Shaving sharp

A question: Just how sharp can you get a knife on a 1000 grit stone? Can you get a knife shaving sharp on it?
 
I can get a knife shaving sharp on a DMT extra-coarse, which is around 120 grit if I remember right. The finer the grit of the stone, the slower it removes steel, so the longer it takes to establish the edge. The more strokes you take, the more chances there are for error/variation of angle. That's why I would suggest using a coarse stone to set your bevels and establish your edge. You can then polish the edge using finer stones to give you better push-cutting performance, although it may reduce the slicing aggressiveness of the edge.
 
Your getting a lot of good advice here. I personally have to agree with Richard about the cardboard wheels. I have a lot os sharpening gear and about all I use now is the wheels. One with glued on emery powder and the other with rouge. I can have al but the dullest blades shaving sharp in a couple minutes. It I want a super edge I can then go to my Lansky and stones. It is a clamp that goes on the blade and the stones have a rod that goes thru a hole in the clamp and holds the angle perfectly. If your blade is very dull it will take a long time with a 1000 grit. Keeping a very steady angle is also very important. Thats where the practice comes in. Jim
 
ib2v4u said:
If your blade is very dull it will take a long time with a 1000 grit.
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That's my guess as to what the problem is. You're not getting a burr because you haven't reached the edge yet. The sharpie markings may be disappearing nicely but if the angle you are using hasn't brought the edge to a fine point, you will not have a sharp edge and not get a burr. My suggestion is get a coarse or extra coarse DMT Diamond sharpener and don't stop grinding until it will shave hair, then try the 1000 grit stone.
 
theonew said:
That's my guess as to what the problem is. You're not getting a burr because you haven't reached the edge yet. The sharpie markings may be disappearing nicely but if the angle you are using hasn't brought the edge to a fine point, you will not have a sharp edge and not get a burr. My suggestion is get a coarse or extra coarse DMT Diamond sharpener and don't stop grinding until it will shave hair, then try the 1000 grit stone.
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I've been trying my 220 grit, and I can't get it very sharp at all. I'll just have to continue sharpening, trying to get to a consistent angle. I thought I had it, but apparently not if you can shave hair coming off of a 220 grit stone.
 
A super-perfect consistent angle isn't really of utmost importance. It makes a big difference in terms of how quickly and efficiently you can put an edge on a knife but isn't a requirement for actually achieving a sharp edge. Keep grinding for the burr.
 
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