- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 6,642
Seems like those sub 50 levels are quite the effort.
For me it takes a mental reset of sorts. Using a Washboard I can apply a fair amount of force and still get pretty darn good results, from 80s-50s on the BESS. I get a little lazy/used to sort of beating on stuff a bit compared to a lot of other sharpening media where you really should operate as light as humanly possible to get an edge of any worth. On my waterstones I automatically dial it back, on the WB requires a reminder.
Getting the EKA that bit sharper only took an extra couple minutes of work, 30-40 passes/side or so, but with a real light, edge accurate touch. The first test came back in the 40s and I thought "I bet if I just settle down, the same materials should be capable of a bit better, or the equipment will tell me right now." Helps that the EKA has RC in the 59-60 range while the rest are in the 56-58.
That's not to say I could repeat that with all of the samples, I bet if I rerun the test with a bit more finesse the numbers could drop 15 or so and maybe none would make it into the teens. Still, I'd love to see my Tram make it down to the low 30s upper 20s - even at 60s is pretty intimidating (at least to me). In the last five years I haven't cut myself once on a knife, but have caught myself twice wiping off machetes and once on a ditch bank knife.
Martin