Don’t know about modern DSLRs, but back in the day we would get cheap UV filters to screw onto the lenses to protect them. They didn’t really do anything except add an extra layer of glass to keep dirt and damage from the actual lens glass. They might even have polycarbonate now.
Your dedication to providing proof of concept and your constant reinforcement of good technique and practical blade work, are the reason why so many people enjoy your content. Keep up the great work.
@@OUTDOORS55 Is it possible for your set-up to add a mirror (polished steel) where your expensive lens would be and place the lens further away (out of harms way). You might also be able to use the same mirror to direct the light onto the region of interest. This trick is done in ballistics and, for example, is used to film a bullet leaving a barrel head on. They shoot the mirror instead of the camera. Quite a bit cheaper to do the testing this way.
i don't know how much my word is worth but you're putting out THE best and most informative knife content on yt and anywhere else , thank you and congrats!
yea, let my mom try and sharpen it. Her kitchen drawer is a house of horrors... Ever year I dedicate a weekend trying to salvage the ones that are still savable, and often I have to grind back a third of the blade's width in order to get rid of all the chipping that she induced with one of those ring pull through sharpeners from the 70s. (come to think of it, I should actually just steal that thing from her so she finally stops using it)
@lukearts2954 haha, yeah, some people don't care the way we do about their blades. My missus' mother stays with us, and she has her own knives, I don't let many touch mine. Her knives are all bent and chipped, I try clean them up occasionally, but it just frustrates me.
As the head chef of a kitchen I am very happy to have found this channel. I've learned not to use the weird V sharpeners, and that our knife honer is useless.
I to work in a commercial kitchen and have been glad that I have been helping convince people to not use pull through sharpeners and coarse honing steels. They quite literally will reduce your knives lifespan to a few years, and you will have to do it more often because you still have a burr. I make sure that all my knives that I hone are deburred, and that they will cleanly cut paper when cutting with the same section of blade. Even better yet is using a good diamond compound on a strop that will take a well sharpened knife that is properly deburred back to super sharp easily and will ensure your edge lasts for longer, will give better cutting performance, and greatly extend the lifespan of your knives. It will also increase the amount of times between honings, will not leave metal chips in your food which I can almost guarantee happens with those coarse honing steels, and the pull through sharpeners because they do not remove the burr. If I use a honing steel, I use one that is harder and has a higher grit(67 hrc and 3000 grit), Diamond coated honing steel, or a smooth polished one like what F. Dick has that it's sold purpose is to realign the edge. I realize that the professional kitchen is busy, but I have found it does make a big enough difference in edge retention and cutting performance to make it worth it. Sincerely, JS
immediate thumbs up! as a (hobbyist) knifemaker i have to say, this is one of a very few substantiated observations on this this topic. Probably not the type of video that will generate a ton of clicks, but very appreciated by some!
story of this channel... And exactly why I love it: he doesn't mislead, he doesn't do clickbait, he just gets right to the point, and proves all of his claims with clear footage that he made himself... The accuracy of information is unique and thus all the more worth the watch.
That's why I converted my Harbor Freight 1x30 and installed a variable speed sewing machine motor. I run it at 1800 rpm, which is about half the speed of the stock motor. A light touch and keeping the blade moving keeps the temperature low.
I got a half speed bucktool 1x30. I haven't done the math but even if it's a little more expensive you can't beat the convenience. I also have a 2 speed bucktool 1x42 but I use the 1x30 more often because it's easier to move.
If you're going for that type of upgrade where you can control the speed, I'd always suggest going with the following. In rough order: *3 Phase Motor. Requires at least 240V and a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive), but you can find them cheap 2nd hand for stupid amounts of power. * Brushed Permanent Magnet DC motor. Cheap, often good enough, can be a bit louder than most others. Needs a speed controller, but those are cheap. * A BLDC (Brushless DC) motor. Needs a DC power supply. Basically a small 3 Phase motor, but with a fancy name and takes a specialty driver board. * A 120V "spindle motor". At a glance you'd think 120V 3 Phase is super rare, exist, but that's the magic keyword. Needs a 120V VFD. * The variable speed brushed Universal motors used by some Harbor Freight tools. Cheap, Loud, runs on 120V AC. Inefficient. The other option is to just find an AC motor with the speed you want and use that. It's the cheapest, fairly efficient option.
awesome to see that apex crawl back, grain by grain as each takes a tiny scratch of metal away from the back side of that edge. Mesmerizing to watch...
I had always heard that IR cameras get weird when used on shiny surfaces. Might have to paint the blade and settle for measurements just back from the actual part being ground
LOL! I'm not sure if your humor is just as dry, or if you're being serious. In the off chance that you were serious: yes, I think he'll do a little dance of joy at the idea of buying a $2000 camera body just for a one-of video and then throw it in the drawer to collect (metal) dust...
@@outsider344 that's right. There's also an issue with resolution. At this magnification, having a high enough resolution on your substrate will make it super-expensive for just a very niche application. Thermal imaging is usually _not_ high res for multiple reasons, including price. But I think this person probably thought of the camera apps on iPhones that can simulate (and look like) thermal imaging. Those will not do the job here...
