I am really looking for the super mirror polish and a tree topping edge. What grits of film do you guys suggest? Thanks for the help!
Best thing to do is find a grit comparisons chart. I know there’s one on the WE website but I don’t believe it includes lapping film. Either way, the grit levels you buy should obviously be linear from low to high; diamonds, to lapping film, to strops.
I often jump straight to 2000 grit lapping film on aluminum blanks right after my 1000 WE diamonds. Then on to 3000 grit, finishing with strops.
NOTE: Just because you might finish with a stone/diamond plate/lapping film/etc. that’s technically graded as a higher grit/micron than that of a compound loaded onto a stropping medium, you shouldn’t bypass the strop… Stropping has a completely different function in the overall sharpening process. You’re no longer braiding away metal, you’re polishing the faces of the bevels and refining the edge as the softer medium conforms to the steel at its point of contact… So, it might seem counterproductive and counterintuitive to step back down in grit (actually measured in microns when speaking in terms of strops) but doing so is completely necessary when trying to achieve both a mirror finish and screaming sharp edge.