micro bevels, another opinion

[Ken S]

Micro bevels are a common topic on the forum. Here are some thoughts:

https://youtu.be/zfcdQ3dZosM?si=FhpqvIvsaM5M8MuH

Ken

[MikeK]

A better title for the video might have been "The Problem With Micro Bevels On Knives".  This would have effectively stopped me from wasting my time watching the video. I suspect the truncated title was intentionally chosen to drag in unsuspecting woodworkers.

[John_B]

I deburr most knives at 1.5°-2° greater than the sharpening angle. This is what Vagim recommended in his book on sharpening and deburring for most steels. Is this a micro bevel? If so it has worked well for my knives and my customers.

[tgbto]

I just watched the video. IMO, the premises are flawed as examplified by conflating "withstanding impact with a copper rod" (abuse) and "getting dull out of abrasion wear at the apex" (normal use). With the same line of reasoning, one would equip their road bike with downhill ATB tires because they can withstand being banged sideways against the pavement.

And though for outdoor knives, abuse and normal use might not be so easily set apart, I'm sure we can all agree a typical scandi grind bushcraft knife is still not a machete.

[Ken S]

I seem to be out of synch with some of our forum members regarding micro bevels.For the record, I do not think they are wrong. Why the difference in thinking?

My sharpening and sharpening thinking is primarily chisels and bench planes. This goes back to the early 1970s and oilstones. I really did not sharpen knives until the 2010s when I had a chance meeting with Steve Bottorff. My first sharpening love is still chisels.

In the 1970s, the popular chisel sharpening technique involved starting with a small diameter (6") higher speed electric grinder for rough grinding. The apex work was left for bench stones to avoid overheating. Micro bevels became fashionable because the smaller bevel area required less physical labor. This was logical, although old timers like Frank Clausz recognized that the strongest edges were flat ground.

This micro bevel thinking has carried over onto Tormek sharpening. I no not think it is necessary.  Unlike with bench stones, the Tormek's electric motor does the heavy lifting with sharpening. Also, the Tormek's 250mm or 200mm wheel diameter creates a much flatter grind than smaller diameter dry grinders. I am open to benefits of stropping at a slightly higher angle, although honing at a higher micro bevel angle just seems like extra work to me. I am not saying that micro bevels are wrong, only that I have not personally found them to be useful.

Ken