Super polished edges

wiredbeans said:
Here are my 3 mirrors, I can't get a good angle for the camera to pick up the edge
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Hey wiredbeans, what system are you using for sharpening? I have a sharpmaker and have achieved moderate success on my Spyderco blades but I just bought a Lionsteel SR1a and am having a tough time putting a decent edge on that convex blade. Any suggestions?
 
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Cold Steel American Lawman.
 
B#GuitarMan said:
Hey wiredbeans, what system are you using for sharpening? I have a sharpmaker and have achieved moderate success on my Spyderco blades but I just bought a Lionsteel SR1a and am having a tough time putting a decent edge on that convex blade. Any suggestions?
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Let's not hijack the thread, shoot me an email: wiredbeans "at" gmail dot com
Cheers
 


Needed sharpening after some minor chipping in the micro-bevel, once again, ~7.5dps freehand on a Bester 1200 -> Suehiro Rika 5000 -> Naniwa Junpaku 8000 -> Naniwa Specialty Stone 10,000 progression on the edge bevel and Spyderco F rods (15 dps) to form an apex micro-bevel .
 
Steel_Drake said:
Needed sharpening after some minor chipping in the micro-bevel, once again, ~7.5dps freehand on a Bester 1200 -> Suehiro Rika 5000 -> Naniwa Junpaku 8000 -> Naniwa Specialty Stone 10,000 progression on the edge bevel and Spyderco F rods (15 dps) to form an apex micro-bevel .
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Very nice... how do you find the edge holds up at that geometry? what uses do you use it for and when do you notice blunting? I bet it cuts like a demon ;)
 
razor-edge-knives said:
Very nice... how do you find the edge holds up at that geometry? what uses do you use it for and when do you notice blunting? I bet it cuts like a demon ;)
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My EDC uses largely consist of food prep, cardboard container break-down, and the occasional clam-shell package, so any geometry that leaves the edge ~0.010"-0.015" thick at 1/32" back from the apex is plenty strong enough for my EDC uses, with any damage being confined to microscopic chipping in one section of the microscopic apex bevel.

The rate of blunting is slow enough that I can keep the apex touched up using very light (as in less that 10 grams) passes on my Spyderco F rods for some time, since I rarely have to use the knife so much in a single session that it gets worn past a touch-up being practical (unless there's micro-chipping or whatnot).

Push cutting ability is faintly silly really, way past the point of practical benefit unless you were literally planning to use the knife as a straight razor, but given my tendency towards clumsiness I really appreciate being able to put as little force as possible into cuts, so I like the combination of very high push cutting sharpness and geometric cutting ability.
 
Steel_Drake said:
My EDC uses largely consist of food prep, cardboard container break-down, and the occasional clam-shell package, so any geometry that leaves the edge ~0.010"-0.015" thick at 1/32" back from the apex is plenty strong enough for my EDC uses, with any damage being confined to microscopic chipping in one section of the microscopic apex bevel.

The rate of blunting is slow enough that I can keep the apex touched up using very light (as in less that 10 grams) passes on my Spyderco F rods for some time, since I rarely have to use the knife so much in a single session that it gets worn past a touch-up being practical (unless there's micro-chipping or whatnot).

Push cutting ability is faintly silly really, way past the point of practical benefit unless you were literally planning to use the knife as a straight razor, but given my tendency towards clumsiness I really appreciate being able to put as little force as possible into cuts, so I like the combination of very high push cutting sharpness and geometric cutting ability.
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Well said Drake and thanks for the feedback. I like how you specified the dimensions of the edge and the force used.
 
