coat removal: nail polish remover and razor blade to get the bulk of it...and this one had a bunch..., followed by dremel 120 grit wheel low speed (don't ever let the steel get too hot to the touch), followed by several sanding stages...from 120 to 1500. I wasn't going for mirror, otherwise I would have taken more time and finished all the way to 3000 and a buffing wheel...all I wanted was smooth cutting performance (i.e., to remove resistance) and to not retain moisture. Goes really fast actually when your only focused on performance. The whole thing took an hour.
Edge: Normally I use a 1X30 belt sander, but when I first get a knife I prefer to use the ol' flexible backing (mouse pad is what most people use...but not me) and sand paper (IMO, this gives me a familiarity with a knife...by the time I'm done I feel like it is apart of me...and I'm less likely to cut myself with it because it feels so natural at the end...start at 120 to cut your angle...220 briefly, then 400 and up (as far as you want to go to polish). I finish with a microbevel (I've always done this, but actually heard the term on these forums), which means to put a small acute v-angle on your final convex (I use ceramic and a loaded strop). I would actually love to talk to some folks about how they finish their convex...as I have not had much luck without the microbevel. I've spent many years refining my v-grind sharpening technique, which I can get stupid scary sharp...but convexing is new to me...only started doing it in the last couple years...so I'm still working on it. I'm not quite satisfied. I can get 'em super sharp...but, I feel like I'm not quite there, like I'm missing something...I don't know, maybe I'm not...my convexing shaves hair and all, but I just feel like it could be even sharper if I did something different.
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