Module 4.2: Honing and Stropping
Honing
- Removal of gross nicks on the knife - To remove blemishes and grinding the cutting edge of the knife on a stone to acquire an even edge
Stropping
- Removal of the "burrs" or irregularities that have been formed during honing - Final polishing of the knife
Belgian Yellow
A type of hone that gives the best result
Xylene
After honing, wipe off the oil or soap from the knife with
Honing
Covered with a thin film of mineral oil, clove oil, Xylene, liquid paraffin, or soapy water for lubrication
Honing
Edge first, heel to toe direction
Arkansas hone
Gives better polishing effect than the Belgian yellow
Honing
Hard sharpening
Honing
Heel to toe
Warm soapy water Fine oil
Hone should be lubricated with
Stropping
Honing or Stropping: Pushed and pulled forward and backward at right angles to the transverse diameter of the plate
Black film
It is imparted by the knife that is being sharpened and should be brushed with a good nail brush in running water, (which may either be plain or soapy), until the hone is thoroughly cleaned
Tears or striae in the tissue
Jagged edges produce
Honing
Knife can be sharpened in a single stroke due to its length
Minot or plane-wedge knife
Knife is turned over to sharpen the other surface every 10-20 strokes
14 inches
Length of plate glass
Paddle strop
Made up of the best quality horse hide (horse leather), firmly attached to a solid back, to prevent sagging is preferred
Barber strop
Made up of the leather strip attached at both to a firm hold, rare
Mechanical honing with machines
Make use of vibrating frosted glass plates or a wheel driven by an electrical motor
- Oil stone/hone - Glass plate coated with abrasive
Manual honing may use
Diamantine
May also be used for final polishing
Carborundum hone
Much coarser than the first three types and is used only for badly nicked knives followed by either one of the first three knife sharpeners
Mineral oil
Not recommended and should never be allowed to meet the strop since it will tend to blister and destroy the leather
20-30 times
Number of strokes in honing
Mineral oil
Produces permanent blemish on the strop
Remove the irregularities from the knife
Purpose of honing
polish and sharpen the cutting edge
Purpose of stropping
Xylene
Removes the scattered small particles of stones and metals in honing
40-120
Required number of strokes in stropping
- Long - 8" x3"
Size of hone
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: After its use, the hone must be washed with warm soapy water, dried, and kept in a box, to protect it from dust while it is not in use.
TRUE EH
TRUE OR FALSE: Badly nicked knives with blunted ends must have to undergo sharpening to ensure optimum sectioning of tissue blocks and prevent gross irregularities on the tissue sections
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE: Contact of wax with strop is allowed
FALSE Strop it
TRUE OR FALSE: If the knife has become dull and blunt, but is free from nicks and teeth, it is usually only necessary to hone it
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: Leather strops are usually dry and require oiling before they are used
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE: Speed stropping is recommended
FALSE Do not stroke until all the oil its surface is removed
TRUE OR FALSE: Stroke the knife until all the oil its surface is removed.
FALSE Honing
TRUE OR FALSE: Stropping is done by pulling in oblique or diagonal direction towards the operator until the "toe" (head portion) is reached
FALSE It should be firm and not loose
TRUE OR FALSE: Stropping surface should be gentle and loose to prevent the turning of the knife's edge
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: Strops are usually mounted on a wooden canvass and covered with a flat pad to prevent them from sagging
FALSE Vegetable oil
TRUE OR FALSE: Strops are usually treated with mineral oil
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: The knife should not be allowed to rest on its side since this may also damage the cutting edge
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: The pressure on the knife should be gentle and steady to keep it from rocking
FALSE One full second only
TRUE OR FALSE: Three full seconds should be allowed for each stroke to avoid injury to the strop and the knif
FALSE DO NOT HOLD CLOTH
TRUE OR FALSE: To avoid accidental trauma, hold the cloth when cleaning the knife
FALSE Proximal end
TRUE OR FALSE: With the cutting edge facing the operator, place the "toe" of the knife on the distal end of the strop
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: "heel" (handle end) is placed on the distal end of the bone
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: For plane concave knives, only the concave surface should be rubbed on the hones
24-48 hours
The strop should not be used for how many hours after treatment
Xylene
The surface of the hone is wiped clean with a soft moistened with
¼ t o ⅜ inch
Thickness of plate glass
Fine Medium Coarse
Three types of carborundum hone
Stropping
Toe to heel
Belgian Yellow
Used for manual sharpening when the cutting edge has been rendered blunt or nicked
Xylene
Used knife blade should be washed and flushed with
1-2 inches wider than the length of the knife blade to be sharpened
Width of plate glass
Flat circular glass plate
With finely aluminum oxide (or alumina gel or corundum 304 or corundum 305) made into a paste with water (used as an abrasive) may be used for grinding and removing nicks