Nicely polished edge, what am i missing?

freedoom

freedoom

Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
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I'd like to get a good polish on the edges of my knives but i'm missing something, either tools or technique and i'm not sure which.

I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker with ultrafine rods, a two sided leather strop with grey and green compounds. I can get a nice sharp edge but i can't seem to get a good polish on it.

My question is is it possible to get a good polish on the edge with what i have or do i need to get some finer strop compound or what?
 
freedoom said:
I'd like to get a good polish on the edges of my knives but i'm missing something, either tools or technique and i'm not sure which.

I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker with ultrafine rods, a two sided leather strop with grey and green compounds. I can get a nice sharp edge but i can't seem to get a good polish on it.

My question is is it possible to get a good polish on the edge with what i have or do i need to get some finer strop compound or what?
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some knives just won't polish up. I have my ss cara cara nice and sharp, but it won't mirror/polish edge.
 
stealthchaser13 said:
some knives just won't polish up. I have my ss cara cara nice and sharp, but it won't mirror/polish edge.
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This is not true, you can mirror polish any knife steel.


To the OP try a 1 micron diamond compound, either amplex or handamerican on balsa.
 
If it's sharp, what difference does it make if the edge is shiny?
 
Spend more time sharpening on each grit. Polishing is removing metal around larger scratches by making progressively smaller scratches, until the scratches are too small to see. You can't skimp at any particular grit and then hope to make up for it at the next finer one - that just increases your workload a ton.
 
hardheart said:
Spend more time sharpening on each grit. Polishing is removing metal around larger scratches by making progressively smaller scratches, until the scratches are too small to see. You can't skimp at any particular grit and then hope to make up for it at the next finer one - that just increases your workload a ton.
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I'll grab one of my practice knives and give this a shot. it would never occur to me i'm not spending enough time on the rough grits
 
freedoom said:
I'll grab one of my practice knives and give this a shot. it would never occur to me i'm not spending enough time on the rough grits
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When you start to polish the edge the work at all the other grits will show through and if any errors were made they will stick out like a sore thumb. Getting that perfect mirror edge is much harder than one may think, its not just polishing but every step that you must get right.
 
knifenut1013 said:
When you start to polish the edge the work at all the other grits will show through and if any errors were made they will stick out like a sore thumb. Getting that perfect mirror edge is much harder than one may think, its not just polishing but every step that you must get right.
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I'm not going for mirror edge right now. just a noticeable reduction in the scratch pattern. once i can achieve that i'll work up to mirror polish.
 
hardheart said:
Spend more time sharpening on each grit. Polishing is removing metal around larger scratches by making progressively smaller scratches, until the scratches are too small to see. You can't skimp at any particular grit and then hope to make up for it at the next finer one - that just increases your workload a ton.
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This is the right answer. :thumbup:
 
try the slotted wheel on a paper wheel, It will put a mirror edge on any edge. should take ya about 30 seconds on that slotted wheel with white rouge compound :)

for me, I was never able to get a mirror edge on an edge with a sharpmaker
 
eccvets said:
try the slotted wheel on a paper wheel, It will put a mirror edge on any edge. should take ya about 30 seconds on that slotted wheel with white rouge compound :)

for me, I was never able to get a mirror edge on an edge with a sharpmaker
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I live in a one bedroom apartment, i don't have space for a bench grinder.

I was able to achieve a great reduction in the scratch pattern on the knife i tested it on. I ended up going 100 strokes on each step on the sharpmaker(including both the 30 degree back bevel and 40 degree primary), then another 100 on each of my strop compounds. the edge bevel feels noticeably smoother under my finger. I guess i'll keep practicing and see if my results continue to improve.
 
With each grit as you step through them, reduce pressure as you work the reps.

Work up to a burr on each side initially, then start doing a 10 9 8 7 6 5 type countdown on each side with less pressure as you go. Move on to the next grit, repeat.

Lower pressure to almost nothing and use faster/consistent strokes as you get better control. The surface should have a uniform finish to it before you go to the next grit.

Tedious, but totally doable freehand. EdgePro vs freehand makes this very easy by comparison as the strokes are all much easier to keep at a uniform angle.

I don't bother much over 1000 grit EP level or 8k Norton stone level + stropping so it isn't technically mirror like some of the guys, but it's all the same concept, just more time spent. I get 'mirror' as in what most non knife obsessed people looking at it would think...not "Ankerson" mirror :-).

Oh yeah on the upper grits, keep it nice and wet to avoid grit hanging around. rinse the stones frequently etc.
 
freedoom said:
I live in a one bedroom apartment, i don't have space for a bench grinder.

I was able to achieve a great reduction in the scratch pattern on the knife i tested it on. I ended up going 100 strokes on each step on the sharpmaker(including both the 30 degree back bevel and 40 degree primary), then another 100 on each of my strop compounds. the edge bevel feels noticeably smoother under my finger. I guess i'll keep practicing and see if my results continue to improve.
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You might consider the Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener. I got a very nice mirror edge on my Sebenza and XM-18 with it. The thing is, aftermarket belts(320MX-1200MX Micro-Mesh belts) are somewhat of a prerequisite, and that kind of pushes the total price up to $100. Still, I've never had an easier time getting that mirror polish on my edges.

I would strongly suggest practicing on a few cheap knives first though.
 
ok so i've practiced some more, one more practice knife and my CTS-XHP Manix 2. i'm getting a huge reduction in the scratch pattern now along with some nice shine on the primary bevel. I've never had a knife this sharp before, not quite cutting toilet paper but it does paper napkin just fine. i can just glide it over my arm and the hair disappears, oh and i shaved a bit of my face with it too just to see and it shaved very cleanly. So i'm happy with the results based on all the advice given. I'll post later on when i'm ready to up my game again and go for the mirror polish.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
If it's sharp, what difference does it make if the edge is shiny?
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  1. Higher level OF sharpness
  2. Stays sharp longer
  3. Stronger / More durable
  4. Cuts better on most materials
  5. Easier to get back to level of sharpness
  6. Less force needed to cut through materials
 
Not in my tests . Only 1&6 are correct. Perhaps, 4 if it were changed to, cuts better on 'some' materials. Then 5 is a maybe. Yes you can bring it back to sharp quick but the same could said of the coarsely sharpened edge. DM
 
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