Bought myself a wicked edge pro pak 2 kit. But I cant get a perfect mirror finish

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philleee

Joined
Feb 10, 2016
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I got stoned from 100-1000 grit and then 1,4 and 0,6 micron micro fine ceramic stones. And 1/0,5 micron leather strops with paste.

Using this I can get a hair whittling sharp edge. And a slightly mirror finish. But there's still scratches visible.
So my question is what I need to buy to get the edge a perfect mirror finish?

There's a whole lot of stuff to buy...like a several types of leather strops and paste, lapping film etc.

Help me out.

Was thinking of getting the 1200/1600 grit stones and then some lapping films in the micron range between the 1600 grit stones and the 1,4/0,6 micron ceramic stones I already have. Do I need to get another pair of leather strops before the 1/0,5 I already have...like 5/3,5?
 
To get mirror I use my edge pro apex and go up to 5k then Emory and CrOx pasted on a strop


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Starting from a 100-grit stone can be tough. You have to make sure you get all the deep scratches out before going to the next stone. If the scratches you're seeing are more widely spaced, it's probably because they came from coarser stones. I like to spend a fair amount of time using very light strokes with the coarse stones before progressing, and leaving no deep scratches. I don't usually see a decent mirrored edge until I get up to 5,000 grit, as Heespharm says.

You'll find lots of information about creating mirrored edges in the Maintenance subforum.

Just to add:


Take a long blade with a fairly smooth, refined edge. Then make a scratch pattern on one narrow part of the edge using a few very light strokes with the 100-grit stone. That’s the scratch pattern you want to see before moving to the 200-grit stone. Use a powerful loupe to see what’s going on.


On a fresh part of the blade, do the same thing with a 200-grit stone. That’s the pattern you want to see before moving to the 400-grit stone, etc.


Avoid large jumps in moving to a finer grit. Look for any stray scratches that are deeper than the test pattern scratches.
 
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Also some ways to avoid big scratches to the edge is starting with a 400 grit... I only go 100 grit when repairing a badly badly chipped blade... even then I use a 400 grit diamond atoma plate instead of going lower... general rule is go with the highest grit u can get away with, without it being too much work


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Also make sure you clean your blade and stone before and maybe even during the sharpening process. Especially when you get down to finer grits any debris can cause scratches.
 
Having a fast car does not make you a good driver, just the same as having an Edge Pro or Wickd Edge does not make you a good sharpener.

A mirror polish will begin at 3 microns, 1 micron should be complete mirror and 0.5 microns should look almost wet because the polish is so high.

Take a look at "The First Sharpening" in my signature, it has some good examples of polishing. It also shows what happens when you didn't get all the scratches out before moving on and how seeking the perfect polish is not ever easy.
 
philleee said:
I got stoned from 100-1000 grit and then 1,4 and 0,6 micron micro fine ceramic stones. And 1/0,5 micron leather strops with paste.

Using this I can get a hair whittling sharp edge. And a slightly mirror finish. But there's still scratches visible.
So my question is what I need to buy to get the edge a perfect mirror finish?

There's a whole lot of stuff to buy...like a several types of leather strops and paste, lapping film etc.

Help me out.

Was thinking of getting the 1200/1600 grit stones and then some lapping films in the micron range between the 1600 grit stones and the 1,4/0,6 micron ceramic stones I already have. Do I need to get another pair of leather strops before the 1/0,5 I already have...like 5/3,5?
Click to expand...

Some users looking for the "perfect" mirror polish, seem to be gravitating toward the diamond films.

Before buying anything else though, in addition to the advice already given, first try returning to your 1000g stones and making another progression thru what you have (1000g, ceramics, strops), and see if your finish improves. If it does, even if it doesn't become a 'mirror' finish, this will tell you you're not cleaning up the grind marks from the previous stones.

Try alternating directions to change the scratch pattern. This will help 'clean up' the bevel. So if you normally go heel to tip - edge trailing, try tip to heel - edge trailing.

Also be aware that as you use the diamond stones more, they will "break in" over time, providing a better finish.

Having said all that, you've already found out, you don't need a mirror edge for sharp!
 
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