Finally got it... was so easy. High Polish Razor!

H

Honed_Edge

Joined
Feb 5, 2013
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557
This is my year long journey of sharpening all condensed.
I have been able to get shaving sharp phone book cutting edges off the XC, C, F and EF DMT stones for some time. I then moved to a strop with green and white compound. This took the higher grit edges much higher and I did some of those cool tricks posted about here. This was fun for a while but more was needed. I have tried and tried to get mirror. Last week I took some 2000 grit wet/dry from the garage and stropped on that. Now we are getting to the absolute edge that I can make. Finally, after watching the Rockstead video about stropping on denim and "cheap compound" I did it! It took about 5 minutes to make the strop and maybe five more stropping. This simple last step was the missing link. It now does all the cool tricks. Tree tops, paper towel, toilet paper, whittles both ways, cuts rolling paper and burger wraps.... DEAR GOD NO! What does one do after getting to the top of the mountain? The blade shine is just hand rubbing of metal polish for about 15 minutes. This is not meant to be a "how to" on sharpening. This is geared more for people who know what they're doing but like to see new things.

If I had to do it again it would be about 15 min from factory edge to DMT EF. 5 min on strop. 5 min on sand paper. Finally 5 min on metal polish. 30 minutes! Here are some pictures of my freehand XC DMT to Metal Polished edge I just finished.


(PS: I actually like a DMT course or fine edge more for real life. This is a pain in the butt to keep up and loses the perfection fast.)


To see in full detail- https://www.flickr.com/photos/113435196@N07/

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I don't usually have these so it was the perfect moment to shine...
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Great work! I've seen the denim strop + metal polish pics on the Rockstead website, but is there a video as well?

Andrew
 
AFAustin,
Just read your post, very informative. Sometimes the best tools are inexpensive and abundant, we just have to be creative! I have had all the materials laying around the entire year I've been sharpening.
 
Honed_Edge - It would be great to see a quick video of your approach. It's always helpfull to see other people sharpening, and very entertaining!
 
awestib said:
Honed_Edge - It would be great to see a quick video of your approach. It's always helpfull to see other people sharpening, and very entertaining!
Click to expand...

I will try making one today. Can you be specific as to what parts?
Grinding on the DMT's (prefer not to as all my knives are already sharp)
Stropping on regular strop
Stropping on old pants with Mothers Polish
 
Am I the only one confused as to where the damn cutting edge is? Very nice polish, though.
 
A bit of grinding, a bit of stropping? That would be great!! Just to see your technique!
 
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Here it is! Be kind, this is my first time videoing myself to the webs. I would prefer to redo it because of OCD but just don't have the time.

You can see how I hold the knife and the motion I make. It was not perfect angle control due to the damned tripod leg. Sharpie is your friend when the DMT's are out. It can be done as frequently as needed. Watch for it to scrub off on the first few strokes, then the angle is good.

You can also see how I strop, but just barely. Sorry for the cinematography work on this part. Sharpie works here too, I just skipped it. Avoid too much pressure and angle. It's better to be too soft and low, you can always add more input later. Just strop a few strokes, cut test and figure out what works for you.

The wet/dry sandpaper is a good step between green compound and metal polish. Be sure you get it secured where there is no slack. It should be sitting perfectly flat. I had trouble not nicking it at first.

The cutting board/denim strop is AMAZING considering it's made out of trash and 0$.01 worth of compound. It's done several knives an still going strong.

I really did a bad job showing the final edge. If you look near the very end a good shot appears for an instant. It is not perfect as I was rushing too fast. It is important to remove all scratches from the previous grit before moving on. Overall, it shines like hell with some scratches.

I like reading about sharpening so feel free to comment on your style! I know how a lot (obsessed, blunt, mastiff, ankerson) sharpen and it is good! It's awesome that so many people using so many different tools so many different ways can all get a knife to a beautiful condition.

[video=youtube_share;po2SQRkVOvo]http://youtu.be/po2SQRkVOvo[/video]
 
Awesome Honed_Edge, thanks for taking the time and sharing your approach! That's what makes BF so special!
I wonder why the sandpaper after green compound? Since the green compound should be much finer, would it not make more sense to use it after the sandpaper?
 
awestib said:
Awesome Honed_Edge, thanks for taking the time and sharing your approach! That's what makes BF so special!
I wonder why the sandpaper after green compound? Since the green compound should be much finer, would it not make more sense to use it after the sandpaper?
Click to expand...

