Question on strop microns vs ceramic microns

[Pat]

If I have ceramics at the 1.4/0.6 micron level, why would I want to strop at that micron level?  Wouldn’t I always want to strop at a micron level lower (say 0.5 or lower in this case after using the micro fine ceramics which are at 1.4 / 0.6 microns) than my last diamond or ceramic grit?

I know that strops are a refinement tool and not really designed to remove metal/scratches like diamonds and ceramics, so I am sure that plays a part in this.  Also, it may have to do with whether I want a sharper edge vs a polished edge.

Thanks for any thoughts.

• This topic was modified 5 years ago by Pat.

[Pat]

Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?

[wickededge]

Hi Pat,

You can strop with a higher grit because the abrasive acts very differently with a soft substrate. The action of the strop is also unique because they can stretch the edge up into a very fine peak.

-Clay

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Haffner, Dwight Glass

[Pat]

Thanks Clay.  Can you tell me what advantage ceramics have in the grit progression?  I don’t see you or Kyle us them often in demos, unless I have missed it.  Folks seem to be leaning toward DLFs and not sure if that is because it really is an advancement in technology making the ceramics antiquated.

 

[David Larr]

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Pat wrote:

If I have ceramics at the 1.4/0.6 micron level, why would I want to strop at that micron level? Wouldn’t I always want to strop at a micron level lower (say 0.5 or lower in this case after using the micro fine ceramics which are at 1.4 / 0.6 microns) than my last diamond or ceramic grit? I know that strops are a refinement tool and not really designed to remove metal/scratches like diamonds and ceramics, so I am sure that plays a part in this. Also, it may have to do with whether I want a sharper edge vs a polished edge. Thanks for any thoughts.

How abrasive, or how aggressive an abrasive cuts, is dependent upon two things: 1)The nature of the abrasive particle itself, be it diamond, ceramic, etc. And 2) the substrate that is carrying that abrasive particle. It boils down to physics. You push on something, it pushes back with equal force. For a diamond plate, there is no give at all, so it’s going to really quickly remove metal. Ceramics have a different particle, less hard than diamond, and also with a substrate that relative to the steel plate has a considerable amount more give. Take that a step further to strops. You can have a diamond emulsion on there, but it’s on leather. It’s relative abrasiveness will be low.

So then for sake of example, let’s say you did this progression.

100/ 200/ 400/ 600/ 1000/ 1500 diamond plate.

1k grit is approximately 15μ, give or take.  I believe the 1500 diamond is around 4 or 5μ.

So from here say you were to go to a 9 micron diamond lapping film, a strange thing happens. The edge gets IMMEDIATELY more polished. That’s because of the slight give both the backing on the films and the glass substrate have.

You then go all the way down to 1 μ films. From here you go back up to 14μ diamond emulsions on leather. Some mild scratches will appear, but again, as you.refine through the leather 14/ 10/ 4/ 2/ 1 micron, that flat bevel is gonna get smoother and more and more perfect. The soft leather will fill into any inconsistencies causing it to even out, simultaneously improving the quality of the actual edge itself. This is why it’s important to stack your grits when you change substrates, and go to a larger particle size and continue down.

Alternatively, you could do a 1k diamond plate, and then straight to a 14 micron leather strop for an.extremely sharp sticky working edge. Play around with different transitions. Everything is on the table. Dont take anything as 100% gospel. Hope that helped!

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Brewbear, Dwight Glass, NotSharpEnuff, Organic, Marc H

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