That’s a very good question. I’ve been killing the edge on knives since it was first explained (by the president of Shapton US) that it is a “good idea” to remove any fatigued metal at the apex before building a final, finished edge. He’s an avid woodworker, so he called this jointing the edge. I have not, ever, seen analysis that would support fatiguing at the edge. It’s plausible, but I kind of doubt that collisions with surface abrasives that remove metal are leaving metal there long enough for it to fatigue significantly. I do this more because I feel that it “can’t hurt”, than I feel that it has structural merit. I often forget to kill the edge both on knives and razors, and I have yet to discern a difference.
That’s a very good question. I’ve been killing the edge on knives since it was first explained (by the president of Shapton US) that it is a “good idea” to remove any fatigued metal at the apex before building a final, finished edge. He’s an avid woodworker, so he called this jointing the edge. I have not, ever, seen analysis that would support fatiguing at the edge. It’s plausible, but I kind of doubt that collisions with surface abrasives that remove metal are leaving metal there long enough for it to fatigue significantly. I do this more because I feel that it “can’t hurt”, than I feel that it has structural merit. I often forget to kill the edge both on knives and razors, and I have yet to discern a difference.