Pearl effect problem

[kleopatra]

Hi all. I wonder if someone can help me!

I am new to sharpening blades, and have bought some waterstones, of 800, 1200 and 6000 grits. I have been practicing on many different knives and can put a good razor edge on them, but always with one problem.

I get a pearlescent finish on the bevel surface, the kind of finish that changes when you rotate under light, like the surface of pearl. it looks damned messy and i just cannot seem to get rid of it. :-(

What am I doing wrong? Help!!!

 

[Bruceter]

If you are getting your knives sharp and they are cutting well for you, I wouldn't worry about the finish of the bevels. Sharpen them up, use them and sharpen them again.

Bruceter

 

[Broos]

If you want a mirror finish on the bevel, try a wood backed loaded strop after the 6000 stone. And you can always go back and do some finishing strokes with the stone after the bevel is polished.

 

[firebert]

If I understand you correctly, it sounds like you're seeing light reflected off of oriented scratches on the bevel surface (chatoyancy). A similar effect would be light reflecting off of carbon fiber. The difference is that carbon fibers are all oriented similarly so it looks nice and uniform.

You have a few choices to improve the looks.

If you are really steady, you can ensure that all of the scratches go exactly the same direction. This will give you a satin look.

If you want a high polish, you will have to keep progressing down the grits. I'd go to about 50k or 100k in several steps. Make sure that the finish is perfectly uniform before going to the next grit.

A loaded hard wax lap with diamond (14k) followed by one with cerium oxide (.5 micron) is what I'd use.

Phillip