Coarse edge with a little stropping

Yes, I have! But I haven’t gone down to the 200s to micro-bevel. My rationale was based upon all that I’ve been learning about the geometry of Japanese kitchen knives and how every facet of the overall sharpening process seems to have a specific end function in mind. Also, the notion that the relief bevel is the most important part in “slicability” because less friction takes place between the blade road and the material being cut (among a few other reasons)… But, what if you don’t have the option on a wide relief, say on an EDC? Can you accomplish the same idea by creating a super polished secondary bevel done at a reasonably low dps that reduces friction, and, at the same time, create a micro-bevel for a more aggressive cutting edge that holds up to the task at hand?

Clay, I’d definitely be interested in some magnifyied images of the edge polished at 15dps with 200 grit 20dps micro-bevel if you have the time!

Clay,
Since you posted the link to the science of sharp:
https://knife.wickededgeusa.com/forum/11-thoughts-theories-science-related-to-sharpening/13485-more-sem-images-from-the-science-of-sharp
I thought about it for a bit and sharpened my Zero Tolerance 0801 in similar fashion; thinned and polished to 17 degrees per side, stropped at 15 degrees followed with two strokes of the 400 diamond per side at 20 degrees. I didn’t follow up with further stropping like you mentioned, but the results are striking compared to some other methods I have used. I chose the 400 grit mainly from the video and my 400 is broken in more than the coarser diamonds.
Then I did the same on another Elmax knife and a S30V both with the final bevel at 21 degrees.
I use the S30V Blur for all sorts of nasty jobs like scraping old caulk out and this method seems to stay sharp better than the previous method of thinning at 20 degrees and final bevel at 22 degrees with the 1000 grit diamond.
Thanks Clay for your continued enlightenment. There is no better education on sharpening than this forum. I’ve come to realize that the definition of sharp is as varied as to the material being cut and who is doing the cutting; there is no perfect sharp that we all keep striving to attain.
–Gregg

Outstanding! I never woulda thunk it. Which is why this forum is so goldarn fascinating. Every week there’s at least one forehead-slapping post by one of you – Doh!

Here is a Spydeco with the 1600 stones and a 1000 grit micro bevel. At 80x

[Img]http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/159234644.jpg[/img]

This is very interesting, I’d like to give it a try.
A newbie question though – when applying the micro bevel do you use edge trailing or edge leading strokes? Does it make a difference?

Also, thanks for these types of threads! This forum has been invaluable to me as a new user.

I’ve never really noticed too much difference. Orienting the “teeth” in the direction towards the tip is what I go with because I’m the most comfortable with the natural motion of the stones which is up and away from me. At least it’s natural to me.

I have occasionally brought the strops up and towards me before, but I can’t do this very well in a light and consistent matter with my stones judging on a magnified look at my edge plus how it feels to me. I’ve not tried this yet with the longer arms from Oldawan, but I suspect I’d have better luck with the longer arms.

A lot of people assume that the natural cutting motion with a knife is a slice pulling the knife towards you or in a motion where the tip of the knife follows the handle. The majority of my cutting needs and uses is processing heavy cardboard boxes (not in my job but we just accumulate a lot of them at home) for easier disposal and because it’s fun trying different knives and edge combinations. My natural motion is to brace the cardboard edge on the counter or floor and push downwards with the knife tip staying pointed towards the floor in the entire motion. The tip to belly portion of the knife starts the cut, and the belly to heel finish it. All of my knives done on the WEPS breeze through cardboard this way so I actually find it advantageous to finish my knives this way.

IMO I don’t think it makes a huge difference but who knows. When making tip trailing slicing motions on plastic wrap or cellophane or phone book paper I don’t have any issues either. Just my 2 cents.