Mirror Edge? ZT 0350 - Kershaw Skyline

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Dustbuster03

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Hello everyone, i have been an avid collector of knives for awhile now and have a question about sharpening. So i have a Kershaw Skyline in 14C28N and a Zero Tolerance 0350 and have used a medium grit diamond stone, fine and extra fine. Brought them over to a little brown ceramic rod and sharpened them up a little bit. Then i stropped them with Black compound, then white, and finally green. I cant seem to get a mirror edge on them. Is there a special teqnique i have to use and how long does it take when stropping to get your mirror edge. Idk if i could be doing something wrong or if im just not being patient enough. Any input on this would be highly appreciated. Thanks everyone! :-)
 
I, personally, use Auto Sandpaper on a flat glass backing ( but anything thats perfectly flat will do ).......you can find it at Wal-Mart or some hardware stores.

If I'm sharpening a fairly dull knife, I'll start with 250. If its already got a decent edge, I'll start with 400 or 600. Its always a pain when you get a new knife that still has deep vertical grind lines, but thats how most of them start out. Most manufacturers arent going to take the time to grind, then use a high grit belt, then a couple of passes on felt and leather wheels to get that mirror polish that some folks want.

Anyway, I generally do 50-80 smooth passes per side.......don't push down hard, you don't need to, but make sure you're getting the entire bevel, which can be harder on some of the recurve blades

I go 250, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 2000

I might seem like overkill to some, but I get excellent results.

Then, I use a plain canvas strop, then a plain felt strop.........40 laps per side.

Then balsa loaded with Chromium Oxide, then felt loaded with 0.25 Micron Diamond Slurry................40 laps per side

Then leather with one, then the other..................50-60 laps per side

and finally my super supple leather strop..............80 smooth & controlled laps per side

Seems like a lot, but doesn't take more than 30 minutes, and you get an edge that will be a perfect mirror.
 
Sweet. Ill have to go to wally world after work. I have a leather strop but maybe it doesnt give a mirror edge because theres still factory grind lines. Do you think black polishing compound is too gritty it says its emery?!.
 
On the ZT's S30V blade, you'll be better off sticking with diamond compounds after the med/fine/ef diamond hones. The vanadium carbides in the steel are very hard and also very abundant in S30V (1.45% carbon + 4% vanadium), and won't polish easily to a true mirror. The green compound, in particular, barely fazes this steel, if trying to mirror-polish the bevels (I have a ZT-0350, and I've tried ;)). Of course, all mirror-polishing depends heavily on taking the prior grits as far as they can go, as well. Otherwise, some deep/heavy scratches will be left that won't be removed during the fine polishing stages.


David
 
Dustbuster03 said:
Sweet. Ill have to go to wally world after work. I have a leather strop but maybe it doesnt give a mirror edge because theres still factory grind lines. Do you think black polishing compound is too gritty it says its emery?!.
Click to expand...

'Emery' is also known as 'naturally-occurring aluminum oxide' or 'corundum' (not to be confused with carborundum, which is silicon carbide). It's usually pretty coarse, though some can be found in lower grits. I have a tube of Ryobi Emery compound at 1-3 micron. That being said, it may not be as effective as diamond on S30V, for polishing (see my previous post).


David
 
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