New diamond matrix stone user, micro-chipping?

[RustyIron]

The apex does clean up some as I move up through the grits. I've tried doubling the amount of strokes per side

Cleaning up the edge "some" is not good enough. You need to clean up the edge "completely" with each stone progression. Don't count strokes, despite what the videos say. Stay with each stone until the edge is as sharp as it can possibly get with that stone.

Also, the 80 grit stone is pretty coarse. I use it only when I want to remove a lot of metal. But I avoid it if possible because it really bangs up the edge.

 

[Strauss95]

Just wanted to post an update after implementing some of the advice given to me. After reaching the apex with the 80 grit stone I did a few light swipes directly cutting into the 250 grit stone, effectively "cutting the edge off". After inspection with the pocket microscope I could see the edge was blunted, but MUCH cleaner in regards to micro chipping. Moving forward through the rest of the stones the edge stayed much cleaner. I also increased the sharpening angle by .1-.2 degrees on the final stone, which also helped refine the apex even more. The end result was a much cleaner, more refined apex with no micro chips when finishing on the 4K stone.

Next step is getting below 100 BESS. My best so far was 105, which was my result after a progression of Chosera stones on V-Toku2 steel. My best coming off the diamond matrix stones is 120 BESS, stropping on 1 micron followed by bare leather. Hopefully with some practice I'll get there, but I'm not stressing about it. Mid 100's BESS is still VERY sharp.

 

[Diemaker]

Strauss95 - I always try to cover 1" ish of bevel per pass to try to keep the shape of the knife. I also try to tilt the stone so I am using more of the width and not just the center to better utilize the life of the stones. Keep in mind everything I write/say is more food for thought. There are so many variables that there really are no hard fast rules. Don't get stuck believing something when the stone and knife are telling you differently.
I think angles matter for Bess scores. At 15 DPS I score around 100, at 8-10 DPS my scores are 40ish, all finishing with 1 micron or finer diamond strops. At this level little details can make a big difference. It can be disheartening to watch your scores climb with a few too many stropping passes.


stonemedusa62 62 - Yes on the Science of Sharp. I don't remember the exact post about leading vs trailing but the second from the bottom on his list, King 1k/6k combination. Very hard steel gets pretty flexible in thin sections, you should see how much an 1/8" long high-speed steel end mill will bend around when trying to cut metal, it is like a wet noodle.

 

[Strauss95]

Strauss95 - I always try to cover 1" ish of bevel per pass to try to keep the shape of the knife. I also try to tilt the stone so I am using more of the width and not just the center to better utilize the life of the stones. Keep in mind everything I write/say is more food for thought. There are so many variables that there really are no hard fast rules. Don't get stuck believing something when the stone and knife are telling you differently.
I think angles matter for Bess scores. At 15 DPS I score around 100, at 8-10 DPS my scores are 40ish, all finishing with 1 micron or finer diamond strops. At this level little details can make a big difference. It can be disheartening to watch your scores climb with a few too many stropping passes.


stonemedusa62 62 - Yes on the Science of Sharp. I don't remember the exact post about leading vs trailing but the second from the bottom on his list, King 1k/6k combination. Very hard steel gets pretty flexible in thin sections, you should see how much an 1/8" long high-speed steel end mill will bend around when trying to cut metal, it is like a wet noodle.

90% of my edge angles are typically in the 15-18 degree per side range so if your theory is correct, my scores of 120-150 aren't as bad as I thought. When I got my best score of 105 on my Stretch 2, it was with an angle of 13 degrees per side, which was the lowest I could go on my Edge Pro Apex and still use the drill stop collar to compensate for stone thickness.