Diamond Strop 1 , 0.5 , 0.25 , 0.125 . How far do you go? What are the benefits?

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PlumasDePan

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Jul 21, 2020
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Pretty much what the title says.
In your experience. How did finer compounds affected your performance in different steels? What are the pros and cons?

Any observations you have made?
 
I have the equipment to go to 0.1 micron. I find the full mirror finish actually makes certain blades look weird. Outside of a few "gentlemen's" knives, I usually stick to a nice matte reflective 800-1k diamond finish. Cuts just as well, if not better, lasts a little longer and looks better on most blades. The mirror novelty wore off pretty quick for me. There's also the stress of chasing the mirror, pulling your knife out of the clamp, taking the tape off and finding a certain angle of light that shows a boatload of scratches in one spot. Usually clip side, heel of the edge in my case.

I'm sure more skilled sharpeners are able to get more benefit from the higher grits than me with my Wicked Edge. But that's my mileage.
 
I stick to 1 micron.
Sometimes I drop down to 0.5 microns.
But I dont feel its needed on my standard edges. 20/14 micron diamond plate. (Roughly 700-1000grit)

But typically 1 micron does the trick. Nice sticky sharp aggressive edge.
I don't find a need to go past those. We can drop to 0.25 micron if a customer asks. By so far as stated before, 1 mic. Is the go to.
 
I use 1 micron tape and I like the results aesthetically, but I find I get the best edge on strops using medium and fine compound. Doesn’t get it as shiny, but it seems to really bring out the edge.
 
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