My grit comparison chart (from AdvancedAbrasives.com) puts 1200 grit at a nominal of 15 microns. 1600 falls at 12 microns. I did a comparison of 15 and 9 micron diamond film respectively to my 1200/1600 ceramic stones and the scratch patterns are pretty close. Now, I’ve dropped the ceramics from my line-up and switch to diamond film after the 1000 grit diamond stones; I go 15, 9, 6, 3, 1.5, 1 0.5, 0.1.
I like the film because it doesn’t need breaking-in and anytime you doubt its performance, you can change to a new, pristine strip.
As I recall my Spyderco Sharpmaker, when I bought it about 30 or more years ago at the Wis state fair, the guy said the gray stones are about 600 grit, while the white stones were at 1200. They now sell a super-fine stone (white) which is clearly much finer, but I don’t recall anybody saying what grit it might be comparable to. My guess is that it’s the same as WE’s 0.6 micron superfine. Advanced Abrasives would suggest that it’s equivalent to about 40,000 grit.
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