I concur with the above (nice work! :thumbup: ), but I'm also wondering about the sandpaper used after the strops (white/green). Can't argue with your results, but I'm wondering if you omitted the white/green strop, and instead finished with the sandpaper & denim strop after the DMTs, if you'd see essentially the same results. I'm thinking the sandpaper's grit (even at 2000) will overwhelm and/or erase what might've been accomplished on the white & green strops, so they might not factor so much in your finished edge anyway. Just curious...

All that said, your result looks great. :thumbup:


David
 
I'm going to watch and read. I am the world's loser when it comes to sharpening and stropping. Usually, a factory edge on a Spyderco is a lot better IF I leave it alone. Thanks for the info; I'll try it happily.
Don
 
I should have discussed this, it was bound to come up with all the eagle eyes around here. The sandpaper is old 2000 grit that has bee used for "sharpening" already and now is a "polisher". The green stropman compound is described as "slight cut and polish" and I estimated it at ~1 micron. It doesn't say on the site what the micron is and the color does't guarantee size. Green can be 3-0.5 microns depending on the maker. The old sand paper is, as evidenced by results, a lower grit size and gives good results. This was not some for known knowledge, it was experimentation. Like said above, so many tools and ways to get the same edge. Experiment on a cheap, easy to work, knife. Stay calm and sharpen on!!!

Obsessed, I will try leaving out the strop. I have a feeling that maybe the reason the strop wans't getting the shine was it couldn't clean up the scratches from the DMT's. Perhaps the abrasive just doesn't cut as well on leather. I bet your right about skipping them. This is my fist time playing with these tools and was just following old habits. I will try DMT's, worn 2000 grit and the metal polish strop next time I do a mirror edge.
--Curiosity struck. I took a sandpaper polished edge to the green compound and it hazed it slightly. Worn 2000 grit is finer than green stropman stick.
It seems the green is cutting and removing scratches more so that the sandpaper. In my experience, the white shines it and the green only starts the mirror. I assume the grit size of my green is not as fine as some others use if they are getting mirror from theirs. Care to comment on this observation?

Thanks for the positive feedback! I have learned SO MUCH here that I had to PAY IT FORWARD! Who's next? ;)
 
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Honed_Edge said:
I should have discussed this, it was bound to come up with all the eagle eyes around here. The sandpaper is old 2000 grit that has bee used for "sharpening" already and now is a "polisher". The green stropman compound is described as "slight cut and polish" and I estimated it at ~1 micron. It doesn't say on the site what the micron is and the color does't guarantee size. Green can be 3-0.5 microns depending on the maker. The old sand paper is, as evidenced by results, a lower grit size and gives good results. This was not some for known knowledge, it was experimentation. Like said above, so many tools and ways to get the same edge. Experiment on a cheap, easy to work, knife. Stay calm and sharpen on!!!

Obsessed, I will try leaving out the strop. It makes sense that it can be skipped. I have a feeling that maybe the reason the strop wans't getting the shine was it couldn't clean up the scratches from the DMT's. Perhaps the abrasive just doesn't cut well on leather. I bet your right about skipping them. This is my fist time playing with these tools and was just following old habbits. I will try DMT's, worn 2000 grit and the metal polish strop next time I do a mirror edge. (Might be a while with work issues :( )
--Curiosity struck. I took a sandpaper polished edge to the green compound and it hazed it slightly. Worn 2000 grit is finer than green stropman stick. It seems the green is cutting and removing scratches more so that the sandpaper. For me, the white shines it and the green starts the mirror. Care to comment on this observation?

Thanks for the positive feedback! I have learned SO MUCH here that I had to PAY IT FORWARD! Who's next? ;)
Click to expand...

The hazing from the green compound sounds kinda familiar; I have a green stick compound that behaves similarly. Some of them can be a mix of chromium oxide and other abrasives, like aluminum oxide, though they'll still be 'green'. I was also wondering about the effect of the white, as there's a very wide range of 'white' compounds out there. I use some that is both very quick at removing scratches and tenacious burrs, and also polishes very fast; I think that's a combination of very hard abrasive and relatively small grit size (mine's rated 2-5µ particle size).

Sounds like your worn 2K sandpaper is likely working at something higher (finer) in grit, though using it on top of your DMT should make it work relatively aggressively, whatever the grit. 2K wet/dry sandpaper is usually rated at about 10µ particle size when new/fresh (FEPA-P grit scale; the 'P' is a reference to abrasives used for sandpaper). Assuming yours is silicon carbide paper, the grit is likely friable (breaks down with use), so it's likely working at a finer effective grit. Hard to say what that may be.


David
 
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