@@lukearts2954 price and ITAR restrictions. Thermal imagers count as a "dual use" item meaning they have potential for military use. For commercial sale they are limited to low resolution or low frame rate. You can still get a decent one for around 300$ that plugs into your phone though. They are low frame rate so you would have to really work to sync up it's pictures with the moments the knife heat changes. Expensive, yes, but not crazy for someone doing what he's doing. Honestly they are fun and useful to have around, beyond TH-cam use.
@@outsider344 Correct about shiny surfaces. We want to see the black-body radiation of the metal in-situ. Having reflective surfaces would make us see the (reflected IR-image of the) light-source and not just the metal doing the reflecting.
Wow. This highly magnified footage is absolutely wonderful. Fascinating and so telling of what burr formation actually is. Thanks so much for your relentless curiosity and creativity to dig deep into the mysteries and myths of blade sharpening. A topic that definitely needs more of a scientific approach than magical thinking. Each of your videos is very informative, and occasionally also very funny. Thanks a lot for your work ! 👌👍👏👏
So happy to finally see proof of what I’ve been saying since the Worksharp came out - with proper use, a small machine designed like that doesn’t have the speed and torque to damage a heat treat. SO many people just say “oh I won’t use a Worksharp because they ruin heat treats” as if they have some secret knowledge - well, YOURE WRONG people. Nothing like a microscopic image for proof!
That closeup video was awesome and much appreciated! You talked about the two keys for not overheating the blade: belt speed and pressure. I often sharpen larger knives on my HF 1x30 belt sander and have never had an issue with heat. I use the slack portion of the belt above the platen with very light pressure. On smaller knives, I stick to either traditional sharpening or my Worksharp.
Thanks for making this video. So many people are saying the work sharp will create a burnt edge and it just is not going to unless, as you said, you misuse the sharpener or try to overheat the edge.
Vadim Kraichuk / Knifegrinders Australia did a study on heat in grinding and found the Worksharp to overheat edges, but only with the highest speed setting and the finest belt.
Yeah, this dude is awesome for sharpening info. There's also science of sharp that did some electron microscopy of knife edges. Then there's Outdoor55 doing moving pictures of this amazing macro and disproving myths and educating the masses
I genuinely appreciate the no bullshit videos. Always a joy to watch, its refreshing. Especially as everyone seems to be moving towards tiktok-like videos with constant sound effects and trash research repeated as gospel.
Great job. One important note is that overheating always occurs at the tip of the knife, where there is less steel to act as a heat sink. Some also believe that there may always be a small loss of hardness just at the apex when using a grinder, even if there is no apparent color change. The damage would cause a loss of edge retention but be limited to just the apex and could be removed with subsequent sharpenings.
Thx for risking the expensive equipment - nice shots. Another factor that contributes to overheating is dull belts. Some people try to squeeze the last life drop out of their belts, but the less cutting the belt does, the more heat it generates.
First off this video is great. I'm a Mat Sci. student and the closeups and the way you portray the science in an intuitive, simple way, is phenomenal. Second, I just wanted to say that I learned sharpening from your videos years ago and the content you've been producing lately is absolutely amazing. Nobody else is making content like this from what I know, and I'm absolutely here for it. So proud of how you've progressed and I'm very happy for you that your hard work seems to be paying off (views/subscribers). Keep up the good work!
u could use a temperature camera, to make it even more exact. I found it very interesting. U could test the small sharpener that way and be 100% sure that you are not overheating the knife.I would be cool i think. Very cool shots btw.
Absolutely love your channel very informative and educational. Thank you so much. Not sure if you was aware but I absolutely love your theme Music it’s the same theme as “the outdoor gear review” channel. Absolutely has helped me a ton. Thank you.
Thanks I appreciate it! I actually put music in my videos to help keep them from being stolen and re uploaded to another platform since the music is from a paid service. They will copyright strike music that is not paid for. It's definitely helped😉👍
Please do a test of the Sharpens best pocket knife sharpener! Its one of the first things that comes up on youtube when people look for sharpeners. Millions of views, but barely any reviews.
To get the best shot, attach the knife to the camera lens so that no matter how much shake there is, the knife stays in the viewfinder, and it's just the background that shakes.
If you're looking for more video topics, I recently purchased a DMT diamond stone, but apparently the wrong one... it has like a steel mesh suspended slightly above the plastic base, with most of the surface being holes, rather than grinding area. I'd be interested in whether or not I should continue trying to learn free-hand sharpening with this device or if I should spend yet more money on a more traditional sharpening plate, because my results have not been particularly good and I'm not sure to what degree that's caused by my own inability and to what extent it's caused by the stone's architecture and/or if there's a different way you should swipe the knife across the plate with that sort of stone.
Great video, would be cool to see tested with a worn belt. I change belts often when sharpening, not only do new belts produce less heat they get the job done faster.
This is awesome, finally a video that puts this to rest, too many people afraid of the worksharp because of misinformation, or immediately write it off as bad
Love my Ken Onion Work sharp. I feel its the best for somebody like me who only sharpens once and a while. Then I want to work quickly on a lot of knifes, and don't have time to use a stone. That and i always forget my stone sharpening skills between sessions.
Wow. That footage was so impressive and key. A lot of people talk about edges but you take it to another level. Edge is the last thing I am struggling with and you provide amazing information and visuals. Also, yes I was one of the people who got a white and blue sharpening stone from Amazon to try and learn on. I stepped up to a Norton stone but it looks like there are still better learning options.
