Another failed attempt at Mirror's Edge

L

Lagrangian

Joined
Jun 25, 2011
Messages
400
Another failed attempt at getting a perfect mirror's edge. Even so, I thought it might be interesting to post about it and see if people had suggestions or comments.

I've been sharpening my Endura 4 ZDP-189 on my home-built sharpening-rig.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Inspired-by-WickedEdge-and-ApexPro-Pict-Heavy
http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/911871/tp/1/
2ILOF.jpg




Last time, I got my strop-angle wrong, and ended up leaving scratches near the blade edge (strop angle was too close to being parallel to the plane of the blade). So last time failed to make things perfect.

This time too, I failed, but for a different reason. But first, just some photos of the sharpening progression.


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For now, I'm just taping a loupes to my point-and-shoot camera. :p I have a 10x loupe and a 20x loupe.
yL0F2.jpg



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400 Grit
Moldmaster stones from CongressTools.com
(10x Loupe, Ruler has millimeter markings)
oWdVb.jpg



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600 Grit
Moldmaster stones from CongressTools.com
(10x Loupe, Ruler has millimeter markings):
GIJsk.jpg



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2000 Grit
3M Wet&Dry sandpaper; slight convexing from softness of tape backing.
(20x Loupe, Ruler shows millimeter markings):
pZ8yS.jpg



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0.5 Micron Diamond Paste
Stropping on Large Wood Popsicle Sticks.
(20x Loupe, Ruler shows millimeter markings):
DxctH.jpg

QPtuF.jpg

dzNgU.jpg


D'oh...! Scratches, from what?! (See Below)


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Normal photos (non-macro, not magnified) look much better than the close-ups:
KKDUw.jpg

YsR6k.jpg

d92KJ.jpg



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So what went wrong? Well, it turns out that I contaminated my strop! So while I was stropping, I was also introducing new scratches. Also some scratches were left over from coarser grits. I was going to go back to the 2000 grit Wet&Dry and then strop again, but I need the Endura4 for another project so I had to remove it from the sharpening rig. Sigh.... :(

Ah well, live and learn. Next time, I'll have to be much more careful about cross-contamination of grits.

Comments, suggestions are welcome.

Sincerely,
--Lagrangian

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"What grit sharpens the mind?"--Zen Sharpening Koan
 
Looks mirrored to me!
I'm sure that knife of yours is plenty sharp ;)
 
Last edited:
The scratches are from the 400 & 600 grit stones, in the pic of the 600 grit finish 400 grit scratches are still present. The jump from 600-2k is also too large. Looking good though.

Wipe the strop with your bare hand before every use, dust in the air usually does most of the strop contamination and a quick wipe with the hand will help prevent edge scratching.
 
I have nothing to add, except for the fact that your 400 grit edge almost matches the satin finish on the blade perfectly. :)
 
Stop complaining, that's an edge to be jealous of :O, good job Lag. Wow, how long did the Polish take?

Oh and, take off the loupe, they're don't help a sharpeners ocd :p
 
Very nice!! And taping the loupe to your camera is a great idea!! I am going to try that. I am playing with a mirror finish using my WEPS on my Becker necker and SOG TAC just for giggles and will post pix when im done.
 
I wouldn't be complaining...:p
I would be very happy to get those results, plus you really can't see the scratches without magnification.

Erdbeereis
 
Thanks for the thumb's up everyone. :)
After my Endura gets dull, I'll try sharpening it up again.

@CrimsonTideShooter:
LOL! :) I always thought about matching my shirt and pants. I never thought about matching my edge-grind with the blade-finish! What's next, high-fashion scratch patterns?

Sincerely,
--Lagrangian
 
very very good job, your rig obviously works wonder and holds a very steady angle. your grit progression is already good enough for me as it looks mirrored enough without magnification, i don't care what my edge looks like at 10 or 20x ... and even if you can't find any scratch pattern at 20x one day you'll buy a 200x microscope and find some more scratches to erase .... never ends.

but if a perfect mirror edge is what you're looking for, buy some more stones and/or sandpaper and/or compounds to fill the 600 to 2k to 0,5 micron gaps... and find another way to tape your sandpaper like a custom built blank and some 3m spray abrasive.

if you want that, your system is worth a full range of abrasives. you've already most of the work.


congrats again.
 
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