Those high grit stones don't make a edge any sharper they just refine the edge more.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1014274-What-is-sharpening-a-knife-about
"Refinement vs. Sharpness
Sharpness does not equal refinement. They are not the same thing, at all. In fact, they are two different things. Related, but different. You can get a push-cutting edge on a DMT coarse stone if the edge is apexed and the burr removed. The bevel will look like you took an old rusty file from grandpa’s shop and attacked your knife… but it will push cut paper. Why? Again, because sharpness is not about refinement. It’s about apexing the edge and removing the burr. So what is refinement? Refinement is about making that apexed edge smoother and less toothy, but it doesn’t really affect sharpness. So why do we refine an edge? Why not just finish on one coarse stone? The reason why is because the coarse stone leaves an extremely toothy and jagged edge which will deform easily and dull quickly. People refine edges to get a cleaner, smoother, longer-lasting cutting edge. The extreme example would be a straight razor polished by a honemeister. You see, even though you can get a scary sharp edge off of a 1k stone, it won’t shave smoothly (i.e., it will irritate your face). You need to go to 16k, or 30k, or JNats, or Belgium Coticules to smooth that edge out to the point it’s like glass and doesn’t irritate the skin. That’s refinement. Not sharpness."
I can get a knife to slice and push cut newspaper straight off of a DMT C/F/EF, norton economy coarse/fine india and silicon carbide versions. Though the coarse side of the silicon carbide just barely push cuts straight off the stone, the others are easy to do that with and this has to do more with my skill more than anything. And when I listed off those stones I meant I could finish with any of those grits and get those results. As it is stated the main thing is having the blade apexed and burr removed.
The more refined or polished edges excel in push cutting chores. Where as the more toothy edges excel in slicing chores or drawing your knife through something as if it were a saw if that makes more sense due to the toothy nature of the blade.
For me I personally find a middle ground to work quite well for me. So I take it to either the fine side of either the norton economy silicon carbide or india stone and than strop on some green compound that was put on some paper. Which one I do is determined more on what I plan on doing with the knife.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1014274-What-is-sharpening-a-knife-about
"Refinement vs. Sharpness
Sharpness does not equal refinement. They are not the same thing, at all. In fact, they are two different things. Related, but different. You can get a push-cutting edge on a DMT coarse stone if the edge is apexed and the burr removed. The bevel will look like you took an old rusty file from grandpa’s shop and attacked your knife… but it will push cut paper. Why? Again, because sharpness is not about refinement. It’s about apexing the edge and removing the burr. So what is refinement? Refinement is about making that apexed edge smoother and less toothy, but it doesn’t really affect sharpness. So why do we refine an edge? Why not just finish on one coarse stone? The reason why is because the coarse stone leaves an extremely toothy and jagged edge which will deform easily and dull quickly. People refine edges to get a cleaner, smoother, longer-lasting cutting edge. The extreme example would be a straight razor polished by a honemeister. You see, even though you can get a scary sharp edge off of a 1k stone, it won’t shave smoothly (i.e., it will irritate your face). You need to go to 16k, or 30k, or JNats, or Belgium Coticules to smooth that edge out to the point it’s like glass and doesn’t irritate the skin. That’s refinement. Not sharpness."
I can get a knife to slice and push cut newspaper straight off of a DMT C/F/EF, norton economy coarse/fine india and silicon carbide versions. Though the coarse side of the silicon carbide just barely push cuts straight off the stone, the others are easy to do that with and this has to do more with my skill more than anything. And when I listed off those stones I meant I could finish with any of those grits and get those results. As it is stated the main thing is having the blade apexed and burr removed.
The more refined or polished edges excel in push cutting chores. Where as the more toothy edges excel in slicing chores or drawing your knife through something as if it were a saw if that makes more sense due to the toothy nature of the blade.
For me I personally find a middle ground to work quite well for me. So I take it to either the fine side of either the norton economy silicon carbide or india stone and than strop on some green compound that was put on some paper. Which one I do is determined more on what I plan on doing with the knife.
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