I wouldn't want to use one - it would take away any skill I have developed, plus you'd lose the meditative quality of sharpening a bunch of knives. Really enjoying these videos, take care, Eddie.
Yea, I've never had a knife turn colors on me. I inspect the edge each time after a few passes. I've definitely had a few knives get hot to touch, and that's why I keep a quenching cup near me.
A dull belt, and/or one that is loaded up with metal, which is more common on grinding wheels also generates more heat. One question, I am kind of surprised that no one, that I know of, uses high speed steel for knife edges. The whole purpose of high speed steel was that on standard grinding set ups, you can not get it hot enough for the HSS to lose its temper.
Great video! I've been wanting to get one of these worksharp grinders for really bad knives, but have always been a little afraid of ruining the blade, especially when I'm sharpening other people's knives...
Unfortunately you can't do that with microscope lenses due to refraction. The image would become too blurry to see any detail. They don't even make filters for these as it would render them useless.🙂
Thanks! I just received my MK!! last week and love it! Started with a few junk knives and was able to get them super sharp in just a few minutes! Incredible video!
Those close up grinding shots were gorgeous! Some very impressive footage that I think you are correct in saying has never been filmed (or at never least publicly released) before. I think a good demonstration of the belt flexibility and speed differences between the Work Sharp and a belt grinder would be to feed a popsicle stick into the belt. I'd bet that the Work Sharp would take a several seconds to eat it away, while the full sized grinder would obliterate it almost faster than you could safely feed it into the belt. That's interesting that you mention using a platen can aggravate heat build up. It does make sense now that I think about it though. I once ruined the temper on a knife I was making by trying to grind a high grit finish. It went from silver to blue in under a second, burned my finger too 😐 I wonder if I could have improved my chances of success by removing the platen and grinding with the slack belt instead. Life circumstances had me step back from knife making before I actually managed to even complete a full build, but I still enjoy collecting tips and tricks from videos like yours for when I am eventually able to pick the trade back up.
Could you maybe put a piece of glass in front of the lens to protect it? Not sure if that would interfere with the filming, but I think I've seen similar set ups on channels like Slowmo Guys
The speed of the belt would be rated in SFM (Surface Feet per Minute). Also know simply as Surface Feet. The Machinery's Handbook and many other technical references would help you narrow in on what SFM could safely be used for a particular grit, per steel type. One way to determine the operating SFM of the sharpener would be to draw a line on the belt and count how many times the line passes a point (makes a rotation) in one minute. Then measure the length of the belt (in feet). Multiply the length of the belt by the number of rotations it made in one minute and you've got you're SFM. You've got two speed so you'd want to determine the SFM for each speed setting. To determine the belt measurement in feet: You could cut a worn-out belt at one point and measure the overall length in inches. Divide the number of inches by 12, that gets you it's length in feet. Ex: 6" = 0.5', 4" = 0.33', 5.75" = 0.479', etc.
Nice footage! And it all makes sense from a physics perspective (not that I'm a physicist or anything). The tip will be the most vulnerable part too, way less material to heat, and not many places the heat can go. Thinner blade will heat faster than thicker, and so on. Even adding water in that case might not help all that much, as the very tip won't be able to hold much and it will sizzle away quickly.
Incredible video! I didn't hear the dialog because I was so fascinated by the video footage. I'll watch again and pay attention. THANK YOU for this video!
I, like many others here believe you offer the very best sharpening and knife info on the platform. I also like the worksharp precision adjust system. I'm not able to hand sharpen on stones, but your skills are always impressive.
Great video. I’ve never seen that angle of the steel being sharpened. I use a Ken Onion work sharp grinder and it does a really good jobs of sharpening my knives. In addition it sharpens machetes and axes really nicely. I use a worksharp angled manual sharpener for more precision work.
Great video, fascinating camera work! I think a long belt is a little cooler than a short belt at a given sfm, pressure, and grit, it gets less wraparound of sparks. Grinding wheels not only cause heat from friction, but the wrap around sparks are like a mini blow torch.
If it gets hot move the knife faster. I have been using the exact same sharpener with no issue and excellent results. I work in a kitchen and i sharpen my knifes every 2-3 days. Steady angle, steady speed will do the trick. I love it.
So what you're saying is that I should probably buy a worksharp after years of looking at them and thinking they'd ruin my knives somehow. Not that it really matters, because I just buy new ones when they get dull because new things are cool and sharpening takes skill. Appreciate the videos.
The rest of the knife steel acts as a heat sink for the edge. If you can touch the blade with your bare fingers, you aren't overheating it. Just don't go crazy in a single pass and check to see if it's getting warm. Even though the WorkSharp is highly unlikely to burn an edge, I keep a damp rag nearby. I like to give the blade a quick wipe between grits, anyway, because belt systems create fine steel dust and slough off grit as you use them. Never hurts to work a little cleaner when you can.
Tom Krein, who does and has done many many regrinds on all kinds of knives has explained this in this way.. He uses bare hands when he does his regrinds and when a blade becomes hot to the touch, he dips in water and continues on. He argues that hot to skin is far below any temperature that can ruin a temper. I have a few of his regrinds and they perform exceptionally.