Steel_Drake said:


Re-profiled to a ~7.5dps edge bevel freehand with a Norton Crystolon coarse, edge bevel finished freehand with a Bester 1200 -> Suehiro Rika 5k -> Naniwa Junpaku 8k -> Naniwa Specialty Stone 10,000 and apex micro-bevel was then applied with Spyderco Sharpmaker F rods.
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Those are some outstanding bevels folks - great work!
Question to Steel_Drake: After all that work up to a 10k waterstone (likely less than 2 microns finish?) you use a coarser ceramic for Microbevel (likely about 6 microns). Any specific reasons? Do you want a bit more "bite/aggression" with the final touch?
Thanks!
 
awestib said:
Those are some outstanding bevels folks - great work!
Question to Steel_Drake: After all that work up to a 10k waterstone (likely less than 2 microns finish?) you use a coarser ceramic for Microbevel (likely about 6 microns). Any specific reasons? Do you want a bit more "bite/aggression" with the final touch?
Thanks!
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There are two parts to that answer:

Firstly, I am somewhat limited in my choices of abrasives for creating microscopic apex bevels because I strongly prefer to use solid abrasives like Spyderco sintered ceramics rather than any type of friable stone for this purpose. It's much easier to create a very sharp apex when you don't have to worry about the apex smacking into abrasive particles in a water or oil slurry on top of the stone.

Secondly, while the Spyderco F sintered ceramic might be rated at 6 microns, when used with very light force, it leaves a significantly finer scratch pattern than the 6 micron rating would suggest. I would be inclined, based on observing the scratch pattern with a 50x optical/4x digital zoom USB microscope, to compare it to an ~8k Japanese synthetic abrasive when used with very light force. I could use the Spyderco UF rods but I'm concerned about the microscopic apex bevel created in 10-20 passes not having enough depth (i.e. being excessively fragile), and for reasons that are a bit obscure, I haven't tended to have the best results using Spyderco UF stones.

Besides which, the push-cutting ability is already way above any practical necessity, so I see no need to trade off any more slicing aggression to increase it further.
 
Steel_Drake said:
There are two parts to that answer:

Firstly, I am somewhat limited in my choices of abrasives for creating microscopic apex bevels because I strongly prefer to use solid abrasives like Spyderco sintered ceramics rather than any type of friable stone for this purpose. It's much easier to create a very sharp apex when you don't have to worry about the apex smacking into abrasive particles in a water or oil slurry on top of the stone.

Secondly, while the Spyderco F sintered ceramic might be rated at 6 microns, when used with very light force, it leaves a significantly finer scratch pattern than the 6 micron rating would suggest. I would be inclined, based on observing the scratch pattern with a 50x optical/4x digital zoom USB microscope, to compare it to an ~8k Japanese synthetic abrasive when used with very light force. I could use the Spyderco UF rods but I'm concerned about the microscopic apex bevel created in 10-20 passes not having enough depth (i.e. being excessively fragile), and for reasons that are a bit obscure, I haven't tended to have the best results using Spyderco UF stones.

Besides which, the push-cutting ability is already way above any practical necessity, so I see no need to trade off any more slicing aggression to increase it further.
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Thanks, makes sense to me. I too noticed that unless I go from the brown/gray stones to the F to the UF on the Sharpmaker, the UF alone does not do a good job for a mircobevel. I also have the feeling that I get more of a burr than anything else - I agree, it is somewhat obscure!

I can see your concern about "cutting into loose abrasives" at the final step. Have you tried stropping on Balsa with CBN or Diamond? It seems to leave a nice and still aggressive Micro-convex.

Thanks!
 
Chris "Anagarika";14926383 said:
Byrd Cara Cara 2. DMT C, F, EF, EEF, Spyderco UF, green compound on Washboard.
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That is very impressive, I can't even comprehend the angle control necessary to freehand that kind of a finish on solid abrasives! At least I have the slurry to help even out the finish on my Japanese synthetic stones!
 
awestib said:
Thanks, makes sense to me. I too noticed that unless I go from the brown/gray stones to the F to the UF on the Sharpmaker, the UF alone does not do a good job for a mircobevel. I also have the feeling that I get more of a burr than anything else - I agree, it is somewhat obscure!

I can see your concern about "cutting into loose abrasives" at the final step. Have you tried stropping on Balsa with CBN or Diamond? It seems to leave a nice and still aggressive Micro-convex.

Thanks!
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I don't strop as I always seem to end up rounding over the apex when I try to, I just use my Japanese synthetic stones very muddy to keep the edge burr free and the micro-bevel in as few passes as possible to avoid forming a burr. If I do find I've created a burr, I prefer to cut it off using 1-2 high angle passes. This allows me to get a very clean, burr free apex without risking rounding it over by stropping.
 
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