I recently bought a KME and I really like it. However, I haven't been able to get my knives scary sharp yet. I got the standard kit that goes from 140 to 1500 grit. I've gotten my blades sharp enough to shave but I have to put a little effort into cutting the hair. Its not like I just touch it and it pops off. I tried cutting paper and its cuts a little but it tears some too. Is that all I can expect from a 1500 grit stone?
I thought I should be getting sharper results so I've been wondering about some things. 1. I have been wearing one side of the edge unevenly? 2. maybe go to a shallower angel? (I've been using about 22-23 degrees) 3. maybe I just need to spend more time with the initial stone to get the profile right? 4. or maybe I need to buy a stop and 4 micron CBN or some lapping films to get a finer edge?
Please, could you guys with some experience offer some advice? Thanks
Hi,
That sounds like you still have burr , like micro burr , very hard to feel or see,
Try this to get rid of micro burr,
using your 1500 kme stone,
increase the angle you're using (like double) +10 would work (like 35)
and do 1-2 pass per side using ultra light force (under 100 or 50 grams or less on a scale)
and then try shaving and cutting paper
It should improve as the blade sounds very sharp already,
If it doesn't improve do 1-2 more ultra light force passes per side
If it does improve then go ahead and "back sharpen" using 1500 grit
that is go back to original not-increased(or double) angle and
do 1-5 (or 10) alternating passes per side to minimize the effect
of the double deburring angle
If it doesn't improve,
means it needs a bit more work on coarser one,
so try using stone before 1500 (whatever it is 1000 grit? 600 ?)
and doing a some 20-30 alternating passes per side (once or twice),
then double angle deburring
then back to onto 1500 stone
That should do it as the blade sounds very sharp already,
But if it still doesn't improve ,
maybe the edge was damaged in previous sharpening ,
so cut the edge off by cutting lightly directly into 1000 or 600 grit stone,
then sharpen starting something in the 300/400 grit range
try not to raise giant burrs especially on very coarse hones (under 200 grit)
and cut off burr using light force and increased/double angle every time you switch stones, esp if you raise a burr on every stone
and repeat as needed
And remember, keep having fun
tackle one problem at a time,
sharpen the same practice blade a few times in a row,
then do it again the next day,
and do raise giant burrs in the beginning or you're having a bad day
until you're confident with detecting the big burrs
then make them smaller burrs
and cut up lots of junkmail
Dont worry about changing angles until next week (or month), for some perspective consider that
under 15 dps edge can chop bones And
12 dps edge can still shaves/whittles beard hair after 1000 slices of hardwood 
