Super polished edges

am I cheating?

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before anyone asks, there is zero blade damage, only bits of dust and over zealous lighting :)
 
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Scrim said:
That's funny. I was at a local gun shop a few days ago and one of the guys behind the counter (had to be in his 60's or 70's) whips out a knife to cut a box open. I noticed it was a tanto but I couldn't tell what brand or model, so I walked over and mentioned to him I'm into folding knives, mostly flippers...and then asked him what knife it was. He said it was just a cheap Kershaw (Blur), for cutting open ammo boxes. Then he says, "But this is my nice one!" And reaches into a different pocket and whips out & flips open a pristine ZT0920. It was actually the first one I've gotten to handle as I don't have a 920 (yet). Nice knife, by the way. I checked it out a bit and then whipped out the Kizer Toro I happened to be carrying that day...and then the 20 minute, "knife nut" discussion ensued. Ended up getting a good deal on ammo that day. Sometimes it's good to be a knife nut. :cool:
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Haha I get into these types of talks all the time when I walk into a gun/knife shop though I’m usually the instigator and for some reason I’ve yet to meet someone over the counter with a “nicer quality” blade i.e better than Kershaw (no knocks against Kershaw) lol. But I typically leave with a smile on my face because I just generally love talking knives with new people, almost testing their wits in away! I’m sure everyone here can understand that. :D
 
Aquaholicc said:
Thanks man! I still need to invest in the 1500 diamonds, apparently it’s night and day? Can you attest to this?
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Not sure .. I don't use them but guys on the WEPS forum seem to like them
 
I'm looking for suggestions from those in this thread that have inspired me to chase the mirror, and I'm looking for some advice on my last few steps.

I just picked up the Gritomatic Silicon Carbide set for the Edge Pro which is JIS 120, 240, 600, 1000, 2500. I have the Edge Pro blank with the 3K and the 6K tapes, but at the rate that I seem to be blowing through them I want to invest in something that will last.

I'm leaning toward Shapton Glass stones to finish with. I'd like to just get the 8K and call it done. My concern is that the jump from the 2500 SiC up to an 8K Shapton will be too far of a jump. I could get a 4K to bridge the gap.

Do you think that 1000, 2500, 8K would provide a great finish, or would you do 2500, 4K, 8K? While I'm at it, is 8K (followed by stropping) going to be high enough for a perfect mirror?

Thanks in advance.
 
SpenceSTL said:
I'm looking for suggestions from those in this thread that have inspired me to chase the mirror, and I'm looking for some advice on my last few steps.

I just picked up the Gritomatic Silicon Carbide set for the Edge Pro which is JIS 120, 240, 600, 1000, 2500. I have the Edge Pro blank with the 3K and the 6K tapes, but at the rate that I seem to be blowing through them I want to invest in something that will last.

I'm leaning toward Shapton Glass stones to finish with. I'd like to just get the 8K and call it done. My concern is that the jump from the 2500 SiC up to an 8K Shapton will be too far of a jump. I could get a 4K to bridge the gap.

Do you think that 1000, 2500, 8K would provide a great finish, or would you do 2500, 4K, 8K? While I'm at it, is 8K (followed by stropping) going to be high enough for a perfect mirror?

Thanks in advance.
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I’m no expert and my mirror isn’t perfect either. What I read a while ago, the key is to ensure all lower scratch patterns are removed completely in each step going to higher grit. That is the key and to do that, the consistency of angle needs to be spot on. There was an old post describing it, but I forgot by whom.
 
SpenceSTL said:
I'm looking for suggestions from those in this thread that have inspired me to chase the mirror, and I'm looking for some advice on my last few steps.

I just picked up the Gritomatic Silicon Carbide set for the Edge Pro which is JIS 120, 240, 600, 1000, 2500. I have the Edge Pro blank with the 3K and the 6K tapes, but at the rate that I seem to be blowing through them I want to invest in something that will last.

I'm leaning toward Shapton Glass stones to finish with. I'd like to just get the 8K and call it done. My concern is that the jump from the 2500 SiC up to an 8K Shapton will be too far of a jump. I could get a 4K to bridge the gap.

Do you think that 1000, 2500, 8K would provide a great finish, or would you do 2500, 4K, 8K? While I'm at it, is 8K (followed by stropping) going to be high enough for a perfect mirror?

Thanks in advance.
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I'll share what I found works best for me, and it will sound a little odd, but I've experimented a lot. I'm an Edge Pro user too, for a couple of years now. I carefully work up the Edge Pro stone progression, usually 120 or 220 (depending on the steel & amount of work needed) up thru 1k...starting with a CKTG Diamond 140 only if I am reprofiling. I then jump to a well soaked, Chosera 8K. At that point I have a very good, very sharp (but not top notch) mirror edge, sometimes still a little bit cloudy to my eye. To take it "the rest of the way"...then I go back to the Edge Pro tapes on glass blanks, not the metal blanks, 2K, 3K then 6K. I try and use fresh tapes just about every time. Cost efficient, no, but I just chalk it up to the cost of getting what I really want out of my sharpening hobby and the time & effort spent. So there's where I splurge. Sounds a little counterintuitive, but I've found that's how I get my best final results. I don't really need to strop at that point...but, for a little overkill, I often do, a Green Strops Plus then a .5 micron diamond paste (on a strop's suede side) and end with a .25 micron diamond paste on a strop, also suede side. The mirror edge and level of sharpness I have before I hit a strop is usally enough. The improvement I see after the three strops is there, but not major. I consider it a little icing on the cake. And who doesn't like a little icing from time to time?
 
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Chris "Anagarika" said:
I’m no expert and my mirror isn’t perfect either. What I read a while ago, the key is to ensure all lower scratch patterns are removed completely in each step going to higher grit. That is the key and to do that, the consistency of angle needs to be spot on. There was an old post describing it, but I forgot by whom.
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I think that might be part of my problem. The very first edge I tried was D2 and I didn't just re-profile it, I wound up taking it down to a complete zero-grind and am trying to polish the entire thing. Keeping the angle just perfect through the stones and taking the time to get each grits scratches completely out before moving up is probably where I've erred here. Just as a sanity check I grabbed a cheap SS Auto from my wife and gave it a slight re-profile and polish, and had that edge gleaming in no time.
 
I really appreciate the insight. Your edges look among the best here, so your opinion holds a lot of weight with me. The tapes do seem to be really good at polishing. They almost seem like erasers that remove haziness. My hope with the Shaptons was that I wouldn't have to burn through them like I seem to.

I'm guessing you went with the glass blank because it's straighter and smoother? My alum blank does seem a little bit roughly machined.

Thanks again.
 
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