edge pro users, need some advice

[ejames13]

With 3 micron diamond on a leather strop at the same angle used for the stones on my guided sharpener I can see rounding after 5 passes. After 15-20 passes I noticed I had to change the angle of the knife on my arm to get it to shave, it had to be steeper, and I also noticed the bevel was shrinking indicating the apex was being ground off. This was at an angle of 16 or 21 degrees, it has been close to a year since I tested this out and can't remember. 1 micron diamond isn't so aggressive and .1 micron diamond is useless IMO. I also read the part about a diamond loaded strop not removing the foil burr, hell mine removed the apex so I know the foil burr was getting removed. I strop with no pressure using the smooth side of veg tanned cow hide. IMO you rarely want diamond on your strop, it's just too aggressive.

Lately I have been finishing with either 400 grit EP stock stone or 500 grit Shapton Glass and then 3 passes per side on rough side up cowhide strop loaded with 3 micron diamond. The edge coming off the stone can shave and push cut newsprint with the grain (more cleanly with the EP400 stone than the SG500), but after the stropping there is noticeable improvement. Yes, it loses some slicing aggression, but still has some bite and generally seems to cut smoother. Any idea how this can be the case if the apex is being rounded? I wish I had a microscope to see for myself.

When you finish on the veg tanned cowhide, is that bare leather with no compound?

 

[Diemaker]

Even after removing around .02" of the apex it would still shave nicely, I just had to increase the angle substantially. Whether to use a diamond loaded strop or bare strop depends on the steel, pretty much all my knives prefer a bare strop since my best one is HAP40. I like polished edges so I pretty much sharpen everything to a 4k Matrix stone so keep this in mind.

 

[David Richardson]

A few other tips I've gotten from Diemaker that helped me with these stones:

• Once you apex the edge go to edge trailing strokes only. Not just for the last one - any stones ones the edge is apexed
• Fewer strokes that you may expect - he suggests 10 strokes per stone per side after apexing (I think this is right). I'm now spending far less time sharpening and getting sharper edges. I may have needed more than 10 for Maxamet, but not a lot more.
• Keep your stones clean. Never let them go dry when sharpening, and clean with alcohol and a rag or shop towels after using

In my experience you should be getting a sharper edge off the EP Matrix stones than off the SharpMaker on high carbide steels. I haven't checked on the easier to sharpen steels.

With 3 micron diamond on a leather strop at the same angle used for the stones on my guided sharpener I can see rounding after 5 passes. After 15-20 passes I noticed I had to change the angle of the knife on my arm to get it to shave, it had to be steeper, and I also noticed the bevel was shrinking indicating the apex was being ground off.

Have you tried wood strops? I'm happy to send you a couple to try if you like. I make them using EP blanks and balsa or bass wood. I prefer these to leather, especially for harder and higher carbide steels. Very light passes, of course. I taper down the passes per side and finish with 1-2 per side. (I might do 6 per side, then 4, then 2, then 1.)