Unknown "Soft" Knives

[Sam Sloane]

HI All.....Sam here.....been away for a bit.....

I have a question about junk knives.....

I was having lots of trouble getting any edge at all by grinding into the edge with many knives..... I could not raise a decent burr......so I decided to do Edge trailing.....and it seemed to do better....just a bigger burr to remove on my paper wheels/ leather wheel.....

Is there a correct or better approach to these things people hand you and expect razor sharp???

Thanks,

Sam

[Antz]

Sam,

I think it's just a difference in approach. I know most people including myself prefer edge leading but I know Steve Bottorff of sharpening made easy does Edge trailing more than edge leading with great results. But it's hard to say one way or another why you weren't having good results with edge leading without seeing your process. Could be pressure applied, could be that your not as steady handed in that position, or maybe setting the angle master incorrectly etc. hopefully someone else comes along with some better advice as I'm only about 3 months into my Tormek experience.

Antz

[Ken S]

Sam,

Leading edge or trailing edge? I have a problem with an either/or approach. With knives, Ever since I met Steve Bottorff, I generally use edge trailing. I would not hesitate to switch to edge leading for a knife needing extensive work. Edge leading is definitely faster for removing a lot of metal.
With woodturning tools, I prefer edge trailing for regular sharpening. However, when I reshaped a skew to Lacer grind, I was very grateful for edge leading grinding.
My answer is that I believe a well experienced sharpener should be fluent with both methods.

Ken

[RichColvin]

Edge trailing is my preference if it works.  Much easier to control for what I sharpen, and minimizes loss of metal.


Edge leading is more aggressive, and necessary for really hard metals like carbide inserts. 

I also find edge leading necessary when using platforms like the SVD-110 Tool Rest.  When using edge trailing with the SVD-110, the tool tends to get grabbed and pulled away from the platform.


But as Ken notes, let your own experience guide you.

Kind regards,
Rich

[Sam Sloane]

Hi GUys.....

Thank you for replying......

On any knife, I usually do edge leading......but on soft materials, it might just be too aggressive at the apex and just keep tearing metal away......at least that is how I envision it.....so having better results with edge trailing......I guess my question is if others have experienced this same train of thought