# Deburring with cork



## Jmadams13 (Jan 2, 2013)

I've never done this. I normally strop on the stone I'm using, or newsprint between stones. Is it as simple as cutting into a cork, or is it a strop? Feel kinda dumb asking this, as it should be sharpening 101, just nothing ive ever tried. I have tons of old wine corks, so I might just give it a try, just wondnering what everyone's experiences have been. 

TIA joe


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## knyfeknerd (Jan 2, 2013)

IMHO deburring with cork sucks and is very ineffective. I made myself a cheapo homemade strop thingy with some cheap felt from walmart, an old plastic Norton stone case and some hot glue. It deburrs like a champ, It even works great with VG10! 
jus my 2 pennies


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## Jmadams13 (Jan 2, 2013)

Thanks. I have a homemade strop made from deer leather from a hunting friend, works great. Just exploring different techniques. I'm quite happy with stropping on the stone actually. Just I'm off for a few days, have new toys being delivered today, and am bored, lol. 

A old co-worker swore by his synthetic belt leather DIY strop. No compound or anything...


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## Dusty (Jan 2, 2013)

I think that de-burring on cork actually works quite well. Simply cut into the cork and gently draw the blade through it. I've found that the denser the cork, the better it works.

This is a good reason to ALWAYS have champagne corks on hand. 

Between each stone I do a couple of passes on a leather strop, and run the knife once through a cork and enjoy success de-burring.

Obviously, YMMV. But I think its one of the great cheap sharpening tricks.


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## kalaeb (Jan 2, 2013)

I usually have good luck with synthetic corks. I just draw the knife a few times through it before going on to my next stone. At the end of my stone progression I will draw through a cork and strop on a felt pad.


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## Dusty (Jan 2, 2013)

I haven't tried synthetic corks. I will now. Thanks.


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## Benuser (Jan 2, 2013)

I feel the use of cork is rather limited.
With some steels, cork will clean up the edge somewhat making it easier to see a remaining burr.
Making a cutting motion with just the knife's own weight, without entering into the cork, will indicate a smooth edge - or not.


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## tk59 (Jan 2, 2013)

Cork isn't great but for most steels, it does work just fine. It should take very little to remove the burr. In general, I find that a hard-to-remove burr is a sign that I'm not quite hitting all of the edge with my finishing stone. There are exceptions, of course.


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## Chefdog (Jan 2, 2013)

I have a few corks in my bag and think they work pretty well. But I usually deburr on the edge of my wooden strop base also, and use the corks as a final clean up. Ill have to try just using the cork and see if its the same result. I have both natural and synthetic corks and while they feel different I haven't noticed differing results.


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## Notaskinnychef (Jan 2, 2013)

So.... Much...... To..... Learn...... 

I'm still paranoid at sharpening my CN, been practicing on my crap knives but it's somewhat overwhelming to start.


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