I'm going to stick my neck out and invite a good kicking! Here goes. Despite wisdom to the contrary, recently I've been leaving the burr on my turning tools, specifically, roughing gouge, spindle gouge and a couple different skew chisels. I normally hone religiously, spot of compound, great care not to roll the edge, mirror finish, polish out the scratch pattern etc, the whole enchilada.
I can honestly say, it made no difference.. In fact I would venture to suggest they actually seemed sharper to me!
I know I know, am I a heretic or what? I'm actually expecting a bolt of lightning with Jeff Faris' face on it strike me where I sit. But I kid you not, this is what's going down in my workshop. Have I gone bonkers or is there an explanation without the word "witchcraft" in it that sheds light on my experience?
Your statement leads me to question your technique at the lathe. If you're scraping, rather than cutting, I would expect exactly the results you've described. If you're riding the bevel, a honed edge will unquestionably cut better than a burred edge, and last longer, too. If you're not riding the bevel, but rather contacting the stock with the edge only, than a burred edge will be more successful.
Hi Jeff and thanks for the response
The tools do cut fine at the lathe although its difficult to judge edge longevity without an A to B comparison. I can only assume my honing technique must be rounding the edge slightly although I struggle to see how given how painstakingly I execute the procedure. I'll experiment with sneaking up on the edge more conservatively.
Your help is appreciated :-)