southsamurai

I'm gonna copy/paste a response I made to a comment as a response below so that (hopefully) it'll channel the eternal debate over the benefits of a honing rod into one thread.

Not true, at least in part.

While it won't sharpen, it does remove material, even the steel honing rods.

There's been a ton of microphotography done over the last decade or so showing what happens at that level.

What a rod does varies based on the material. Metal rods basically friction off steel from the blade, whereas ceramics work exactly the same as a whetstone.

The problem with rods is the inconsistent angle, and the small area of contact. It makes them prone to irregular results.

So, you have to use a light touch.

But, since you'll likely be working a microbevel rather than trying to totally grind out the same angle as your edge bevel, it works out fine even if you get over vigorous with the pressure. Hell, most folks are going to finish their more thorough sharpening with a microbevel anyway. It's the easiest way to deburr the edge, and it gives a slightly more resilient edge with no loss of cutting ability.

There's a site called knife steel nerd, operated by a guy that's a metallurgist (who was part of coming up with magnacut, which is fairly widely considered one of the best steels for knives ever, if not always agreed as the best). There's video footage on YouTube as well as other sites that cover the effects of various knife maintenance methods and materials.

On to not copy/paste stuff

Now, back on reddit, particularly on the r/sharpening and r/knives subs, this subject got done to death. There were some great guys that went the extra mile and did their own microscopy in photo and video form. It is a settled and well documented thing that honing rods do remove material, they don't just bend the edge back into shape, and are a useful part of knife maintenance. So anyone wanting to fuss and argue the subject should either go there and look for links, or hit their favorite search engine because I'm not duplicating that work here.

They also aren't a high skill tool. They also aren't mandatory. What they do is extend the time between more extensive sharpening sessions on a whetstone (as an aside, it is whetstone, not wetstone, the word whet is synonym for hone or sharpen) where you'll remove more material and reset the angle of your edge bevel.

There is both art and science to sharpening knives. The science part is well established at this point, and backed up (as already mentioned) by documentation in visual formats. The art part is where you get to have fun! That's where you decide angles and adjust your method, then apply them to the stones you prefer.

Me? I'm an oil stone guy mostly, with ceramics for very fine grit work (around the 3k range, though there's multiple systems for describing "grit"). But I do tend to stick with forming and removing a burr, which is fairly beginner friendly, but takes less time than other options. I'm always glad to describe the basic process, but it is already out there if anyone wants to go looking. Just don't automatically swallow someone's explanation based on them using good techniques. There's plenty of folks (especially chefs for some reason) that can turn out a superb edge but spread total bullshit regarding how it happens.

Thing is, despite all of this being well established and documented, the info hasn't made its way into everyone's hands yet. Then you've got folks that simply reject the s

cience of it because they either don't like thinking they're wrong, or just don't want to change their thinking since what they were doing already fit what the research shows.

And then you run into the assholes and idiots that just refuse to accept that the science even exists, which baffles me, but humans are fucking dumb sometimes.

All of which is to reach the summation that most of what you've been told about why knives get sharp when you rub them on things is wrong because nobody had bothered to properly study it until maybe twenty years ago, and by properly I mean documenting their work nd experimental processes. So, you can freely just use stones and rods however works for you, no worries. Just be aware that a lot of people scoffing at honing rods don't actually know what they're scoffing at or why.

Edit:

Shit, apparently there's a lot of confusion about how edges "dull" as well. This comment was already long as fuck, so I'm not gonna go deep (that's what he said).

However, knives don't get dull solely by having the very apex of the edge bent. It can also be abraded away, chipped, and/or deformed in other ways. Again, there's microscopy available out there of what happens as you use a blade on various materials. There's a difference in what happens cutting cardboard vs on a wood cutting board vs a plastic cutting board, and even a good bit of variance depending on what you're cutting on those boards.

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 14h ago

Not true, at least in part.

While it won't sharpen, it does remove material, even the steel honing rods.

There's been a ton of microphotography done over the last decade or so showing what happens at that level.

