- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
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- 13,537
I commented earlier in this thread, regarding sharpening these Opinels:
The blade's full convex grind is naturally conducive to simply laying the blade flush against some sandpaper on leather or other soft(ish) backing, and sharpen away. When the subtle factory microbevel is taken down to a zero-bevel, this method will sharpen & polish the blade at the same time. I've been playing around with this method on my stainless and carbon No. 8 Opinels, using wet/dry sandpaper in an 800/1200/1500/2000 grit sequence. And for the carbon No. 8 Opinel, I also tried out some 3M micron polishing paper, in 9/3/2/1 micron grits (aluminum oxide). I then stropped both knives using Simichrome on leather. I'm really liking this method, and am quite pleased with how the blades have come out. They're not 'perfectly polished' yet, and the convex is somewhat highlighted by the polish in the lower half of the blade, with some remnants of the original finish near the spine. I sort of like this look.
And, most importantly, the edges are awesome. They slice like nobody's business. I'm starting to think of them as my 'Li'l French Light Sabres'.
Here are some pics:
The blade's full convex grind is naturally conducive to simply laying the blade flush against some sandpaper on leather or other soft(ish) backing, and sharpen away. When the subtle factory microbevel is taken down to a zero-bevel, this method will sharpen & polish the blade at the same time. I've been playing around with this method on my stainless and carbon No. 8 Opinels, using wet/dry sandpaper in an 800/1200/1500/2000 grit sequence. And for the carbon No. 8 Opinel, I also tried out some 3M micron polishing paper, in 9/3/2/1 micron grits (aluminum oxide). I then stropped both knives using Simichrome on leather. I'm really liking this method, and am quite pleased with how the blades have come out. They're not 'perfectly polished' yet, and the convex is somewhat highlighted by the polish in the lower half of the blade, with some remnants of the original finish near the spine. I sort of like this look.
And, most importantly, the edges are awesome. They slice like nobody's business. I'm starting to think of them as my 'Li'l French Light Sabres'.
Here are some pics:
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