Re: the new 2200/3000 stones?
- This topic has 37 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 07/04/2019 at 10:17 am by
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I have a digital microscope. Its great for getting down deep and analyzing an edge during various stages. It takes pics of the edge too! I mostly use a lighted 10x $7 loupe. All I need to use it for is to quickly scan along the edge to see if I’ve erased all the scratch marks from the previous grit before moving on. I can do this also with my naked eye and I don’t even have great eyesight.
My edge sharpening needs are pretty basic.
I also have a 30x loupe, but I found the higher the power the smaller the field of vision is with the loupe.
On the 100’s that I may have to replace. . . . I’ll check them through the digital microscope but since they are already worn I have nothing to compare how the new ones come. All I know is my 100’s take twice the time to get a burr as they used to and I don’t want to spend yet another $70 to find I was wrong and they still have a lot of life left in them.
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I have a digital microscope. Its great for getting down deep and analyzing an edge during various stages. It takes pics of the edge too! I mostly use a lighted 10x $7 loupe. All I need to use it for is to quickly scan along the edge to see if I’ve erased all the scratch marks from the previous grit before moving on. I can do this also with my naked eye and I don’t even have great eyesight. My edge sharpening needs are pretty basic. I also have a 30x loupe, but I found the higher the power the smaller the field of vision is with the loupe. On the 100’s that I may have to replace. . . . I’ll check them through the digital microscope but since they are already worn I have nothing to compare how the new ones come. All I know is my 100’s take twice the time to get a burr as they used to and I don’t want to spend yet another $70 to find I was wrong and they still have a lot of life left in them.
Wow! You must have Superman eyes cause there is no way in hell you can see the previous scratches compared to the current with a loop.
I have a digital microscope. Its great for getting down deep and analyzing an edge during various stages. It takes pics of the edge too! I mostly use a lighted 10x $7 loupe. All I need to use it for is to quickly scan along the edge to see if I’ve erased all the scratch marks from the previous grit before moving on. I can do this also with my naked eye and I don’t even have great eyesight. My edge sharpening needs are pretty basic. I also have a 30x loupe, but I found the higher the power the smaller the field of vision is with the loupe. On the 100’s that I may have to replace. . . . I’ll check them through the digital microscope but since they are already worn I have nothing to compare how the new ones come. All I know is my 100’s take twice the time to get a burr as they used to and I don’t want to spend yet another $70 to find I was wrong and they still have a lot of life left in them.
A question and a suggestion : Q: which microscope did you decide on? I seem to remember you having a wifi/usb type you liked in the beginning but became disenchanted with. S: Did you clean the 100 grit stones? They tend to get a lot of buildup (I’m too new at this so I haven’t experienced it yet but other members here were talking about it)
Yes I tried a $99 scope off Amazon for a few weeks. It was not of a $99 build quality IMO so I returned it for this one which works great and a bargain for $34.95. I don’t use the stand as I just run the scope along the blade when I want a closer look. Using the scope might even save one from slicing off the end of your nose when using a loup :o): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XNYXQHE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Good idea on cleaning the stones. I know wiping the DLF’s with a paper towel dipped in alcohol makes them look new again. For the stones I usually just brush them off over a barrel with a toothbrush after each use.
An office mate of mine got his set a few months before I did. We sharpen the same types of folders, but he’s also a hunter so he sharpens many more knives than I do and he might have even bought his system used. He was complaining a few months ago that it took a long time to raise a burr with his 100’s so I lent him mine to try and he said that was the issue his stones were worn down so he ordered another set of 100’s. Thats why I’m thinking mine are wearing down and it could be time to replenise them. I can’t imagine how long it would take me to raise a burr starting with the 200’s on supersteels that some say they use the 200’s to reprofile.
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Does anyone know the micron sizes on the 2200/3000 stones?
I used mine for the first time last night, and so far I like how they worked. Need to see how they do after they’ve broken in, but I go to the superfine ceramics and then hand strop after the 1500, so used these in place of the ceramics. The edge is toothier, but nearly as sharp on a push cut.
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Ya, I know what you mean. I was looking for that same info myself. WE can put the 2200/3000 up for sale on their site but they can’t update their grit/micron chart…. boggles the mind: https://support.wickededgeusa.com/portal/kb/articles/grit-comparison-table
Ya, I know what you mean. I was looking for that same info myself. WE can put the 2200/3000 up for sale on their site but they can’t update their grit/micron chart…. boggles the mind: https://support.wickededgeusa.com/portal/kb/articles/grit-comparison-table%5B/quote%5D
I’m waiting for Clay to chime in since he has the most experience with the new stones. I had to close my eyes twice before ordering them, it would be nice to know a bit more and make a more informed purchase.Alas. I’m just getting around to trying the new stones. Mine are actually quite pristine, with the first inspection resulting in a very positive impression.
I approach the grit combinations from a slightly different perspective, as I remounted my stones in a different sequence, running 200/400, 600/800, 1000/1500. My rule of thumb has been that the steps in grit should be somewhere between 50% and 100%. In other words, the next step up from 1000 grit should be somewhere between 1500 and 2000 grit. While the WE grits tend to be on the low side of the step increases, I would have chosen to go straight to 3000 grit from 1500. I plan to test my “theory” after I’ve got the new stones broken in.
Sorry for not getting around to this sooner, but I had earlier picked up a collection of eleven old wood planes on Craigslist and have be working my way through a restoration program. Some really interesting learnings on sharpening really old blades.
These new stones do introduce some complexity in figuring out a good grit progression and it’s impossible to create a one-size-fits-all answer because of the variety of different abrasives people already have in their collections. Another issue in recommending progressions is that the answer depends on your goals:
- Maximum polish
- Maximum sharpness
- Fastest/most efficient route in time and money with focus on sharpness
- Fastest/most efficient route in time and money with focus on polish
I’ve been enjoying the following progression for maximum sharpness:
1000#> 1500#> 2200#> 3000#> 0.6 Micro-Fine> 1.0 diamond emulsion on leather strop
For my EDC, I’ve been doing the following:
1000#> 1500#> 2200#> 3000#. I like this progression because the 3000# finish is plenty aggressive but still refined and seems to hold up well. I recently applied this finish to my EDC with the new DRO handles for convex edges that we introduced at Blade Show and I really liked the way that edge performed, all the way up until I used the knife the stab into and slash 6 bags of concrete. The aggregate in the bags really trashed my edge 🙂 Another reason I like the 3000# for my EDC is that it’s easy to touch it back up with just a few strokes on those stones.
I’ve been enjoying the following progression for maximum polish (to the naked eye):
1000#> 1500#> 2200#> 3000#> 3.0 micron diamond lapping film> 2.0 micron emulsion on leather strop
If you already have the Superfine 1200/1600 ceramics, you can fit those in between your 1000# diamond stones and the 2200# diamond stones.
At tcmeyer pointed out, you can definitely skip some steps because there is so much overlap. For example, going from the 1500# to the 3000# will work fine, as will going from the 1000# to the 2200#. You’ll spend more time with the higher grit to remove the scratches from the previous stones, but it doesn’t require an unreasonable effort.
-Clay
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