Mirror polish

[AustinS1234]

I recently hand sanded a chef knife I’m working on to 1200 grit. I bought a red label abrasives buffing belt for the 1x30 and buffed with white and green compound. Don’t get me wrong it looks nice but it’s not mirror... any suggestions? Do I need to hand sand higher before I buff?

 

[hermit dave]

Work your way up to 2500 grit before buffing

 

[Kaibab270]

I've tried skipping grits and while after a ton of buffing work you'd finally get to a polish, the edge apex is probably kinda jacked or really convexed. At least it seemed that way to me. Edge didn't last at all.