Great video! I sharpened a knife on an MDF Wheel about a year ago and I was being careful and moving the blade quickly but the tip turned brown, just like in this video. It can happen fast
I have a 1x42 belt sander/grinder. I used to sharpen on it but I have found that in my experience, Japanese water stones give a finer and longer lasting edge. I’m convinced that the leading (super thin) apex gets slightly burned nearly every time that you sharpen via a belt sander and it is a major contributor to poorer edge retention. And yes, I also accidentally burned a couple of knives on my own machine. It’s also nearly impossible not to slightly convex the edge with a belt (which might be what some people want). Great video btw.
Enjoyable video, and what I assumed/experienced with the Worksharp low powered belt systems, but great to see it in action. Using a FLIR or other IR camera can also show the blade temperature during sharpening, but it's even more money that won't serve much more than a few seconds of footage for ya. The other thing people will bring up with belts is that they can supposedly prematurely rip out carbides at the edge, so the wear resistance of the final edge will be reduced compared to stone sharpening. Something I think if true, would also affect stone sharpening if you pull the blade back across the stone instead of only push into it. A very semantic argument, and one that'd be difficult to depict as true or false.
This is awesome. Probably not worth the risk but if you ever decide to try this type of footage again, be interesting to see the apex on a ceramic knife through a belt type sharpener.
I recently got the Sonic Tescoma sharpener for some cheap kitchen knives and I locked my wrists with the Torso back and forth motion and now their absolutely perfect albeit a different tool than the whetstones.😅
2:40 really impressive! But yeah if you consider the large area in contact with the belt grinder (large in relation to the thermal mass of the tip) there is basically no way for the heat to be conducted to as the material is quite thin. So the bisectional area is super low and on one side there is the tip as a sort of blind end where no heat can flow either. Definetly good to consider when working with heat treated steel on powertools.
Just awesome footage! I have ruined heavy mower blades with a disk grinder (go figure). I switched to flap disk and nary a problem since. Much more forgiving, hardly heats up, and still does an excellent quick job.
This is a great channel. Your evidence based empiricism is so refreshing and informative to watch. Thank you. Also I notice that you were using you left hand to use this sharpener. Is this a recommended "powered" sharpened for lefties?
I actually like my Ken Onion Work Sharp with the blade grinding attachment. If you keep pressure light and your fingers close to the edge then dunk the knife into cold water when you start feeling heat (not when it gets really hot) There is pretty much no risk. The biggest issue IMO is you are at a greater risk of putting a bad recurve into your blade from uneven pass speeds, putting the blade on the belt and pausing, not getting the heel of the blade due to handle design etc.
Best sharpening video EVER! It’s really satisfying to see what happens as we sharpen. This is why I like to sharpen in direct sunlight when I can. Sometimes you can see a bur form and see how even the bevel is. Mostly though you just have to assume these things are happening based on other senses. I even use a jewelers loupe to inspect the edge sometimes. This footage is WAY BETTER than everything I’ve seen. Awesome!
You can use a post video processing tool to keep the shots centered in the frame like the one shown at 3:10. Great job, I've never seen video close up of sharpening (and over-heating) process.
Fantastic video! I loved seeing the details and always enjoy EVERY video you have been doing recently-working through these kinds of details for better understanding. Helps understand stones, and what sharp really means.
This content teaches us wonderfully...thanks. Beyond the Work Sharp MK2, guessing you would really appreciate the functionality of the Work Sharp Elite Sharpening System. It utilizes their Blade Grinding Attachment and allows one to see what they are doing much better than the MK2. Maybe check it out.
Nobody has done this before. You are a freaking pioneer!
Don’t know about modern DSLRs, but back in the day we would get cheap UV filters to screw onto the lenses to protect them. They didn’t really do anything except add an extra layer of glass to keep dirt and damage from the actual lens glass. They might even have polycarbonate now.
Your dedication to providing proof of concept and your constant reinforcement of good technique and practical blade work, are the reason why so many people enjoy your content. Keep up the great work.
That’s the first time I’ve seen the grinding process and its effects that close. Thanks for the risk and awesome footage.
Me too!
@@OUTDOORS55 Is it possible for your set-up to add a mirror (polished steel) where your expensive lens would be and place the lens further away (out of harms way). You might also be able to use the same mirror to direct the light onto the region of interest.
This trick is done in ballistics and, for example, is used to film a bullet leaving a barrel head on. They shoot the mirror instead of the camera. Quite a bit cheaper to do the testing this way.
good idea! @@DreadX10
@@DreadX10I can imagine this not being possible because of how close the macro lens needs to be to the subject.
i don't know how much my word is worth but you're putting out THE best and most informative knife content on yt and anywhere else , thank you and congrats!
Totally agree. 👌
Thanks I appreciate it! Im just screwing around and showing results in my garage 👍
Agreed
He's great, I'd recommend also checking out neeves knives.
I can ruin the edge without power tools.
yea, let my mom try and sharpen it. Her kitchen drawer is a house of horrors... Ever year I dedicate a weekend trying to salvage the ones that are still savable, and often I have to grind back a third of the blade's width in order to get rid of all the chipping that she induced with one of those ring pull through sharpeners from the 70s. (come to think of it, I should actually just steal that thing from her so she finally stops using it)
@lukearts2954 haha, yeah, some people don't care the way we do about their blades. My missus' mother stays with us, and she has her own knives, I don't let many touch mine. Her knives are all bent and chipped, I try clean them up occasionally, but it just frustrates me.
@@veridico84 smart man!
Me, too! 😁
I’m going to get into free hand sharpening, and I’m excited to be able to say the same.
