Quote from: BUTCHER on March 06, 2024, 03:54:51 PMAfter sharpening about 200 knives and also using them in a fast paced meat processing setting I still haven't reached or even gotten near my sharpening goals of below 100 bess. I have tried everything I have read about but I just can't reach below 140 bess on a the 15 dps knives. The edges cut really great for the first hour but then they need a lot of steeling to keep cutting well. I find i cant use the polished steel for very long because it doesnt have much of an effect on the edge. I was hoping to have better edge retention after reading Vadims research but still haven't made it there. On the plus side my edges are very consistent at the middle and tip of the knife which is very important on a boning knife and also I find it easy to sharpen with the Tormek
Hi Butcher your 140+ scores indicate that you probably haven't completely removed the burr. More over, the fact that your edge dulls quickly and requires steeling also indicates that you have a wire edge (a burr which although small lies on top of the apex). That wire edge though seemingly very sharp will roll over quickly, hence your need to steel it to return it to the centre. This wire edged burr really needs removing to get to the true apex. If you do that then you will not only have a sharper edge ( at most 120 Bess probably lower, ideally sub 100) but the retention will be better.
Try honing at a slightly higher angle initially, with diamonds preferably (. 5 micron or 1 micron). Maybe + 2 degrees for lower end knives, 1-1.5 degrees for main stream knives.
Then rehone at the exact angle you ground to. I know this seems counterintuitive but it works!
Refer to Vadims book, an appendix gives a whole list of honing protocols for different steels. You don't need to go down the paper wheels route or follow them exactly, it will give you a general idea of how to hone particular steels.
Hope this helps. As the o/p pointed out. Don't despair. You will get there in the end!