Longevity Of Burnished Edges

[Matt S]

How long should I expect a well burnished edge to last? I mainly use good English bridle and some plain veg for what I produce. I can get a good smooth, hard, shiny edge all sorts of ways. Sometimes even quickly. But within a month of heavy use, they start to shag out.

My longest lasting results are with the following technique:
1) Edge and quick sand at about 320 wet & dry

2) Plain water hand burnish. By this stage it's getting smooth and shiny

3) Power burnish with beeswax on a felt wheel, then buffed with a piece of cloth

4) Repeat step 3, a little heavier

5) Neutral edge kote, hand burnishing when half dry

Is there something I'm doing wrong, or is this to be expected? Is there something I could be doing better? Am I expecting too much?

[kiwican]

Thats a really good question. I dont actually have an answer for you and can only talk from my experiences and what i think would stand to reason. I have a mason jar holder that see a lot of action, it gets used daily for tea and water etc. It gets wet and beat up, the edges seem to last quite a while but i do reslick them every few months. My key chain takes more of a beating and i do that every few months as well. I never had the expectation that the slicking would last a life time, after all how could it?