You can't attain the same level of edge refinement jumping from 400 grit or whatever grit your grit wheel has on it all the way to .5 micron, nor can you from 400 grit to the 2 micron. You will basically have a 400 grit knife with the bur removed. I can strop a 400 grit knife all day on .5 compound and it will not look or perform like a knife that has gone through the several grit steps.
For the hell of it, I busted out my paper wheels. Before you ask, I'm very familiar with them and how to use them. I've sharpened on them easily 200+ times so it's not the user. I decided to sharpen my dulled american lawman, used the polish wheel loaded with .5 compound to remove the bur. It's sharp, very sharp, and It was done in under ten minutes. The finish is "shiny", but no where near the same refinement as if I did this knife like I did the scrapyard above. Under magnification, you can still see a courser scratch pattern. This is fine if you want a less polished edge. Me personally? I like my bevels to be pure mirrors and I like the cutting performance it gives me. Would a paper wheel edge work for any of my tasks? Yes, but I always like pushing the limit. Will a paper wheel edge at the same angle as a highly polished edge last longer? No, there's no reason it will. Sure my high polished knife will be around the same level of sharpness as a paper wheel sharpened knife will be after cutting up a cardboard box, but I enjoy hitting new levels of sharpness as well as the cosmetic apeal of a mirror finished bevel.
That said, paper wheels are still a good system and will give you razor sharp results.
