New 1500 grit stone
- This topic has 40 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 06/16/2019 at 2:46 am by
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I see that the Grit Comparison chart also shows 1200 as an equivalent to 5.0 micron particles.
My Advanced Abrasives chart lists 5 micron as equal to 4000 “mesh”. There’s always some disagreement on “grit” versus “mesh.” I accept them as the same. It’s just easier. No converting required.
I also checked BestSharpeningStones.com, where I found that, interestingly, these guys sell 1″ by 5.5″ strips as “Wicked Edge Lapping Film” and the chart below is listed for these strips. They’re also selling WE blank handles (actual WE stuff?) with or without strips of film. I don’t know if they are buying their film or handles from WE or are just selling them for WE users. They sell a kit of eight strips each of 9, 5, 3, 1, 0.3 microns for a very reasonable $26.95. They also sell 8.5″ X 11″ sheets at $6.96 each, which is pretty close to Nanolap prices. Before buying, I would ask if their lapping film is indeed of diamond abrasives, as they left that word out of their descriptions.
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Indeed it is quite complicated, which is why I have spent a great deal of time creating the GLGC in an effort to demystify these things.
I think it unwise to conflate grit and mesh, since there are many different definitions for both grit and mesh, none of which are equivalent IIRC.
Your image matches 3M aluminum oxide lapping films, not diamond, as you can see by consulting the GLGC linked above.
It’s currently a mess:
- Manufacturers use a host of different grit measurements
- Their specific grits are based on average particle sizes but don’t always match what we can measure here
- We’re limited in our measurements to particles at a few microns
- Ceramic stones that are either sintered or vitrified don’t conform to any standard scale and are instead measured by the ‘roughness average’
- Abrasives on soft substrates behave very differently to their counterparts on hard substrates
We’re still working to clean this up and hoping to finish our project with Los Alamos National Labs this year. The plan is to use their SEM to image the scratch patterns produced by all of our abrasives and create a new grit chart that shows scratch width, depth and density. Then we’ll co-list the scratch data alongside the abrasive particle size as stated by the manufacturer. From there, we’ll develop a grit system something along the lines that tcmeyer describes above.
-Clay
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I think sticking to a size referencing or size numbered nomenclature makes more sense to most experienced users then adopting a new arbitrary though ordered nomenclature like a,b,c or 1,2,3. At least the old nomenclature though not perfect gives the user an idea or sense of size comparison as it fits into, or compares with, our past user experiences.
Marc
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Since the new stones were announced and in stock, what would you guys suggest for a stones progression? Currently I’m going 100—->1500/6 micron DLF. The new diamond stones 1500/2200 and 2200/3000 have me scratching my head! I’m trying to figure out a progression that makes sense to this newcomer, something like 1500/2200 followed by 3000/glass platen with DLF but since I don’t know enough about grit progression, I’m at a loss on what grit DLF to get. BTW, I haven’t used the strops yet, I was waiting for the stone covers to arrive.
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Rodney, I’ve only used lapping films dry. There has been some discussion on this form, in the past, about the possible benefits of using a lubricant, water or oil, but I’ve never read any reports on the results shared by those trying that. Therefore, I’ll continue using my Diamond Lapping Film paddles dry. I have had very good results using them only that way. I have found they work best for me when utilizing light pressure. I always clean used films with a rubbing alcohol wipe before using the dirty films. Removing any black appearing steel residue off the films seems to help them to work better and last longer.
Marc
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Diamond abrasives (including the diamond lapping films) are intended to be used dry. You can use them with water if you want to (can be useful to keep the metal dust out of the air you’re breathing), but there’s no need from a sharpening perspective. I use them dry.
I too have been using DLF dry, with excellent results.
I’ve found that some grits load up with steel “dirt” more quickly than others. For a long time, I cleaned them with isopropyl alcohol, scrubbing them with my index finger. For the last year or two, I’ve been scrubbing them with the alcohol, using a battery-powered scrubber, after every other knife edge. I’m convinced it extends the usable life of the film. If you’re obsessed with eliminating every tiny scratch, start out with the finest grit, then rinse the running brush off with a few squirts (I use a bottle with a sprayer attachment) of alcohol after the coarsest grit. This will reduce the chance of cross-contamination.
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