120 grit sharpening = hair wittling edge

spydiesteve said:
I would say you have a very toothy edge, stropping a 120grit edge would I believe still leave it very toothy. That is probably what is grabbing the hairs. Good job!
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Exactly. I have done this before, and it is more akin to "ripping" the hair than actually whittling it.

Try this, cut up the same length of hair three or four times. I have gotten up to 6 slices up the length of the hair before it gets too thin. Never gotten past 6.
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
Exactly. I have done this before, and it is more akin to "ripping" the hair than actually whittling it.

Try this, cut up the same length of hair three or four times. I have gotten up to 6 slices up the length of the hair before it gets too thin. Never gotten past 6.
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Hair diameter varies tremendously between individuals as well as between different parts of the same person's body. To compare number of slices would require a standard reference hair. I knew a guy in grade school whose head hair was so coarse that it looked and felt dry the moment he emerged from the pool. I have also known people with hair like fine silk.

Edited to add: this topic of polished versus toothy edges for different tasks is an interesting one.
 
I've seen people shave with a blade sharpened at 120 grit. Microscopically, your blade will look more like a saw than a knife. The 'teeth' with fold over quickly with use. The reason people go up to a high polish is to make the blade edge last longer. If it isn't sharp at 120/400 grit, it probably won't be sharp at 8000 grit. This is according to the lee valley tool sharpening book
 
all i can say is its scary sharp and from now on im doing most my blades with this slight toothines to it its on another level of sharp most the time just breaks the hair. .not saying polished isnt good i have them.on my choppers but there not as good cutter slicers with that edge. .and my polished ones are sharp(not that im master at sharpenimg but im pretty good if i can say so myself) and still see a big diffrence in cutting performance at the edge regardless grind and angle and axe can get wittling if wanted to
 
I love O1. Only got one knife made of it, but it seems to take a shaving edge way more easily than anything else I've used. I can shave with my necker after a few swipes on my 320 grit DMT card. Doesn't even require any stropping.
 
If your belt has been worn out a bit it is no longer 120 grit, so if it wasn't new you basically used a higher grit. Was it new?
 
yes it was new i was waiting on someone to ask. .i have those belts just for sharpening no profiling on those
 
An old trick when sharpening .

Try dragging the edge on a piece of hard wood a couple of times to get rid of the burr completely.

Sometimes a small straightened burr is left after stropping , and that thin burr will be hair whittling sharp ,
but will not last very long if you cut with it , in other words , the knife can actually be dull yet whittle hair because
of a tiny burr.

1234,,:)
 
Mised before that it was a belt finish, the high rate of grinding makes a big difference in the condition of the edge and the reduction in particle size through fracture. Belt finishes are usually a lot finer than hand finishes at the same grit. When you say you stropped it, was it leather, canvas, felt, MDF, or on the belt sander? Did you use a compound?
 
1234 said:
An old trick when sharpening .

Try dragging the edge on a piece of hard wood a couple of times to get rid of the burr completely.

Sometimes a small straightened burr is left after stropping , and that thin burr will be hair whittling sharp ,
but will not last very long if you cut with it , in other words , the knife can actually be dull yet whittle hair because
of a tiny burr.

1234,,:)
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yea i know i made sure to take off that straight wire burr and cut hard wood untill it wouldnt wittle,then strop again and back to wittling so i know its no wire
 
hardheart said:
Mised before that it was a belt finish, the high rate of grinding makes a big difference in the condition of the edge and the reduction in particle size through fracture. Belt finishes are usually a lot finer than hand finishes at the same grit. When you say you stropped it, was it leather, canvas, felt, MDF, or on the belt sander? Did you use a compound?
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stroped on leather with compound. . .and yes with the belt but even still that is a pretty rough grit becouse the finish on my knives are with 120 till after heat treat and it leaves pretty rough surface so i can imagine what it does to the edge so yes wile there might be a slight diffrence i doubt its that much judging by the surface finish i get o the knives wih the same grit... mayb its the way i did it really flipping that burr so man times until i got it as small as possible then to the strop and then getting rid of wire burr and back to strop. .lol long process but i like sharpening
 
boosted1jz said:
stroped on leather with compound. . .and yes with the belt but even still that is a pretty rough grit becouse the finish on my knives are with 120 till after heat treat and it leaves pretty rough surface so i can imagine what it does to the edge so yes wile there might be a slight diffrence i doubt its that much judging by the surface finish i get o the knives wih the same grit... mayb its the way i did it really flipping that burr so man times until i got it as small as possible then to the strop and then getting rid of wire burr and back to strop. .lol long process but i like sharpening
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The edge won't be as refined as something taken through more grits, but you would be surprised at what a loaded power strop can do. Here's images of an edge power sharpened a little finer - 220 grit, and then power stropped with chromium oxide loaded leather. Note the 600 & 3000 magnification.





 
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