What do you think with this progression of grits?

[uilleann]

I saw someoen else ask a similar question and thought the feedback was valuable so I will ask.  Here is my progression:

Diamonds.  100 (only if I have to), 200,400,600,800,1000,1500

Choseras.  1000, 3000, 5000, 10000

Diamond lapping film. 1, .5, .1. micron

knives plus strop block (I think its rated at .5-1 microns)if there are any micro scratches left

I am going for ultra sharp mirror edge for very light use.   sharpening angles of 17-20 dps on hard (59-62) SS blades

Comments or suggestions please

 

[Mark76]

Sounds like a great progression. Be sware that the Choseras are thicker than the diamond stones.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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wickededge

[Organic]

I guess my only critique would be that it seems like overkill. You can definitely get a nearly perfect mirrored finish with that progression, but you may also be able to achieve a very similar result by eliminating some of the steps. Ultimately, it comes down to what you want to do. I know that if I owned all of those stones / strops / films I would have to try that progression at least a few times just to see what kind of results I could get, so have fun!

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uilleann

[uilleann]

I would love to use less stones.  Any suggestions on which to skip?   I would like to try that.

[sksharp]

uilleann wrote:

I would love to use less stones. Any suggestions on which to skip? I would like to try that.

The progression seems good, I don’t have the chosera stones or lapping films either other than the 6 mic. My question for you would have to do with angle. With the hardness of steel your sharpening, and sharpening with light duty in mind, I think you could drop your angle to 13 to 15 deg. This will help with the sharp feel of the blade. The scratch pattern with the water stones look closer together under magnification on the photos that I have seen but I think if you have the lapping films that you really wouldn’t have to use the chosera stones at all. If you went from 1500 straight to the lapping film you will probably see just as good of results. I would however probably start the lapping film at 6 or 3 micron. I will be diving head long into the lapping films soon because of results that I’ve been seeing from others. As far as the strop block goes I have a stropman big boy strop with Robert’s compounds and for pure sharpness it is great. I think though if you want mirrored edges with the sharpest possible edge possible you would like the lapping films with a full progression and no need for the chosera stones. Just my opinion of course.

[Organic]

uilleann wrote:

I would love to use less stones. Any suggestions on which to skip? I would like to try that.

I think you could go from 1500 diamond (which Clay has shown leaves scratches at about 3 micron in width) directly to the 5000 chosera (which is listed as about 2.8 micron on the grand unified grit chart). I would also suggest comparing how the edge performs directly off the lapping films with how it performs once stropped. I have recently found that I like what the strops do to an 800 grit utility edge, but they seem to kill the edge that I get off the lapping films. I’m by no means an expert on these matters and I don’t have the same abrasives / strops that you’re mentioning, so investigate for yourself what works.

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[Salomonalcantar]

so what lapping film should you use after the 1500 stones when looking for a good mirror polish?

[Marc H]

Organic wrote:

uilleann wrote:

I would also suggest comparing how the edge performs directly off the lapping films with how it performs once stropped. I have recently found that I like what the strops do to an 800 grit utility edge, but they seem to kill the edge that I get off the lapping films. 

I think “kill the edge” is a rather strong word or maybe even improper word to use.  The stropped lapping stone edge IMO is just toned down a bit.  The edge is still sharp just not the thin keen apex you get with just stopping at the lapping films and not using the strop.  Stropping will diminish the edges ability to cut hairs.  Like you said, strops I use for the utility edge.  I find the strop refines and smoothes the toothyness of the edge and brings out the sharp durable cutting quality of the edge.  As the utility edge begins to wear stropping it again can bring back the sharp edge and help prolong the time between needed sharpenings.

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Organic]

Marc H wrote:

Organic wrote:

uilleann wrote: I would also suggest comparing how the edge performs directly off the lapping films with how it performs once stropped. I have recently found that I like what the strops do to an 800 grit utility edge, but they seem to kill the edge that I get off the lapping films.

I think “kill the edge” is a rather strong word or maybe even improper word to use. The stropped lapping stone edge IMO is just toned down a bit. The edge is still sharp just not the thin keen apex you get with just stopping at the lapping films and not using the strop. Stropping will diminish the edges ability to cut hairs. Like you said, strops I use for the utility edge. I find the strop refines and smoothes the toothyness of the edge and brings out the sharp durable cutting quality of the edge. As the utility edge begins to wear stropping it again can bring back the sharp edge and help prolong the time between needed sharpenings.

Yes, the edge was still sharp, but it didn’t bite into paper, slice paper, or push cut paper nearly as well. I suspect that something is wrong with my stropping technique because Clay uses strops after the lapping films and I know he wouldn’t do it if it didn’t make the perform edge better. Perhaps I’ll make attempt to make a video and then post it in a new thread on the subject. I won’t have time to do that until at least next weekend.

[Author]

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