As the head chef of a kitchen I am very happy to have found this channel. I've learned not to use the weird V sharpeners, and that our knife honer is useless.
I to work in a commercial kitchen and have been glad that I have been helping convince people to not use pull through sharpeners and coarse honing steels. They quite literally will reduce your knives lifespan to a few years, and you will have to do it more often because you still have a burr. I make sure that all my knives that I hone are deburred, and that they will cleanly cut paper when cutting with the same section of blade. Even better yet is using a good diamond compound on a strop that will take a well sharpened knife that is properly deburred back to super sharp easily and will ensure your edge lasts for longer, will give better cutting performance, and greatly extend the lifespan of your knives. It will also increase the amount of times between honings, will not leave metal chips in your food which I can almost guarantee happens with those coarse honing steels, and the pull through sharpeners because they do not remove the burr. If I use a honing steel, I use one that is harder and has a higher grit(67 hrc and 3000 grit), Diamond coated honing steel, or a smooth polished one like what F. Dick has that it's sold purpose is to realign the edge. I realize that the professional kitchen is busy, but I have found it does make a big enough difference in edge retention and cutting performance to make it worth it.
Sincerely,
JS
immediate thumbs up! as a (hobbyist) knifemaker i have to say, this is one of a very few substantiated observations on this this topic. Probably not the type of video that will generate a ton of clicks, but very appreciated by some!
story of this channel... And exactly why I love it: he doesn't mislead, he doesn't do clickbait, he just gets right to the point, and proves all of his claims with clear footage that he made himself... The accuracy of information is unique and thus all the more worth the watch.
That's why I converted my Harbor Freight 1x30 and installed a variable speed sewing machine motor. I run it at 1800 rpm, which is about half the speed of the stock motor. A light touch and keeping the blade moving keeps the temperature low.
I got a half speed bucktool 1x30. I haven't done the math but even if it's a little more expensive you can't beat the convenience. I also have a 2 speed bucktool 1x42 but I use the 1x30 more often because it's easier to move.
If you're going for that type of upgrade where you can control the speed, I'd always suggest going with the following. In rough order:
*3 Phase Motor. Requires at least 240V and a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive), but you can find them cheap 2nd hand for stupid amounts of power.
* Brushed Permanent Magnet DC motor. Cheap, often good enough, can be a bit louder than most others. Needs a speed controller, but those are cheap.
* A BLDC (Brushless DC) motor. Needs a DC power supply. Basically a small 3 Phase motor, but with a fancy name and takes a specialty driver board.
* A 120V "spindle motor". At a glance you'd think 120V 3 Phase is super rare, exist, but that's the magic keyword. Needs a 120V VFD.
* The variable speed brushed Universal motors used by some Harbor Freight tools. Cheap, Loud, runs on 120V AC. Inefficient.
The other option is to just find an AC motor with the speed you want and use that. It's the cheapest, fairly efficient option.
awesome to see that apex crawl back, grain by grain as each takes a tiny scratch of metal away from the back side of that edge. Mesmerizing to watch...
Very interesting! You could have used an IR camera as well for showing the different temperature zones during grinding.
I had always heard that IR cameras get weird when used on shiny surfaces. Might have to paint the blade and settle for measurements just back from the actual part being ground
LOL! I'm not sure if your humor is just as dry, or if you're being serious. In the off chance that you were serious: yes, I think he'll do a little dance of joy at the idea of buying a $2000 camera body just for a one-of video and then throw it in the drawer to collect (metal) dust...
@@outsider344 that's right. There's also an issue with resolution. At this magnification, having a high enough resolution on your substrate will make it super-expensive for just a very niche application. Thermal imaging is usually _not_ high res for multiple reasons, including price. But I think this person probably thought of the camera apps on iPhones that can simulate (and look like) thermal imaging. Those will not do the job here...
@@lukearts2954 price and ITAR restrictions. Thermal imagers count as a "dual use" item meaning they have potential for military use. For commercial sale they are limited to low resolution or low frame rate. You can still get a decent one for around 300$ that plugs into your phone though. They are low frame rate so you would have to really work to sync up it's pictures with the moments the knife heat changes. Expensive, yes, but not crazy for someone doing what he's doing. Honestly they are fun and useful to have around, beyond TH-cam use.
@@outsider344 Correct about shiny surfaces. We want to see the black-body radiation of the metal in-situ. Having reflective surfaces would make us see the (reflected IR-image of the) light-source and not just the metal doing the reflecting.
Wow. This highly magnified footage is absolutely wonderful. Fascinating and so telling of what burr formation actually is.
Thanks so much for your relentless curiosity and creativity to dig deep into the mysteries and myths of blade sharpening. A topic that definitely needs more of a scientific approach than magical thinking.
Each of your videos is very informative, and occasionally also very funny.
Thanks a lot for your work ! 👌👍👏👏
So happy to finally see proof of what I’ve been saying since the Worksharp came out - with proper use, a small machine designed like that doesn’t have the speed and torque to damage a heat treat. SO many people just say “oh I won’t use a Worksharp because they ruin heat treats” as if they have some secret knowledge - well, YOURE WRONG people. Nothing like a microscopic image for proof!
Nothing feels better or worse than vindication.
That's some of the most incredible footage I've ever seen! THANKS for your channel, the content; and the science behind everything you do.
