How do you finish your edges?

S

spyderco lover

BANNED
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
508
I'm just curious what grit everyone takes their blades to and what angles they prefer. The reason I ask is because I'm currently tinkering with a few different steels trying to figure out what grit level I want before I start stropping. My CPM-D2 like a good 800 grit edge because it's still fairly toothy and will splice hair but won't suffer micro damage from plastics and thick cardboards like a 2000 grit edge will. However I'm not sure how to finish my CPM-154 blur and my ZDP-189 endura. Should I go super mirror polished or is a lower grit/toothier edge more efficient and aggressive for these steels?

Thanks in advance everyone!
 
Pretty personal question. Some people prefer a more toothy edge.

Me i prefer a 30,000+ grit.
I like "sticky" polished edges.

Right now my edc is 160,000 grit at 10dps. Very very sharp.
 
I go through the Shaptons up to the 30k , then strop with 0.5 , 0.25 , 0.125 , 0.1 micron CBN or Poly depending on what I want the edge to do.
 
is stropping at .5 micron after 30k really necessary? Would have figured the jump to .25 micron would have been enough :)
 
Not particulairly , I just do so to help remove any micro fine burr that is hiding on me. :)
 
8000 grit works wonders for me.

I find that high mirror polishes do get sticky, but as you keep polishing it passes sticky and goes to SPLIT mode.

sometimes I cannot even touch my edge with skin.
 
I like to use 0.5 micron right after a 1k stone, it gives the bevel the attractive polish but keeps a little bit of "toothiness" right at the edge.

Toothy_Polish.jpg



It's a good balance for me. It's sharp, it's fairly attractive (in my opinion at least :D) and it doesn't take much time at all.

Whittling_Hair.jpg



Sorry for this last blurry picture, my hands are a little jittery this morning :o

Volt_Edge.jpg
 
OT - I see 1K grind scratches go toward the apex. But there is slightly bent bacon strip at the apex (fold/creases perpendicular to the grind scratches) could be a bend-wire. Or maybe the pic tricked my morning blurry eyes.

bpeezer said:
I like to use 0.5 micron right after a 1k stone, it gives the bevel the attractive polish but keeps a little bit of "toothiness" right at the edge.

Toothy_Polish.jpg
Click to expand...
 
bluntcut said:
OT - I see 1K grind scratches go toward the apex. But there is slightly bent bacon strip at the apex (fold/creases perpendicular to the grind scratches) could be a bend-wire. Or maybe the pic tricked my morning blurry eyes.
Click to expand...

Ooops, that's the wrong picture :o I think those "folds" are the scratches from the DMT XC stone that haven't been completely taken out by the 1k stone yet. I should really start labeling the microscope pictures...

EDIT: Actually, on closer inspection I think your initial thought was right. I took a look at some other pictures from the same time, and found similar bent regions on some of the thinner edges. I believe this was from when I was learning to strop :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
When I can cleanly "dry" shave facial hair with one pass, I call it "good enough.":thumbup::thumbup:
 
It depends on the steel and the use. High carbide steels like S30V/S90V seem to do best with an edge in the 6 - 15 micron range. Low carbide high carbon steels like Aogami Super Blu/Blue #1/White #1 seem to do a great job of taking, holding, and keeping 1 micron and lower grit size edges.

I particularly like CTS-XHP, as it seems to do quite well in the 1 - 3 micron range.
 
Sadden said:
Pretty personal question. Some people prefer a more toothy edge.

Me i prefer a 30,000+ grit.
I like "sticky" polished edges.

Right now my edc is 160,000 grit at 10dps. Very very sharp.
Click to expand...

Are you doing surgery with that EDC? :eek:
 
Out of curiosity does anyone know the micron size of the compound used on the knives plus strop block? Sorry to hijack the thread but I didn't want to start another one for one small question.
 
SirGeod said:
Are you doing surgery with that EDC? :eek:
Click to expand...

Haha I could. It actually makes a surgeons scalpel look like a blunt instrument.

This Paradox is even crazier.... 7 degrees per side , maybe a little less..... 640,000 grit edge. The only reason I don't really carry this anymore is that the blade actually touches the liner when its in the closed position , which causes the blade to roll when I snap it closed.


In regards to the stropblock it could be anything. They don't say because they probably don't know..
 
I strop my edges using the Wicked Edge. Something like a hundred passes per side for each of the two strops. Shaves hair and push cuts paper....plenty sharp for my EDC needs. I am however seriously considering the ceramic stones for the WE to use "pre-stropping". Any Pro Pack users out there that got the ceramics? Think they are worth the money?
 
FordFan said:
I strop my edges using the Wicked Edge. Something like a hundred passes per side for each of the two strops. Shaves hair and push cuts paper....plenty sharp for my EDC needs. I am however seriously considering the ceramic stones for the WE to use "pre-stropping". Any Pro Pack users out there that got the ceramics? Think they are worth the money?
Click to expand...

If you plan to keep on using the WE, they're well worth the money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top