Mirrored edges

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Muaddib1116

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Dec 26, 2010
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Is a mirrored edge sharper than a non mirrored? I see a lot of people who obviously take pride in sharpening their edges and creating a mirror finish, but does this actually create a sharper blade? or is it mostly aesthetic?
 
Muaddib1116 said:
Is a mirrored edge sharper than a non mirrored? I see a lot of people who obviously take pride in sharpening their edges and creating a mirror finish, but does this actually create a sharper blade? or is it mostly aesthetic?
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The more refined the edge is the sharper it can get.

Once you get to 1 Micron or less it's really getting refined. :thumbup:
 
Polished edges are more for push cuts and just scary sharp, non polished edges are less refined and slice cut better. For edc, i think a non polished edge is better. I like the look of a mirror finish though.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
Polished edges are more for push cuts and just scary sharp, non polished edges are less refined and slice cut better.
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I doubt. Polished edge, when done properly, is polished because finer abrasives are used, i.e. the final edge is sharper.
One can easily get polished looking bevels, but round the edge in the process, effectively dulling the knife.
At least in my own use, high polish (~100K) edge always outcut 1000 grit edges. That includes various types of food, rope, cardboard, etc.
Rough edge will last longer, compared to those sub micron edges, but as far as pure cutting performance goes, high grit edges are always better performers, while they last.
 
Polished edges seem to make more of a difference on my woodworking tools (chisels, planes, ets.) than my knives.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but polished knife edges have rarely offered me any advantage on the job.
The slight sawishness that coarser stones will leave have proven to be more efficient overall, for me.
There are a couple of exceptions.
I was doing miles of spot seam repairs on a teak deck for over half a year. A polished edge clearly gave me better results, but the material kinda demanded it. We needed lazerlike cuts, not utilitarian ones. We often needed to do precise cuts on tape. Polished edges gave perfect cuts in tape, rougher edges left a fuzzy edge and was far more likely to tear the material - that means it created work instead of saving time.
Most materials I've encountered in the woodworking world do not cut easier with a polished knife edge.
 
the polished edges may work better on your woodworking tools because they only make push cuts.

I've also found that a slightly rougher grit seems to work better for and EDC knife, probably because the little "teeth" make slicing cuts easier.
 
SaMX said:
the polished edges may work better on your woodworking tools because they only make push cuts.

I've also found that a slightly rougher grit seems to work better for and EDC knife, probably because the little "teeth" make slicing cuts easier.
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I can also depend on the steel, some steels cut very aggressively with polished edges like S90V, M390, 10V, XHP and S110V.
 
I have always put a polished edge on all my EDC. I though the mirrored edge creates less friction as it slides though the cutting material and slices better. It does give me a lot of self satisfaction being able to put a fine edge on a blade.

SMFedge.jpg
 
Mirrored bevels don't matter. You can have bevels finished with a coarse stone and put a microbevel on it finished with a really fine stone, and it'll "split hair" or whatever else you want.

It's what's at the very edge that counts.
 
I suppose my wording was incorrect, because I was referring to mirrored bevels. It didn't make sense to me that mirroring the bevels would necessarily mean a sharper edge, but I thought that somehow in the process it might allow the edge to be sharpened more finely. Thanks for the info guys.
 
mirror bevels simply do reduce the friction coefficient when cutting.what i do after getting a decent mirror bevel is put a micro bevel on the very edge with the white spydie hone. this gives the friction reducing mirror bevel with the very cutting edge to be a little tougher if i hit a staple or bone.
dennis
 
Thanks for the responses guys. Is it possible to get a mirrored bevel on something like the Spyderco sharpmaker? or do you need a setup more like the Lansky, Wicked Edge or Edge Pro system?
 
I have little experience but have not seen anyone post about their mirror edges with a sharpmaker. You dont need an edge pro either, I have a smiths system and get a lesser mirror edge. Only thing with Smith's is you are restricted to either 20 or 25 degrees. Lanksy has 2 more angles but I have heard the Smiths hones are better.
 
mdc5162 said:
I have little experience but have not seen anyone post about their mirror edges with a sharpmaker. You dont need an edge pro either, I have a smiths system and get a lesser mirror edge. Only thing with Smith's is you are restricted to either 20 or 25 degrees. Lanksy has 2 more angles but I have heard the Smiths hones are better.
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That's pretty similar to the way the Lansky system works, right?
 
mdc5162 said:
I have little experience but have not seen anyone post about their mirror edges with a sharpmaker. You dont need an edge pro either, I have a smiths system and get a lesser mirror edge. Only thing with Smith's is you are restricted to either 20 or 25 degrees. Lanksy has 2 more angles but I have heard the Smiths hones are better.
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http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=758315

The knives here were done freehand with some DMT coarse/fine, Spyderco coarse/fine/ultrafine.
 
The ultra fine rods on the Sharpmaker will give you a fairly reflective edge but it's much easier to create one on a clamp system. It's difficult to be absolutely consistent with the Sharpmaker. And most of the mirror edges are the results of stropping or similar polishing step. Some systems just happens to allow the polishing to be done while the blade is still clamped.

The Sharpmaker is more about the microbevel.
 
Lansky diamond pro system is all you need. I re profile to polish with it. Check Amazon.com
 
Here are the pics I was referring to.

Cynic2701 said:
Here are a couple of pics my friend took while we were on vacation in the Outer Banks. I don't know much about photography, so all the credit goes to her.

I'm also impressed by how well the mirror edges showed up in the pics--it took a while to get those on there!:thumbup:

Sage2.jpg


BossStreet.jpg


Osbourne940.jpg
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Cynic2701 said:
Here are the pics I was referring to.
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Yeah, I took a look at those. Very impressive. Did you do that using the sharpmaker angle device, or more freehand? How rigorous did you have to be in maintaining an exact angle, or was it more of maintaining an even pressure and stroke?
 
we have members whom can put mirror bevels on blades using the ultra-fine spydie ceramics, & they do it freehand. i'm not nearly as adept with my hands so i use the edge pro. even if you think these edges are more fragile you have to admit they are great to show to friends.
dennis
 
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