That closeup video was awesome and much appreciated! You talked about the two keys for not overheating the blade: belt speed and pressure. I often sharpen larger knives on my HF 1x30 belt sander and have never had an issue with heat. I use the slack portion of the belt above the platen with very light pressure. On smaller knives, I stick to either traditional sharpening or my Worksharp.
i do the same on my 1x30
Wow, that’s really awesome. Also cool to see the burr formation. Thanks!
Thanks for making this video. So many people are saying the work sharp will create a burnt edge and it just is not going to unless, as you said, you misuse the sharpener or try to overheat the edge.
Vadim Kraichuk / Knifegrinders Australia did a study on heat in grinding and found the Worksharp to overheat edges, but only with the highest speed setting and the finest belt.
Yeah, this dude is awesome for sharpening info. There's also science of sharp that did some electron microscopy of knife edges. Then there's Outdoor55 doing moving pictures of this amazing macro and disproving myths and educating the masses
I genuinely appreciate the no bullshit videos. Always a joy to watch, its refreshing. Especially as everyone seems to be moving towards tiktok-like videos with constant sound effects and trash research repeated as gospel.
Don't forget all the ai generated fake content
I like how professional your videos look now
I miss the shack in the woods...
Those were nice
Great job. One important note is that overheating always occurs at the tip of the knife, where there is less steel to act as a heat sink. Some also believe that there may always be a small loss of hardness just at the apex when using a grinder, even if there is no apparent color change. The damage would cause a loss of edge retention but be limited to just the apex and could be removed with subsequent sharpenings.
This is good stuff. I'm a novice beginner sharpener and I always enjoy your vids and appreciate the info.
You've been killing it with the content lately. This is great stuff.
I´m a german Knife Lover and i Love your Videos ! I´ve learned so much from them ! Thanks, Respect and greetings from germany...😌
Thanks for putting the lens at risk for us. Excellent footage indeed.
Thx for risking the expensive equipment - nice shots. Another factor that contributes to overheating is dull belts. Some people try to squeeze the last life drop out of their belts, but the less cutting the belt does, the more heat it generates.
First off this video is great. I'm a Mat Sci. student and the closeups and the way you portray the science in an intuitive, simple way, is phenomenal. Second, I just wanted to say that I learned sharpening from your videos years ago and the content you've been producing lately is absolutely amazing. Nobody else is making content like this from what I know, and I'm absolutely here for it. So proud of how you've progressed and I'm very happy for you that your hard work seems to be paying off (views/subscribers). Keep up the good work!
u could use a temperature camera, to make it even more exact. I found it very interesting. U could test the small sharpener that way and be 100% sure that you are not overheating the knife.I would be cool i think. Very cool shots btw.
Absolutely love your channel very informative and educational. Thank you so much. Not sure if you was aware but I absolutely love your theme Music it’s the same theme as “the outdoor gear review” channel. Absolutely has helped me a ton. Thank you.
Thanks I appreciate it! I actually put music in my videos to help keep them from being stolen and re uploaded to another platform since the music is from a paid service. They will copyright strike music that is not paid for. It's definitely helped😉👍
OMG. Great video! The outro music was epic!!!
Please do a test of the Sharpens best pocket knife sharpener! Its one of the first things that comes up on youtube when people look for sharpeners. Millions of views, but barely any reviews.
Thanks for deep diving on this one. 👍🏻
To get the best shot, attach the knife to the camera lens so that no matter how much shake there is, the knife stays in the viewfinder, and it's just the background that shakes.
If you're looking for more video topics, I recently purchased a DMT diamond stone, but apparently the wrong one... it has like a steel mesh suspended slightly above the plastic base, with most of the surface being holes, rather than grinding area. I'd be interested in whether or not I should continue trying to learn free-hand sharpening with this device or if I should spend yet more money on a more traditional sharpening plate, because my results have not been particularly good and I'm not sure to what degree that's caused by my own inability and to what extent it's caused by the stone's architecture and/or if there's a different way you should swipe the knife across the plate with that sort of stone.
Great video, would be cool to see tested with a worn belt. I change belts often when sharpening, not only do new belts produce less heat they get the job done faster.
This is awesome, finally a video that puts this to rest, too many people afraid of the worksharp because of misinformation, or immediately write it off as bad
Love my Ken Onion Work sharp. I feel its the best for somebody like me who only sharpens once and a while. Then I want to work quickly on a lot of knifes, and don't have time to use a stone. That and i always forget my stone sharpening skills between sessions.
Awe!! That outro song would've been the perfect theme for some karate moves (Elvis kicks) and some paper cutting coolness.
Such nice innovative and brave work you are doing Alex. One additional factor leading to overheating is if your belt is dull. Sharp grit cuts cooler.
Wow. That footage was so impressive and key. A lot of people talk about edges but you take it to another level. Edge is the last thing I am struggling with and you provide amazing information and visuals. Also, yes I was one of the people who got a white and blue sharpening stone from Amazon to try and learn on. I stepped up to a Norton stone but it looks like there are still better learning options.
Cool footage Alex! Thanks for risking your expensive equipment to get it.
Glad to see that is the conclusion! I bought one of these from the last video, have only just got it! :)
Very very fantastic video! Compliments for the macro close-up! Greetings from the Netherlands, Frank
This thing works for me, thank you for showcasing it
Enhance...enhance...enhance... Wow that's rather impressive the way you were able to capture that extreme close up.
