Because this is the kind of nonsense I think about...
To say that when you hone a razor you don't create burrs isn't quite correct. If you have a perfectly set bevel then any further stroke, leading or trailing, on any abrasive stone will create a burr, however small, on the other side. There is a hypothetical scenario in which it is only with the final two strokes on a finishing stone that the bevel finally becomes set, but in practice nobody's actually doing this I don't imagine.
When honing a razor you do create burrs. What you don't do is create noticeable burrs - it's just a matter of perception and definition. And further - the definition of a burr or wire edge probably actually changes depending on what you're cutting with the blade...
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Last night as an experiment I used a 0.1 pasted balsa strop on an Aogami 2 kitchen knife with a 'zero bevel', which is analogous to the edge of a razor. And I did it in the way you would a razor - using a mixture of strokes including x-strokes and pull strokes to make sure the edge was properly 'de-burred' of any kind of fin or wire edge. And afterwards the very edge felt exactly like that of a razor.
Except it wasn't de-burred, I could tell that by feel. And when I cut something on a board the very edge crumpled, and felt different afterwards. It doesn't really make a difference in use because the wire edge was so fine that it's not strong enough to fold/roll. It just went away - in effect deburring the knife to an extent that the remaining edge - still incredibly sharp - was strong enough to hold up to board work.
When you shave with a straight razor you're using a blade that has what on a kitchen knife I would consider a very small wire edge. Except on a razor it's not a wire edge because you're not cutting things on a board, but try dicing an onion with a 'shave-ready' SR and see if it still is at the end.
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All of which is only to say that I think talking and thinking about burrs in regards to SRs can be slightly reductive, if done in absolute black-and-white terms. Obviously it is possible to create a wire edge fine and thin enough that a SR won't shave well (I've done that too). But if you really want to understand it, and why it happens, then it's probably better to think about this kind of thing as a spectrum with a significant number variables both internal - to do with the steel, and external - to do with it's application.
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[NB. Just to state the obvious - wire edges, fin edges, burrs, &c. are all basically the same thing. You just tend to call it a 'burr' when it's thick enough to be noticeably pushed to one side and still cling on.]
To say that when you hone a razor you don't create burrs isn't quite correct. If you have a perfectly set bevel then any further stroke, leading or trailing, on any abrasive stone will create a burr, however small, on the other side. There is a hypothetical scenario in which it is only with the final two strokes on a finishing stone that the bevel finally becomes set, but in practice nobody's actually doing this I don't imagine.
When honing a razor you do create burrs. What you don't do is create noticeable burrs - it's just a matter of perception and definition. And further - the definition of a burr or wire edge probably actually changes depending on what you're cutting with the blade...
---
Last night as an experiment I used a 0.1 pasted balsa strop on an Aogami 2 kitchen knife with a 'zero bevel', which is analogous to the edge of a razor. And I did it in the way you would a razor - using a mixture of strokes including x-strokes and pull strokes to make sure the edge was properly 'de-burred' of any kind of fin or wire edge. And afterwards the very edge felt exactly like that of a razor.
Except it wasn't de-burred, I could tell that by feel. And when I cut something on a board the very edge crumpled, and felt different afterwards. It doesn't really make a difference in use because the wire edge was so fine that it's not strong enough to fold/roll. It just went away - in effect deburring the knife to an extent that the remaining edge - still incredibly sharp - was strong enough to hold up to board work.
When you shave with a straight razor you're using a blade that has what on a kitchen knife I would consider a very small wire edge. Except on a razor it's not a wire edge because you're not cutting things on a board, but try dicing an onion with a 'shave-ready' SR and see if it still is at the end.
---
All of which is only to say that I think talking and thinking about burrs in regards to SRs can be slightly reductive, if done in absolute black-and-white terms. Obviously it is possible to create a wire edge fine and thin enough that a SR won't shave well (I've done that too). But if you really want to understand it, and why it happens, then it's probably better to think about this kind of thing as a spectrum with a significant number variables both internal - to do with the steel, and external - to do with it's application.
---
[NB. Just to state the obvious - wire edges, fin edges, burrs, &c. are all basically the same thing. You just tend to call it a 'burr' when it's thick enough to be noticeably pushed to one side and still cling on.]