sharpening and mirror edges for an RMD?

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kimberfan

Joined
Feb 8, 2011
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ok so i want my RMD to have a mirror edge, i tried with some mothers mag and aluminum compound on a piece of cardboard to strop with and polish it but it made it not so sharp :o

so i cleaned all the compound off and sharpened it back to decently sharp on my 750 gritt smith diamond stone (did not take long at all) it now cuts though paper with ease and does take hair off and will shave a spot nearly bald in 3 passes

my ? is can i get it sharper on the 750 gritt or should i leave it? and how do i get a mirror polish? i was thinking a DMT 8000 gritt diamond stone thats 3 microns would do the trick but i cant afford one atm, pretty much i want a really sharp knife but dont have money to play with so i need to know what to use.
 
You can use a combo of sandpaper, emery cloth, and crocus cloth, which you can usually buy in single shhets at places like Home Depot or good local hardware stores.
 
Most auto-part stores (Napa, Autozone, etc.) will have wet/dry paper that goes to 2000 grit. From there, compound on leather will get you there as fast as anything. Keep in mind that the finer the grit gets, the slower it cuts, so be prepared to spend a long time on the high grits.
 
Get a belt sander or paper wheels. It will save you so much time and energy and you can get any type of edge you want with a few minutes of work. You can get a paper wheel setup for under 100 bucks and have mirror hair splitting edges the same day. I tried it and I've never looked back. Best knife related investment I've ever made!
 
KalEl said:
Get a belt sander or paper wheels. It will save you so much time and energy and you can get any type of edge you want with a few minutes of work. You can get a paper wheel setup for under 100 bucks and have mirror hair splitting edges the same day. I tried it and I've never looked back. Best knife related investment I've ever made!
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i like doing it free hand as it is relaxing and i enjoy it alot so time isnt a big thing to me :D
 
ok so people are going to get me some stuff i want for my bday (which is today in fact^^)

i was thinking a DMT extra fine 1200 grit (9 micron) and a extra extra fine 8000 grit (3 micron) stones

would using them up to the 8k grit give me a scary sharp edge and a near mirror polish?
 
kimberfan said:
ok so people are going to get me some stuff i want for my bday (which is today in fact^^)

i was thinking a DMT extra fine 1200 grit (9 micron) and a extra extra fine 8000 grit (3 micron) stones

would using them up to the 8k grit give me a scary sharp edge and a near mirror polish?
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Yes and no, Yes it would give you a very sharp and shiny edge but diamonds need time to break-in when new and you would still need several steps before a mirror polish would occur. The other problem you will run into is that putting a mirror polish on a edge takes skill and all the proper tools, skill more than anything. Diamond stones are great for rough grinding and sharpening of hard and wear resistant metals but truly overkill on less complex carbon steels. The main advantage of diamonds is their speed and ability to sharpen anything, the speed is a loss for this steel because its simply not as hard and personally I feel my waterstones sharpen better and faster. I finish with a 6k waterstone which is a finer finish than the EEF DMT plate and also produces a sharper edge, I love my DMT's but for this steel its waterstones or sandpaper hands down.
 
go with what kalel said and check out the paper wheels. you might want read this post by a member who had me sharpen a knife for him which he compared it to one with a mirror finish. they might look nice but when it comes to cutting performance, he found that the mirror polished edge failed. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ime-is-important-to-you?p=9207988#post9207988 in case the link takes you to a different post, the correct post number is 710 by stevenkelby
 
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knifenut1013 said:
Yes and no, Yes it would give you a very sharp and shiny edge but diamonds need time to break-in when new and you would still need several steps before a mirror polish would occur. The other problem you will run into is that putting a mirror polish on a edge takes skill and all the proper tools, skill more than anything. Diamond stones are great for rough grinding and sharpening of hard and wear resistant metals but truly overkill on less complex carbon steels. The main advantage of diamonds is their speed and ability to sharpen anything, the speed is a loss for this steel because its simply not as hard and personally I feel my waterstones sharpen better and faster. I finish with a 6k waterstone which is a finer finish than the EEF DMT plate and also produces a sharper edge, I love my DMT's but for this steel its waterstones or sandpaper hands down.
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ok so if i dont care about a polish and want nothing but cutting performance what should i use? i dont prefer water stones myself never really have, they need maintenance and are kinda messy, i've always been a diamond guy no matter the steel they just work better for me

what about a ceramic stone? would it work well for this steel?
 