I wouldn't want to use one - it would take away any skill I have developed, plus you'd lose the meditative quality of sharpening a bunch of knives. Really enjoying these videos, take care, Eddie.
FANTASTIC images, Incredible presentation.
well, I for one, found the presentation _very_ credible.... ;P X"D
Yea, I've never had a knife turn colors on me. I inspect the edge each time after a few passes. I've definitely had a few knives get hot to touch, and that's why I keep a quenching cup near me.
Man I’ve wondered about this for so long! Thanks for this!!
Very cool! I’ve been playing around with a 1x30 and I will be using more caution from now on.
Lovely videography - well done Alex
A dull belt, and/or one that is loaded up with metal, which is more common on grinding wheels also generates more heat. One question, I am kind of surprised that no one, that I know of, uses high speed steel for knife edges. The whole purpose of high speed steel was that on standard grinding set ups, you can not get it hot enough for the HSS to lose its temper.
Great video! I've been wanting to get one of these worksharp grinders for really bad knives, but have always been a little afraid of ruining the blade, especially when I'm sharpening other people's knives...
IMO, all lenses should have a clear filter/UV filter or "b-glass" on them for protection.
they make you lose half a stop. And when magnifying, light is EVERYTHING
Unfortunately you can't do that with microscope lenses due to refraction. The image would become too blurry to see any detail. They don't even make filters for these as it would render them useless.🙂
Thanks! I just received my MK!! last week and love it! Started with a few junk knives and was able to get them super sharp in just a few minutes! Incredible video!
Awesome, informative video and super sweet shots! Thanks for putting your equipment at risk for our viewing pleasure 🙏
Those close up grinding shots were gorgeous! Some very impressive footage that I think you are correct in saying has never been filmed (or at never least publicly released) before.
I think a good demonstration of the belt flexibility and speed differences between the Work Sharp and a belt grinder would be to feed a popsicle stick into the belt. I'd bet that the Work Sharp would take a several seconds to eat it away, while the full sized grinder would obliterate it almost faster than you could safely feed it into the belt.
That's interesting that you mention using a platen can aggravate heat build up. It does make sense now that I think about it though. I once ruined the temper on a knife I was making by trying to grind a high grit finish. It went from silver to blue in under a second, burned my finger too 😐 I wonder if I could have improved my chances of success by removing the platen and grinding with the slack belt instead. Life circumstances had me step back from knife making before I actually managed to even complete a full build, but I still enjoy collecting tips and tricks from videos like yours for when I am eventually able to pick the trade back up.
Could you maybe put a piece of glass in front of the lens to protect it? Not sure if that would interfere with the filming, but I think I've seen similar set ups on channels like Slowmo Guys
Good video. I use a worksharp and a strop to sharpen my knives.
Great videos and great demo. I've never seen burnt edges demonstrated so well anywhere else. Thanks for your careful work!
The speed of the belt would be rated in SFM (Surface Feet per Minute). Also know simply as Surface Feet.
The Machinery's Handbook and many other technical references would help you narrow in on what SFM could safely be used for a particular grit, per steel type.
One way to determine the operating SFM of the sharpener would be to draw a line on the belt and count how many times the line passes a point (makes a rotation) in one minute. Then measure the length of the belt (in feet). Multiply the length of the belt by the number of rotations it made in one minute and you've got you're SFM.
You've got two speed so you'd want to determine the SFM for each speed setting.
To determine the belt measurement in feet:
You could cut a worn-out belt at one point and measure the overall length in inches. Divide the number of inches by 12, that gets you it's length in feet. Ex:
6" = 0.5', 4" = 0.33', 5.75" = 0.479', etc.
Nice footage!
And it all makes sense from a physics perspective (not that I'm a physicist or anything).
The tip will be the most vulnerable part too, way less material to heat, and not many places the heat can go. Thinner blade will heat faster than thicker, and so on.
Even adding water in that case might not help all that much, as the very tip won't be able to hold much and it will sizzle away quickly.
Incredible video! I didn't hear the dialog because I was so fascinated by the video footage. I'll watch again and pay attention. THANK YOU for this video!
I, like many others here believe you offer the very best sharpening and knife info on the platform. I also like the worksharp precision adjust system. I'm not able to hand sharpen on stones, but your skills are always impressive.
Kudos. Thanks for taking the risk. Awesome.
Great video. I’ve never seen that angle of the steel being sharpened. I use a Ken Onion work sharp grinder and it does a really good jobs of sharpening my knives. In addition it sharpens machetes and axes really nicely. I use a worksharp angled manual sharpener for more precision work.
What cool close up shots! Really awesome of you to make and share this with the blade community. Thank you.
Great video, fascinating camera work! I think a long belt is a little cooler than a short belt at a given sfm, pressure, and grit, it gets less wraparound of sparks. Grinding wheels not only cause heat from friction, but the wrap around sparks are like a mini blow torch.
Fkn legend! Thanks for teaching us about sharpening correctly, you're my hero!
If it gets hot move the knife faster. I have been using the exact same sharpener with no issue and excellent results. I work in a kitchen and i sharpen my knifes every 2-3 days.
Steady angle, steady speed will do the trick.
I love it.
So what you're saying is that I should probably buy a worksharp after years of looking at them and thinking they'd ruin my knives somehow. Not that it really matters, because I just buy new ones when they get dull because new things are cool and sharpening takes skill.
