This is an issue I’ve struggled with a lot. Tom is correct in that the more you polish the edge, the more individual scratches really stand out, especially under high magnification. Tom is also correct that by using a crosshatch method, not only is it easier to knock the ridges between scratches down, it’s easier to see if you’re removing the scratches from the previous stone. When you stroke in the same direction with every grit, you’re not working as efficiently as possible because many of the particles will be fitting inside the scratches from the previous stone and won’t be doing any work at all. We did a fun study of different stones last year on Knife Forums: WEPS Shapton Progression[/url] Tom started the post and it evolved into a comparative study of Shaptons vs. Choseras with a lot of stropping along the way. From the photos, it’s easy to see exactly what Tom is describing in the way of deep scratches hiding under the scattered light from all the myriad micro-geometry of the scratch pattern. As you peel back the metal to get closer to the scratch valleys, you’re able to see them more clearly. During this study, I re-learned something I had really come to know in the knife sharpening competition: when stropping, USE VERY LIGHT PRESSURE! It was astonishing how deeply the abrasives dug in when using too much pressure with the strops.
