Gents, sorry for posting in a slightly unrelated subject in this topic, but again I cannot post new topics on this forum. The “captcha” option is missing when I try to post.
Until recently the only way in removing metal from an edge above, say 1600 grit, was to use a strop with a compound (or to use whet stones).
However, the diamond films have changed all that. Not only that: they are very efficient and consistent in removing material. So, to be honest, recently I have only used diamond films up to .5 mu (and sometimes .1 mu) for this purpose. I haven’t used strops for this purpose anymore. I do use strops <= .5 mu , but I don’t go this fine very often.
My question is: am I missing out something now? For example, the “old” WE pastes has a burnishing power that helped very well in creating mirror edges. Do the new pastes have the same property? Moreover, many of the mirror edges I see published here and elsewhere (for example, Clays’s recent post) still use strops and no diamond films. Am I missing something – are strops effective in ways diamond films are not? – or is this just tradition?
And oops, the diamond films seem to have disappeared from the site. An error or are they not available anymore?