02-12-2011, 03:38 PM
In knife sharpening you shape the edge by sharpening from the edge back, but the final step is strapping the edge with leather, dragging the blade along the leather so that the edge trails. This puts the very fine, almost microscopic burs along the leading edge of the knife which contributes to its sharpness. However, these burs are delicate and bend back easily, so you have to repeat the strapping every few uses to keep the edge ultra sharp.
If we extrapolate that to the question of the fish hook, then it would seem that if you have the habit/discipline to resharpen the hook often while fishing, your advantage is to sharpen toward the point. If you are not going to renew the point frequently during use, you are better off sharpening from the point back toward the curve so that the microscopic burs do not bend back and decrease the cutting ability of the point..
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If we extrapolate that to the question of the fish hook, then it would seem that if you have the habit/discipline to resharpen the hook often while fishing, your advantage is to sharpen toward the point. If you are not going to renew the point frequently during use, you are better off sharpening from the point back toward the curve so that the microscopic burs do not bend back and decrease the cutting ability of the point..
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