Getting a mirror finish on your edge?

[Kyle]

I am thinking about buying some upgrade stones or strops to help get the mirror edge on my blade. Will the super fine 1200/1600 ceramics accomplish this?or do i also need the micro fine stones. Or will buying the 1, .5 leather strops be better for this? I already have the 5, 3.5 leather strops. And im also wondering how often i should be applying new paste to the leather strop?

[Steven N. Bolin]

I am thinking about buying some upgrade stones or strops to help get the mirror edge on my blade. Will the super fine 1200/1600 ceramics accomplish this?or do i also need the micro fine stones. Or will buying the 1, .5 leather strops be better for this? I already have the 5, 3.5 leather strops. And im also wondering how often i should be applying new paste to the leather strop?

Honesty, everything you listed will inevitably bring you closer and closer to a mirror finish (even though I’d consider a well sharpened knife at 1000 grit to be mirror finished). SInce the finer and finer you you, the peaks and valleys in the steel get evened out; therefore, light reflects at a more consistent angle off the surface… That’s a novice explanation from a novice sharpener.

By all means buy these for the sake of saving yourself the time and investing in your overall experience with your WEPS… But there are other, less costly alternatives that can get you that much closer if you’re in a pinch.

[JS]

In my opinion, I think the 1200/1600 ceramics are a must at a minimum before transitioning to the strops if going for a true mirror. I can’t give you any advice on the other set of ceramics as I don’t have them. After the ceramics, I go from 5 to 3.5 paste on leather to 1 and 0.5u CBN spray on kangaroo. This gives me a good enough mirror for my tastes, but I’m not as big on mirror edges as I used to be as I’m preferring a toothier edge for EDC nowadays. Though a 1k grit edge with really broken in diamonds leaves a really shiny and reflective finish.

[Aaron kimpton]

Well, the basic ceramics will give you a mirror look when viewing them from an oblique angle. When you start to look close you will still see fine scratches. I did a 3 bevel convex on one of my kitchen knives i toss in the dishwasher today. You can see a semi mirrored finish about half way down. This was after about 20 min of coarse ceramic and 20 min of fine ceramic. I then finished it down with the 1 micron diamond paste on strops. You can see that under magnification at the bottom images, there will still be some form of marring.

Here is a 10″ ikea knife that I use daily. it is not a great steel, but i can use it an put it in the dishwasher. it was last sharpened before our move to va, which was in july. so likely june or late may.

Knife before was pretty much a flat bevel at 17* or 34* inclusive

Before edge.


The belly edge

the tip

the knife after 15.65* primary bevel

<note any level of polish you see is a trick of the light. This was finished down with 1600 grit ceramics, the final edge is significantly more polished. though it will not look it under heavy magnification of 40x

The knife edge after 15.65* degree primary bevel, 16.65 secondary bevel, and 17.65 final bevel blended by 1 micron diamond paste.

Heel edge

middle edge

Belly edge


Tip

[Daniel maloon]

Have you checked you 1300/1600 ceramics for dishing?

[Aaron kimpton]

Me?

Do you mean placed center to center and there be in a gap? If so yes. They seem to be fine. Keep in mine the photos are ar 40x

[CliffCurry]

Chasing the mirror is alot of fun. :silly: Adding to the challenge is the changes in abrasive media and the need for magnification to really see what you are doing to the steel.

Ive had excellent results in short order doing something like: 1000 grit diamond >> micro-ceramics >> p2000-p3000 grit sandpaper strips >> followed by an assortment of 5u-.5u diamond pastes and sprays on leather/kangaroo. Really the stropping results are incremental improvements. Most of the work is already done and just needs a polish. *opinion subject to change*

I havent had a chance since the new USB scope to play around and see if steps are redundant or not but I remain a big fan of the strips. As mentioned above at any point you can choose a really nice satin finish as well.

Usually Ill top the mirror edge with a 1000 grit micro-bevel as many people here have recommended for better bite. 👿

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[Zamfir]

Nice work guys!

I was not a fan of my ceramics at first. They did not feel right..So I picked up a DMT fine (red) bench top stone and lapped them. They now feel and act like I expected them to. Smooth as silk. It made all the difference in the world lapping them like this. If you are not happy with your ceramics I highly recommend it. It was like I rubbed magic into them. :blink:

[Steven N. Bolin]

Chasing the mirror is alot of fun. :silly: Adding to the challenge is the changes in abrasive media and the need for magnification to really see what you are doing to the steel.

Ive had excellent results in short order doing something like: 1000 grit diamond >> micro-ceramics >> p2000-p3000 grit sandpaper strips >> followed by an assortment of 5u-.5u diamond pastes and sprays on leather/kangaroo. Really the stropping results are incremental improvements. Most of the work is already done and just needs a polish. *opinion subject to change*

I havent had a chance since the new USB scope to play around and see if steps are redundant or not but I remain a big fan of the strips. As mentioned above at any point you can choose a really nice satin finish as well.

Usually Ill top the mirror edge with a 1000 grit micro-bevel as many people here have recommended for better bite. 👿

Cliff,

Beautiful as always! Thanks for sharing!

[Kyle]

Nice pictures. Thank you. I think i will probably end up trying the 1200,1600 and go from there.

[CliffCurry]

Eric, was this on the 1200/1600 or the micro fine ceramics that you lapped? or both? I had the 1200/1600 and am much happier now with the micro’s as a direct jump from the 1000 grit stage.

[Zamfir]

Yes. The 1200/1600 are the only ceramics I have. I have not put much time into sharpening dice I got them working like they are now. Too busy cutting airplane kits and knife handles on the cnc to sharpen. And well. All my knifes are sharp! Lol. I want to give a solid go at another mirror finish again using the ceramics from the 1k grit like you. I Thielking they will help a lot.

[Aaron kimpton]

the ceramics are my least used stones. I tend to spend more time with the diamonds than the ceramics. I am probably under 200 knives total with all my stones. My knives were extremely sharp to begin with. I have only done a couple of reprofiles on some of my older knives. Most of what i have done is just making my bevels more consistent that what i had done by hand using my japanese water stones. Over the last 20 years.

[Lance Waller]

I had to lap the micro fines as well as the super fines. The micro fines took forever to lap. They are extremely hard. I also had to start at the 100’s and go up to the 1000’s to smooth them out. But now I get edges like this with them!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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[Aaron kimpton]

How long are you working those stones on thar edge? Can I see it under a scope?

[Author]

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