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richard j said:
go with what kalel said and check out the paper wheels. you might want read this post by a member who had me sharpen a knife for him which he compared it to one with a mirror finish. they might look nice but when it comes to cutting performance, he found that the mirror polished edge failed. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ime-is-important-to-you?p=9207988#post9207988 in case the link takes you to a different post, the correct post number is 710 by stevenkelby
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intresting, sounds to me like i want a edge with very fine teeth, as for using paper wheels i really do prefer free hand if i can get away with it i just dont have the room for a paper wheel set up atm nor do i have the cash for one.
 
ok so my options are, DMT extra fine at 1200 grit

extra fine translucent Arkansas stone at 1200+ grit

6000 grit water stone (i wouldnt prefer this tho)

or sand paper all tho once again i prefer stones

what do you all think?
 
kimberfan said:
ok so if i dont care about a polish and want nothing but cutting performance what should i use? i dont prefer water stones myself never really have, they need maintenance and are kinda messy, i've always been a diamond guy no matter the steel they just work better for me

what about a ceramic stone? would it work well for this steel?
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Cutting performance, polish, and whats better is a individual opinion based on experience. The myth that waterstones need maintenance all the time and that they are messy comes mainly from the King brand of waterstones, they are a fast wearing clay bonded stone that go out of flat quickly and are very messy in the lower grits. More modern ceramic bonded stones wear very slow but cut quicker and on harder metals because the abrasive within the stone is also much harder than standard stones.

Grit is not always grit, sometimes it mesh, american grit, japanese grit (2 scales), or european grit. So depending on brand a "1200 grit" stone can be one of many things. Most all abrasives are judged in micron size though so it's a bit easier but then you must learn about how grit numbers are given and the size range of microns within each stone or compound. It's not just one grit size it's many.

Ceramic stone will work but IMO the edge sucks.
Arkansas stones leave a nice edge on carbon steels but is quite possibly the slowest way to sharpen.
Diamonds are fast but not my first choice for this steel.
Waterstones and sandpaper are about equal in finished edge quality but waterstones are a one time buy and have a much larger selection.

I'd say start with sandpaper, get 600-2k from the auto part store and glue/clamp it to a hard surface like glass, wood, or iron. This will give you a idea of what other grits offer in sharpness and shine, FYI 2k wet/dry is like a 8k waterstone.

What's your budget?
 
knifenut1013 said:
Cutting performance, polish, and whats better is a individual opinion based on experience. The myth that waterstones need maintenance all the time and that they are messy comes mainly from the King brand of waterstones, they are a fast wearing clay bonded stone that go out of flat quickly and are very messy in the lower grits. More modern ceramic bonded stones wear very slow but cut quicker and on harder metals because the abrasive within the stone is also much harder than standard stones.

Grit is not always grit, sometimes it mesh, american grit, japanese grit (2 scales), or european grit. So depending on brand a "1200 grit" stone can be one of many things. Most all abrasives are judged in micron size though so it's a bit easier but then you must learn about how grit numbers are given and the size range of microns within each stone or compound. It's not just one grit size it's many.

Ceramic stone will work but IMO the edge sucks.
Arkansas stones leave a nice edge on carbon steels but is quite possibly the slowest way to sharpen.
Diamonds are fast but not my first choice for this steel.
Waterstones and sandpaper are about equal in finished edge quality but waterstones are a one time buy and have a much larger selection.

I'd say start with sandpaper, get 600-2k from the auto part store and glue/clamp it to a hard surface like glass, wood, or iron. This will give you a idea of what other grits offer in sharpness and shine, FYI 2k wet/dry is like a 8k waterstone.

What's your budget?
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well after some reading i ordered a translucent extra fine Arkansas stone (sierra trading post has a good deal on dans ones atm) so i'm going to see how that does by the time i got a discount code on it and shipped it was $37.50 for a stone thats $75+ else where all tho they say they are seconds from the reviews most people just got some off colors or a small nick on 1 side of the stone

gonna see how this does and if i need more i could spend $10-20$ or so on sand paper or a strop (already got the leather would just need compound)
 
The EdgePro does put on a nice edge. My stones didn't hold up well though.

Ascending grits of sandpaper on leather will give good results.
 
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