Hi all. I am looking at the Pro-Pack II and am confused about the ceramic stones. I see it includes the Micro Fine Micro Ceramic Stones(1.4 micron/.6 micron) but not the Super Fine Ceramic Stones(1200/1600). I don’t understand the jump to the Micro Fine from the included 1000 Grit Diamond Stones without first using the Super Fine Ceramics. Would I need to also consider including these stones when I am able to purchase. My goal is a hair whittling mirrored finish in the end! Thanks.
For what it’s worth, I will offer my .02 worth. Which is really all it’s worth. I need to say that I am a new customer and new to sharpening and polishing, but having said that, I have got all the WEPS diamond stones from 50 to 1000 and the super and micro ceramics and strops 5>3.5>1>.5 and a kangaroo strop. I have been experimenting a bit but I have only had this total collection since yesterday when I got my super ceramic 1200-1600.
A couple of things I have learned are that it takes more strokes than I thought it would from one grit to the next to get to the mirror stage successfully. You can definitely get there with the PP2 as it is, but your right there is a big gap. Today I re-profiled a new Buck 110 Hunter. I started with a new 50 grit diamond stone which is about like using a rasp file, especially in it’s new state. I went to the 1000 then to the 1200, then the 5 m paste on leather then the 3.5 m paste then on to the 1600 ceramic. At this point I see the scratches left by the progressive diamonds begin to become finer and not as deep. When I did not have the 1200-1600 I was working with much more coarse deeper scratches and it took a lot longer to remove them. So predictably, the 1200-1600 is a good stone to prep for a finer stone like the micro ceramic which is a glassy ceramic and more like a polishing stone than a sharpening stone in my opinion. The 1200-1600 is not a polishing stone in the sense that you will not see a mirror begin to emerge and has minimal sharpening qualities but it is a good in between stone.
So it kind of comes down to how much time and energy and money you are you okay with spending to get to the mirror polishing stage. I have only sharpened four knives including an Elmax steel, ZT 560, ( a pretty hard steel). I have not actually achieved what I would call a perfect scratch free mirror shine yet but my blades are push sharp with the weight of the blade to cut copy paper and I can read reflected print when I put my blade on printed paper. Each successive knife however has been shinier and closer to the scratch free “perfect” mirror polish (to my eye). Like I said in the beginning, I am still learning how many strokes it takes to optimize each stones potential to prepare for the following stone.
Not sure if I actually answered your question, but I am still in learning mode myself and thought it might be helpful for you to hear some of my limited experience. I am sure there are others here who can answer your question much better.
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