Sharpening and how grit effects the ability to cut

J

JZknives

Joined
Feb 7, 2013
Messages
204
So I have a dmt sharpening system and it seems the higher I go in grit , the worse the knife cuts. Which is interesting.

Am I doing something wrong?

What is the point of a more polished edge if it cannot cut?

It seems my razors which have a mirror edge have no issue cutting things , but the knives I finish with my dmt system can barely cut paper.

It seems the "toothyness" is the most important thing in a knife edge am I wrong?
 
No, but a fine serrated edge seems to me to be a very appropriate edge for blades like the CPM steels .I'm still using my old EZE-LAP sharpener for those steels and find it an excellent edge for anEDC. Other steels for other uses may do better with a different edge --your choice !!
 
If you are barely able to cut paper after the DMT stones, something is wrong, no matter what grit you stop on. What is the final grit in the DMT system? What steels are you using and are you sure you're matching the edge angles and getting all the way to an actual edge?
 
I can take the black DMT stone and quickly have hair shaving sharpness (no burrs) and push cut paper all day. Something else is not right. Best way to know if you are apexing while sharpening is if you are getting a burr formed or not. Experienced sharpeners can make crazy edges without significant burr formation...but they know right when they've apexed. Otherwise, forming a burr is a sure fire method of making sure you've apexed. Then flip over and repeat. Then go to finer grit. Once you've reached your final grit, alternate sides each stroke until the burr is gone. Should cut like no body's business!

I think the most important things in an edge are 1. the angle is held relatively consistent thru out the sharpening process. 2. Both planes (each edge face) actually do intersect. Doesn't matter if that edge is slightly toothy or polished. A slightly toothy edge is best for softer fibrous materials and a slicing motion. Polished edges better for push cutting into harder materials. That's how I see it, anyway.
 
+++++ on burr removal. I also use DTM aligner kit with green (1200) being the fines stone. My sharpening took a quantum leap foward when I realized that a lot of my sharpening produced a fine burr. I made myself a strop out of scrap piece of belly leather. I applied a light touch of CrOx paste, the kind I use to touch up my straights. Using straight razor like stropping strokes I polish the edge to a mirror finish and remove any burr. This results in a longer lasting edge.
 
If you use a Sharpie (or similar kind of marker) and cover the edge of your blade you will see if you are sharpening the edge or where you may be missing it. Might not be the best explanation, but if you try it you will get what I mean.
 
Mods something is not right here. I can post a few words. As soon as I type the reply I actually want....a couple of paragraphs....I get nowhere. I eventually get to a connection was reset page EVERY time. Been trying for that past hour to reply to this thread. I give up
 
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Mods please look at my post in the tech support section. in this thread....there is a black hole for me for some reason.
 
Samuraistuart - I have had the same problems if I post a lengthy post or reply. I had to overcome it by posting a two word post, then edit it with my full post. Not a copy and paste tho, since that seems to bring the same problem. Re-typing my original comment.
 
Kazariah (really...that's your name? As in Khazar?) thank you. I have been told that twice now. Let's try it again today. I am not a fan of stropping on leather, loaded or not. What I learned is this....when stropping on leather...you are only pushing steel into position...aligning it with the edge. This is like taking a paper clip and bending it over and over. It will break at that bend. Stropping over and over does exactly this....weaken an edge in certain areas. Think about it...you are not removing steel to create an apex by stropping. You are polishing, to some extent, and that is good. But in reality you are pushing steel into alignment and fatiguing it by doing so. If you are seeing a big leap in sharpness after stropping, you really should go back to that final grit stone and do more work. I hope that makes sense....and more....I hope it posts

Bingo!! The thread needed its beauty rest, I suppose!
 
Kazariah is just a SN...have used it since the late nineties. Its just Zackariah jumbled up. What about it caught your eye?
 
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