Mirror edges

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Almost there. I used the back of a belt like mentioned earlier and that seemed to help. Just have to wait for the new belts to come in, the old ones are too worn. Just a few light scratches I hope can polish out with the new belts!
 
I wish I had a nice camera for macro shots of my many polished edges, I think all my knives...

phone picture so it is not even close to actual mirror shine.

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So I got my belts! Went all the way to 12,000 grit. And here is the result :

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Not as good as I hoped. Still grind lines. I was hoping they'd smooth out. Even with careful attention to grit progression. Now, don't get me wrong, she's sharp as all get out! However, I thought it would be perfect. I'll have to go to the strop and see how that works. Probably the same results as before.
 
Why is a mirror edge important? I notice on some of these knives there is significant blade loss from sharpening.
It seem that you are more interested in the look, rather than the look being a result of sharpening.
If you want a mirror finished edge, without stropping, that is truly sharp-a synthetic ruby stone from a jeweler's supply is what you need. They are less expensive than the ridiculously expensive waterstones and will give a finer edge.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Why is a mirror edge important? I notice on some of these knives there is significant blade loss from sharpening.
It seem that you are more interested in the look, rather than the look being a result of sharpening.
If you want a mirror finished edge, without stropping, that is truly sharp-a synthetic ruby stone from a jeweler's supply is what you need. They are less expensive than the ridiculously expensive waterstones and will give a finer edge.
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I do love that fine polish! However, it is also very sharp. Push cutting paper towels is no easy task.
 
It looks to me (and I can't see the edge as good as you) that you are just missing one of the grits a little. The other guys were right on the money about being very careful with grit progression. It looks like your first attempt had a mix of coarse grains and finer grains, now it just looks like you skipped one of the middle grains a little too quickly, or you might have switched to a final stropping method that is actually backing the mirror polish off a bit.

Contrary to how a lot of people use the Edge Pro, I think you just need to refine your ability to identify grain patterns, pay extremely close attention to the detail, and such (it's easier to see problems after you get to a really high grit, but then you have to do a lot of that work over to fix it). Get a loupe, and maybe even work up a progression on one of your knives, leaving a section of blade in the previous grit, so you can examine each grind pattern next to one another. I'm like the other guy though, maybe mirror polishing isn't that important - I get caught up in diminishing returns often as well, but in this case you wear the blade with every sharpening. It's like over cleaning a gun too much - it often does more damage than it helped to begin with. Good luck either way OP! I think your edge looks great, and Rob's edge is beautiful, only you know if attaining a mirror polish is worth your time and investment.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Why is a mirror edge important? I notice on some of these knives there is significant blade loss from sharpening.
It seem that you are more interested in the look, rather than the look being a result of sharpening.
If you want a mirror finished edge, without stropping, that is truly sharp-a synthetic ruby stone from a jeweler's supply is what you need. They are less expensive than the ridiculously expensive waterstones and will give a finer edge.
Click to expand...

Smoothing out the bevel to a high polish does help with cutting - with diminishing returns the higher one goes - as it helps to smooth the path that the materiel being cut has to travel along. Try cutting a hard boiled egg with a knife that has been mirror polished vs. one that still has 24 grit belt striations left on it--the cut will literally be as smooth as an egg with a mirror polish, but the non-polished knife will leave striations in the egg white. This is an extreme example, but is, perhaps, a very good way to show the difference in cuts.

Here are a few I've done. There is no "blade loss" from sharpening, as you are only taking off steel from the sides of the blade. This helps to improve the geometry, as pretty much all knives come with less than optimal edge geometry.

Cynic2701 said:
The Caly 3.5 is a very good EDC. I prefer the ZDP-189 version over the VG-10 version, as it can take and hold a more acute edge.

Between the Caly 3 and the 3.5 I think that the 3.5 wins hands down. I do still keep my CF/ZDP Caly 3 because it has a smaller, more people friendly blade, and because my Dad bought it for me.

Here's a few pics of my 3.5 that I've taken down to 20 degrees inclusive:





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Bill DeShivs: Why is a mirror edge important?

Well people will chase mirror for several different reasons. Some people are after the aesthetics. Some are chasing a certain type of performance.

I notice on some of these knives there is significant blade loss from sharpening.

Very little actually , that steel removal comes off the sides , the blade doesn't get any taller or shorter than it would via a regular sharpening...

It seem that you are more interested in the look, rather than the look being a result of sharpening.

For some people yes , all they care for is the look , for me its just a by product of going to progressively finer levels of refinement. But I consider a 30k shapton to be more of a mid grit...

If you want a mirror finished edge, without stropping, that is truly sharp-a synthetic ruby stone from a jeweler's supply is what you need. They are less expensive than the ridiculously expensive waterstones and will give a finer edge.

Well for starters Ruby is only 9.0 on Mohs' making it softer than the Vanadium Carbides in many of the steels pictured here. Secondly a quick google showed these ranging from 1k-8k , not high enough for a perfect mirror to the naked eye. These might actually make good candidates for carbon steels or soft stainless steels , but wont mirror polish ZDP-189 or modern powdered steels , it just cant cut the steel.

Good looking Caly Cynic , what fdid you finish on?
 
Atoma 140 on an Edge Pro
DMT Coarse free hand
Shapton Pro 1000
Shapton Pro 2000
Shapton Pro 5000
6 Micron DMT paste on strop
3 Micron DMT paste on strop
1 Micron DMT paste on strop
0.5 Micron diamond spray on strop

The key is a tight progression through the grit sizes. The Shapton Pro 1000 really helps out.
 
Sadden said:
Interesting progression.

The secret to a good mirror is all in the low end.
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This. One of my coworkers bought a 8000 grit like mine and expected his knife to be as sharp as mine,even though his blade was mirror, just didnt split skin on contact. What he doesn't understand is I 400 1000 and 4000 at home and only 8000 at work to hone.
 
I'm quite sure I understand sharpening. I have been doing it for 45 years.
Blade loss- when the two bevels apex there is blade loss. Sheesh--how could there not be?
Check out the Gesswein ruby stones. They will cut your steel just fine, and leave a polish that is extremely bright. I use it to sharpen gravers.
 
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