Lapping films

Welcome to the Wicked Edge Forum, Frustrated inc.  First tell us what are your sharpening goals? Are you sharpening for utility and function, a very sharp and durable cutting edge or are you looking for a mirror polished shiny reflective bevel to show your friends.  Whether your knives are for show or for practical use has a lot to do with how smooth and scratch free you want to make your steel.

First I’ll say in my opinion the Lapping Films, I prefer the Diamond Lapping Films, (DLFs), are the same as the regular Wicked Edge Diamond Stones only a finer grit level.  The finer the grit the closer together and shallower the scratch pattern will be.  When done correctly, that is with the correct applied sharpening technique, down through the grit progression the scratches getting increasing smaller and increasingly closer till they appear as they  have disappeared, then all your left with, is scratch free appearing shine.   Along with this the knife bevel steel gets increasingly precise and the apex of the edge more pointed and thinner, that the knife edge become less practical, durable, and long lasting.

When the very fine DLF edge is followed with a good, properly applied progression of stropping for polish, the edge will be incredibly shiny, smooth and mirror reflective.

The trick or the art of sharpening is to decide how to get the balance between shiny and sharp and how thin an edge it requires to achieve this goal.  This determines what combination of sharpening mediums, the diamond stones, and polishing mediums, the strops, you’ll need to use.

For me a fairly fine sharpened edge, done down to the 1500 grit diamond stone, followed with a 2 step grit of stropping done with plain cow leather, (4µ/2µ), in most cases, for most knives, gives me that balance I’m looking for for between shine and sharp.

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Brewbear, Alex, wickededge, DaveG, sksharp, DeeR, Organic

I just priced some DLF sheets from my usual supplier and the prices have doubled over what I paid about two years ago.  Even at that, it’s still cost effective, as I’m getting quite a few knives out of each change of film.

If I were starting over from scratch, I’d go with the 100/200, 400/600, 800/1000 diamond stones and add the hybrid 1500/glass (6 micron DLF) handles.  Next, I’d add one pair of aluminum or glass handles, using 3 and 1.5 micron DLF.  1.5 film is very hard to find from outside suppliers, but WE sells it at $3.00 per strip.  I’d also add a pair of strops.  I have leather strops, but from what I’ve read here on the forum, nano-cloth strops might be the better solution.  I’m currently running 2.5 and 1.0 micron paste on my leather strops.

This array of grits lets me choose whichever progression of grits I might wish to try.  Generally, I’ll sharpen to 3 micron film and it leaves a nearly scratch-free sets of bevels.  Not truly scratch-free, but seriously polished to all but the closest scrutiny.  Pursuing that truly scratch-free finish can be a bear and feel like searching for the holy grail.  I’ve learned to accept bevels which are less than pristine, but beautifully sharp and much easier to achieve.

Diamond film is the equivalent of fine-grit sandpaper.  Even at the lowest particle size, it still removes metal with each stroke.  My theory is that strops, on the other hand, do not actually remove material.  They burnish (rub) the surface, smearing the high spots out, leveling them to a more or less even surface.

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Brewbear, Stu, wickededge, DaveG, sksharp, DeeR, Organic, Marc H

The lapping films are most similar to ultra fine diamond stones. They abrade quickly and put a nice polish on the bevels with very little work especially when compared to the time it takes to get a mirrored finish with just diamond stones and strops. They are not a replacement for strops, but do produce impressive results when used in conjunction with strops. They’re a great option to have in the tool bag when you want that ultra refined edge with a mirrored finish, but I don’t often reach for them because of their cost and semi-disposable nature (expect to get about 10 knives worth of sharpening per diamond lapping film strip). These days I generally prefer to use the 1.4 / 0.6 micron ceramic stones before moving to the strops.

If you don’t already have the 1500 / glass then you should get it. That one is worth the price of admission even if you never use the lapping films. The 6 micron film works beautifully after the 1500.

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Brewbear, wickededge, DaveG, sksharp, DeeR, Marc H

Frustrate Inc, a big stone collection does not make for sharp knives.  Time, effort, attention to detail, good technique and precision do.  I don’t see how you could leave out any one of these and yield an edge to be proud of; especially time.  It’ll take me as long as it takes to develop the edge that I want to give back.  I often don’t know how long it’ll take till I get started.  I have learned on an inexpensive knife made of soft steel it sharpens much faster than an expensive knife made of special hard steel.  Most people have inexpensive knives of soft steel.  That’s a big help.

For me it’s been a conundrum pricing and sharpening knives with a Wicked Edge.  How can you apply the edge you’re proud of and not go broke by spending too much time.  True most people are very pleased with an average sharp Wicked Edge.

Here’s a recent take on this subject by a Forum member:

https://knife.wickededgeusa.com/forums/topic/handmade-damascus-skinning-knife/#post-47721

1 user thanked author for this post.

Brewbear

Sharpening on the WE for money is a tough one. If your goal is actually to earn a fair wage for your time then you have to charge a lot more than most people are willing to pay. If your goal is only to make some extra cash then it can be good, but using a belt sander is really the way to go if you want to strike that balance of money earned v. time invested.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Brewbear, wickededge

I hope your injury is one that will heal with full recovery and not the life changing kind.

In most cases a full Diamond Stone progression through 1000, or 1500 grit (if you have one), when done properly with good technique, followed by a simple 2 step strop progression will yield a shinier sharper edge for most knife owners/users then they’ve ever experienced.

I’d start with that and build a following.  With the knife aficionados you may come across, you might then offer the deluxe services at a premium price.  They are the users that appreciate the extra care and recognize it takes more time effort and expertise.  They’re willing to pay for that special service so they can show off their knives.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Brewbear, wickededge, Organic

I’m sorry for your situation. It sounds and seems like your accepting where you are and making the best of it.  It keeps me appreciative.  Sharpening does keep you busy and attentive.  I find myself totally submerged in it hours on end.

When sharpening for others, I will word it this way, I wouldn’t do any more then is necessary to apply an edge you can be proud of.  (I wouldn’t word it, do the least amount of work thats needed.)  It won’t be necessary, recognized or appreciated, by the majority of the knife users.  I seldom get any feedback from those I sharpen for.  Only once in a great while do I get a call or text, “wow, that knife is really sharp now.  I can’t believe how well it slices tomatoes.”