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Sandpaper grits, fill me in

S

SBaker34

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Messages
793
I use a wicked edge, I have the 3 micron DMT EEF stones with the glass blank on the other side, the only issue is they are not quite broken in yet even after several knives, they refine the edge further but leave coarse scratches where the diamond is uneven. Since they have the glass blank I was considering gluing some wet dry sandpaper 2000 or 2500 grit as a final step.

What does the finish look like?
 
You can indeed sharpen with wet and dry sandpaper, in fact that was the origin of the term "Scary Sharp" back in the '90s. The original post isn't that easy to find, but here's a copy Scary Sharp (TM). Nowadays there's more sophisticated material available, for example 3M Lapping Film and Micro Finishing Film with have accurately documented grit sizes.
 
The EEF is right around the 2000 mark in sandpaper but you might need to start at 1000 due to the deep gouging characteristic of the diamonds.

Personally, I would get a different finishing stone. What other stone are you using in the progression?
 
I use the 200-1000 grit wicked edge diamonds, which leave a nice dull even finish, similar to what you might see on a high end factory edge, reminds me a lot of the finish using the sharpmaker brown stones, though a bit more toothy. I figured the 3 micron EEF stones would get me a nice dull polish, and take me up to or a little past the sharpness I got with the medium sharpmaker rods. Although the stones feel perfectly smooth to the touch, they left a finish similar to unbroken in 400 grit diamond sharpmaker rods. And stayed that way for several knives, Ive probably taken a couple thousand strokes with them by now attempting to wear them in, and while they don't scratch as much, I'm hardly touching them to the blade now, they still require stropping to get a truly sharp edge, and I actually got a better mirror like finish when stopping at the 1000 grit and then stropping. I emailed wicked edge to see if that is typical, but if so, it looks like I might be better off finishing with sandpaper.
 
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