000Robert
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
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A mirror polished edge just means that the bevel is shiny, it doesn't mean that the actual apex is good. Been there, done that.
Unless someone like me polished it.
A mirror polished edge just means that the bevel is shiny, it doesn't mean that the actual apex is good. Been there, done that.
Yes. My brother had a mirror polished edge on a knife. I could saw at my finger with it and not cut myself, and it would tear paper and cardboard instead of cut. Turns out the apex was not so great, but the edge bevel was fantastic.A mirror polished edge just means that the bevel is shiny, it doesn't mean that the actual apex is good. Been there, done that.
Some steels are harder to deal with the burr compared to others, but I don't think there is any relation to how much chromium is in the alloy. A mirror finish also has nothing to do with chromium; try polishing any carbon steel with little or no chromium and you will get just as shiny results(it will also have better corrosion resistance in this state).maybe that's true if using diamond or cbd etc?...
but my experience has been night and day... carbon steel is just super crisp, and no mushiness when sharpening...
with stainless, with lots of chrome, you can tell the mushiness is much higher
with a highly polished edge, it seems to be even more so (which is my guess as to why it's reportedly harder to sharpen)
the worst form of mushiness is of course the dreaded wire edge, which seems to happen mostly with high chrome steels
I don't own enough mirror polished bevels to know if a wire edge is more likely, has anyone noticed that to be case?
(I fully understand I could be conflating chrome content and a mirror edge, so I'm curious about everyone's observations?)
I don't understand how a shiny edge would be harder to sharpen. Maybe you need to start with something coarser.
Even if you are having to reprofile the edge, the level of polish is irrelevent
I would say it depends on the steel and the task. Some steels perform better with a toothier finish, some with a more polished edge. I generally prefer somewhere in between.In actual use, I've never had a situation where a mirror edge was required, or would have been an "advantage".
I've never bothered with them, to be honest.
Question:
For those "modern" steels that perform better with a ... coarser ... finish, say, 400 or 600 grit than with a x,000 grit, isn't a mirror edge a detriment?
Maybe.Or maybe the steel is really hard and he needs to use diamond stones. The steel in my Buck 301 is so hard that my oilstones won't even scratch it. I had to break out my DMT to sharpen it up.
000Robert
Is that a standard Buck 301 with three blades, or a 2018 BF Buck 301 with 2 blades and Elk covers?
Reason for asking: The standard 301 has 420HC blades. The 2018 Blade Forums knife has CPM154.
I have no difficulty with Arkansas stones to sharpen my 420HC Buck knives, but the ones with D2, CPM154 and S30V? Not so much. Like you say, they barely scratch them.
I'm a stubborn so-and-so who refuses to get any kind of sharpening system, but who is also terrible at free-hand sharpening. Mirror edges are not a deal-maker, or a deal-breaker, for me. Sooner or later, it's going to get a couple passes on a Medium Arkansas, or a Smith's red diamond, or the bottom of a coffee cup. So as long as the edge at least tries to shave hair, I'm happy with it.
Steel choice doesn't influence my buying decisions, although maybe it should. Most of what I carry is "stainless steel", or claims to be something premium. There's no easy way for me to tell because it was made in a country that doesn't participate in the AISI standard.
It also has to do with the stuff I cut: my knives get fed a plant- and plastic-based diet, and the edge goes away pretty quickly. Which reminds me, I need to touch up my Alox...
Not me. I love my Wicked Edge 130, and will die owning it. I can reprofile perfect apexes and sharpen perfect edges to just about any angle I want to no matter what the steel is.
Oh, I have nothing against sharpening systems (in case there was some doubt about that), I just feel like hand sharpening is a skill I want to practice, like being able to drive a manual transmission, or doing basic math in my head. Not that I'm all that much better at either one of those, but I can at least blame sloppy shift gates and numb pedals for some of it.
Or maybe the steel is really hard and he needs to use diamond stones. The steel in my Buck 301 is so hard that my oilstones won't even scratch it. I had to break out my DMT to sharpen it up.
I understand that the "same steel" can respond differently because of heat treat and other variables, but I am quite aware of the differences in different steels being easier or harder to sharpen. As many knives as I have owned, most run the gamut from AUS8 to S35VN, M390 and Elmax. I don't have any S110V or 'super steels' - in part because I'm not sure that I'm equipped to sharpen them and don't want to purchase additional sharpening gear.
The main reason you want to polish an edge IMO is for wood working.I don't have a Wicked Edge or other high end sharpener. About 90% of my sharpening is done using with a Sharpmaker, and if that doesn't get to where I want, I sharpen by hand until I get there, then move back to the Sharpmaker for maintaining the edge.
I have purchased quite a few knives on the Exchange, almost all my experiences have been good. But I haven't been thrilled by the knives I get with mirror finish edges. For the most part, they haven't been really sharp when I receive them - but, that could just be because they hadn't been sharpened recently, but still had the polished edges.
Worse, I have found it difficult to get edges that were mirrored/polished by the previous owner back to the sharpness I desire and usually get fairly easily. I almost dread it now when I get a knife in the mail and open it up to find it has shiny mirror edges - kind of "here we go again, is this going to be a pain to re-sharpen?"
Maybe this is because they have been re-beveled to a non-standard angle?
I am about to the point where I want to PM the seller and ask "does this have mirror edge? has it been sharpened on a WE?" before I make an offer or say "I'll take it!"
I know this is going to probably be sacrilege, because so many seem to be proponents of the high-end sharpeners and polished mirror edges.
I would like to hear your take on this subject, if you have experience one way or the other.