Backwards or forwards?

[the wharf rat]

Ok, I learned to sharpen by pushing the edge forward
against the stone and to strop by moving the edge against the strop
spine first (so as not to cut the strop). Now I'm being told that
the right way to do it is to move the blade "backwards" spine first
against the stone, for the sharpening stages too.

I've tried it using already sharpened knives on a translucent
Arkansas and darned if to doesn't seem to give me a little better
results. Should I be doing it this way all the time for everything?
What's the reasoning behind edge first or spine first?

[Greg Wormald]

In article <eimb82$jtf$1...@panix3.panix.com>,
wr...@panix.com (the wharf rat) wrote:

>snip

> What's the reasoning behind edge first or spine first?

It really doesn't make any difference until you get to the finishing
of the edge when 'cutting' the stone is better at getting off the
burr.
When you strop afterwards, that advantage is overcome. Stonework is
only taking off metal! It all depends on which gives YOU and THAT
knife the best results.
What you don't want is scratches along the length of the blade--this
can make for a weak edge.
Greg