Appreciate the videos.
Terrific camera shots again Alex! Fresh crispy edges, yum.
I love worksharp! I'm getting the ken onion one soon. However you do have to be careful because you can lose a lot of metal with these really fast.
Wow!!! Thank you for doing this. Great video!
Remarkable footage! Well done!
Simply incredible. Most amazing TH-cam video. Commitment, detail, information. Thank you.
The rest of the knife steel acts as a heat sink for the edge. If you can touch the blade with your bare fingers, you aren't overheating it. Just don't go crazy in a single pass and check to see if it's getting warm.
Even though the WorkSharp is highly unlikely to burn an edge, I keep a damp rag nearby. I like to give the blade a quick wipe between grits, anyway, because belt systems create fine steel dust and slough off grit as you use them. Never hurts to work a little cleaner when you can.
Tom Krein, who does and has done many many regrinds on all kinds of knives has explained this in this way.. He uses bare hands when he does his regrinds and when a blade becomes hot to the touch, he dips in water and continues on. He argues that hot to skin is far below any temperature that can ruin a temper. I have a few of his regrinds and they perform exceptionally.
Great video! I sharpened a knife on an MDF Wheel about a year ago and I was being careful and moving the blade quickly but the tip turned brown, just like in this video. It can happen fast
I have a 1x42 belt sander/grinder. I used to sharpen on it but I have found that in my experience, Japanese water stones give a finer and longer lasting edge. I’m convinced that the leading (super thin) apex gets slightly burned nearly every time that you sharpen via a belt sander and it is a major contributor to poorer edge retention. And yes, I also accidentally burned a couple of knives on my own machine. It’s also nearly impossible not to slightly convex the edge with a belt (which might be what some people want). Great video btw.
Very useful! I want to be able to grond convex shapes towards edges.
Enjoyable video, and what I assumed/experienced with the Worksharp low powered belt systems, but great to see it in action. Using a FLIR or other IR camera can also show the blade temperature during sharpening, but it's even more money that won't serve much more than a few seconds of footage for ya.
The other thing people will bring up with belts is that they can supposedly prematurely rip out carbides at the edge, so the wear resistance of the final edge will be reduced compared to stone sharpening. Something I think if true, would also affect stone sharpening if you pull the blade back across the stone instead of only push into it. A very semantic argument, and one that'd be difficult to depict as true or false.
This is awesome. Probably not worth the risk but if you ever decide to try this type of footage again, be interesting to see the apex on a ceramic knife through a belt type sharpener.
Super images. Thanks for taking the risk.
Thank you for all the effort you put into your video's, I have learnt so much about the art of sharpening a knife
I recently got the Sonic Tescoma sharpener for some cheap kitchen knives and I locked my wrists with the Torso back and forth motion and now their absolutely perfect albeit a different tool than the whetstones.😅
2:40 really impressive!
But yeah if you consider the large area in contact with the belt grinder (large in relation to the thermal mass of the tip) there is basically no way for the heat to be conducted to as the material is quite thin. So the bisectional area is super low and on one side there is the tip as a sort of blind end where no heat can flow either. Definetly good to consider when working with heat treated steel on powertools.
Well done! Great information. I hope you put a $20 1A Skylight filter on that lense to protect it.
Amazing Visuals, thanks for covering this. Im glad your lens didn't get messed up👍
Just awesome footage! I have ruined heavy mower blades with a disk grinder (go figure). I switched to flap disk and nary a problem since. Much more forgiving, hardly heats up, and still does an excellent quick job.
This is a great channel. Your evidence based empiricism is so refreshing and informative to watch. Thank you. Also I notice that you were using you left hand to use this sharpener. Is this a recommended "powered" sharpened for lefties?
I actually like my Ken Onion Work Sharp with the blade grinding attachment. If you keep pressure light and your fingers close to the edge then dunk the knife into cold water when you start feeling heat (not when it gets really hot) There is pretty much no risk. The biggest issue IMO is you are at a greater risk of putting a bad recurve into your blade from uneven pass speeds, putting the blade on the belt and pausing, not getting the heel of the blade due to handle design etc.
Thanks for the video, that was fun to watch.
Best sharpening video EVER! It’s really satisfying to see what happens as we sharpen. This is why I like to sharpen in direct sunlight when I can. Sometimes you can see a bur form and see how even the bevel is. Mostly though you just have to assume these things are happening based on other senses. I even use a jewelers loupe to inspect the edge sometimes. This footage is WAY BETTER than everything I’ve seen. Awesome!
You can use a post video processing tool to keep the shots centered in the frame like the one shown at 3:10.
Great job, I've never seen video close up of sharpening (and over-heating) process.
Fantastic video! I loved seeing the details and always enjoy EVERY video you have been doing recently-working through these kinds of details for better understanding. Helps understand stones, and what sharp really means.
This content teaches us wonderfully...thanks. Beyond the Work Sharp MK2, guessing you would really appreciate the functionality of the Work Sharp Elite Sharpening System. It utilizes their Blade Grinding Attachment and allows one to see what they are doing much better than the MK2. Maybe check it out.
Thanks for showing us.
Light touch and a cup of water very close by for quenching when using power. Great shots with the video ! 👍
How sharp or fresh the abrasive is will make a huge impact as well.
Great video man. Love the channel and the content is amazing. No other channel has stuff like this. Great work man.