Sharpening Question

[Brian6244]

I am using 4" DMT coarse and extra fine diamond sharpeners (also have used a natural stone Lansky kit a few times in the past) and I can get the knife (440C) sharp enough to fling hairs from the back of my arm but the edge looks uneven. They is no burr but when held just right under a light you can see "stone marks or scuffs" all over the edge on both sides. I can't seem to get it nice and smooth looking although it is very sharp. I tried using the back of one of the DMT sharpeners a sort-of a sharpening steel but it made no difference.

What am I missing? Do I need real sharpening steel like chefs use in kitchens, do I need to strop it on a leather strap or is my technique off to begine with? I have tried stropping before (on the back side of a leather belt) with little success but I imagine my technique is the problem there.

I searched the forums but couldn't not info on this specific issue. If it has already been covered then I apaologize and request a link to a previous post that I missed in my search which would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[MelancholyMutt]

It's just a matter of aesthetics... don't worry about the scratches... it's part of sharpening. You can polish some of it away by using progressively finer and finer stones. Some even take it to the next level and sharpen with very fine sandpaper all the way up to 3000 grit or waterstones at 8000 grits. These things will make the edge progressively sharper, however, this takes an immense level of skill and consistency and may not remove all the scratches you're talking about. Others also use stropping belts loaded with polishing paste and so on, and so forth. If you lack those skills, you run the risk of ruining the edge that you put on it with the diamond stones.
Think of those scratches as what the Japanese call "Wabi" or an aesthetics (or a tranquility of appearance... meanings are often lost in translation), the evidence of wear and tear which indicates your knife as worthy for use and up to your cutting tasks.

 

[Brian6244]

Normally I wouldn't worry about it but I am wanting to sell the knife and would like for it to look its best for its new owner.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

...Think of those scratches as what the Japanese call "Wabi" or an aesthetics (or a tranquility of appearance... meanings are often lost in translation), the evidence of wear and tear which indicates your knife as worthy for use and up to your cutting tasks.

I like that, most of my early knives, have a lot of Wabi, but as I gained experience with practice I learned to maintain a consistent angle and a finer edge.

Repetition creates a memory in the muscles which makes the learned actions easier to repeat.

Practice, practice, practice, everyone should be able to achieve a workable edge on a stone.