What a rod does varies based on the material. Metal rods basically friction off steel from the blade, whereas ceramics work exactly the same as a whetstone.

The problem with rods is the inconsistent angle, and the small area of contact. It makes them prone to irregular results.

So, you have to use a light touch.

But, since you'll likely be working a microbevel rather than trying to totally grind out the same angle as your edge bevel, it works out fine even if you get over vigorous with the pressure. Hell, most folks are going to finish their more thorough sharpening with a microbevel anyway. It's the easiest way to deburr the edge, and it gives a slightly more resilient edge with no loss of cutting ability.

There's a site called knife steel nerd, operated by a guy that's a metallurgist (who was part of coming up with magnacut, which is fairly widely considered one of the best steels for knives ever, if not always agreed as the best). There's video footage on YouTube as well as other sites that cover the effects of various knife maintenance methods and materials.

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 14h ago

Shit, that's the part of prep that's fun

Ignoring established world building, which I don't count as campaign building, I tend to have an overall plan, plus a handful of probable diversions. Each path is going to have NPCs as appropriate, though I tend to keep them as just notes until maybe a couple of sessions before they're likely to be used.

As an example, I might have "lvl 10 chronomancer; drow, w/magic staff, 1 ring, and familiar" when I rough out the campaign. Once I'm sure the players are going that direction, I'll pick the specific gear, build the NPC's spell list, and have a plan for the encounter that includes combat, non combat, and usually a combo of the two. But the encounter plan is all mental, no need for written notes of that kind of thing.

If they're going to a location I've already got on paper, it's easy prep. But I do have a lot of room that isn't labeled on the map, as well as locations nobody has gone during play. For those, it's usually just writing down existing ideas, and cooking up details if there's a divination or scouting run, or whatever.

It's one of the benefits of having an established world to play in that's also huge enough that there's room to grow. I never have to build from the bottom up, it's only for one off and/or "non canon" play that I do much of that at this point. So most of the depth of those is in my head anyway, not on paper at all.

Mind you, I still have worlds I haven't used, and likely never will. It's a long standing mental hobby. But I really enjoy both depth and breadth for my setting.

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 16h ago

If there's anyone that can make an unnecessary remake/reboot of that show work, it's him

But it isn't necessary

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 16h ago

Fuck no

Every paycheck for twenty plus years, I calmly and without complaint saw taxes and fica taken out of each check because that's how you have a social safety net.

I sure as fuck didn't pay in because I could afford it, I paid in because it's mandatory.

So you, me, whoever, is 100% justified in using the social safety net we all paid and pay into because that's what it's for in the first place.

Never, ever feel guilty about it brougham.

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 16h ago

\m/

5

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 16h ago

I fail to see the problem

Nay, I refuse to see the problem

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 16h ago

Little homie looks like he's fresh home after snorting a line off a stripper's ass

And

It

Is

Marvelous!

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 16h ago

That seems like a pretty damn efficient method. I'm going to pretend I thought of it :)

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 1d ago

I'm listening....

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 1d ago

It's two!

It's Latin. It's used in legalese and roughly translates to "guilty mind"

The concept behind it as a legal term is based around whether the accused had intent or not, but also whether or not they could form intent.

No way is that little angel forming any intent of evil.

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 1d ago

Yup, my down vote was because of the source. The mail is essentially digital toilet paper.

2

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 1d ago

Sorta kinda.

If you're used to the track pads, using a thumb based track pad is similar enough the habituation curve will be gentle.

Mind you, you're still adapting to the roundness, as well as the scale.

That being said, having used the old Microsoft trackball, thumb based ones are not for me. I've tried that specific one as a loaner and it didn't match what I wanted. But comparing it to the deck's pads, there's a closer kind of muscle memory. I think the biggest difference is the tendency of the ball to make the ends of your movement sloppy compared to the center third or so. But that is where the habituation curve is, imo, not in the general usage.

2

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 1d ago

What?

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 1d ago

Dammit, every time I have a great one liner, I'm late to the party lol

southsamurai @sh.itjust.works 2d ago

I tell you hwat