How high a grit fr S30V

I have two main EDC knives I use for work and general carry, both s30v. I touch them up with 400-650 diamond plates and occasionally a 1000 grit, but mostly its the 400 then 650 and then the strops to shine it a bit. Keeps a more biting edge.
 
I stop at Venev 800 which I believe is around 6.5 micron. This is plenty refined for the folders I use, indoors and out, for my uses. Sometimes I’ll stop at a lower grit, but rarely higher.
 
Anything from XC (220) through EF (1200) can leave varying degrees of toothy bite on S30V, using a diamond hone. I tend to favor DMT's XC (220) or Coarse (325) these days with S30V.

Another strategy that works well, is to set the edge pretty coarse, such as with 220, then apply a barely-there microbevel, applied in just a pass or two with a much finer grit, like 1200 or higher. The high-grit hone narrows the apex width itself and lends edge stability at the wider microbevel angle. And the coarser finish just behind the apex still lends some wickedly aggressive bite. The key is avoiding over-refinement with the high-grit hone - use minimal passes at very, very light pressure.
 
I used to put a mirror edge on everything. Now days, only if it’s going on display.
 
KenHash said:
Are people going above 1000 grit with Diamond plates for S30v outdoor knives?
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I usually use a 1200 grit DMT to touch up and sharpen my kitchen and outdoor knives. I occasionally go finer for a fishing knife in S35V, but this involves a fine ceramic stone. I just sharpened a hatchet using a belt sander and a medium Spyderco ceramic stone, but this is not S30V.
 
Sharpening is like anything else. There are rabbit holes to go down if desired. But honestly, once your edge will pop hair off like a straight razor, for most people, it's sharp enough.

I am currently going down the rabbit hole in sharpening. My latest endeavor is a Norton IM313. Absolutely love it but wanted even finer. So I just ordered a new stone holder for the IM313 & 3 water stones to go in it, 1000, 3000, 6000. I will have to get a new base & cover for it too. I really enjoy sharpening by hand, it's a great skill to have. I don't have any super high end knives but I can take a Walmart knife & put an edge on it good enough to get praise from someone from Japan, which is all about knives and sharpness according to her. She cut garlic so thin that it disappeared when cooking. She wondered who sharpens my knives, lol.
 
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