this effect to develop in full.
The experimental data tell us that the sharpness improvement starts immediately thanks to removal of the microburr and cleaning smudge and residues from sharpening off the edge, but fully develops only after hundreds of cuts, where I believe the microburr-cleaning has played its role, while burnishing at the sides of the apex comes into play and continues, till the sharpness comes to an improved plateau after 1000 - 2000 cuts.

[Dastagg]

Thanks for the extra info to explain your science into the topic. I appreciate how much I am learning about this and am only a typical user of cutting blades and just getting into the sharpening science and I have had my Tormek for two years and was mostly for wood turning sharpening. My knives are getting sharper and sharper now thanks to the info here and your book and extra equipment that I purchased to get better. I am now broke in my retirement, but my knives are sharper. lol

[wootz]

Update: the edge-hostile plastic board has been identified as Low-density Polypropylene - often in the cutting board specs they say just "Polypropylene".

Video: https://youtu.be/_lktWJKFP2k

[Ken S]

This you tube from Knife Grinders is all thumbs up, must watch.Vadim of Knife Grinders is the rising tide which makes all knives sharper.

Ken