What grit to start with on mousepad convex sharpening

clich

clich

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Apr 19, 2011
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Well I reached a point on my convex blades where just stropping isn't getting em sharp anymore so im going to do the mousepad technique but im afraid of starting at too coarse a grit. What would you recommend? 220? Lower? Higher? can I to a few pulls on a coarse grit and then jump up to the strop or should I get a higher grit?
 
I recommend using black and green compound before trying the sandpaper. I've only ever had to resort to sandpaper once and that was after some serious abuse. I used something like 2000 grit and then back to the black compound.

I wouldn't use 200 grit unless I was doing a complete reprofile by hand.
 
There's a couple of considerations here. If the edge is somewhat rounded then you're gonna need to use sandpaper. If it's still in good shape then 400 grit would be a good starting point. If its really neglected I'd go with the 220. Its a little misleading, because 220 sandpaper on a soft backing is not the same animal as 220 grit on a stone - I wouldn't worry too much about creating the same kinds of deep scratches. Since the blade is already convexed, you'll be able to jump up through the grit progression very quickly and get back to whatever level of refinement you usually fly with. For the record my EDU convex knives are only ground to 220 or 400 grit and stropped on black compound (or coarser). Still, it's well under an hour's work to go from 220 to 2000 and stropped.
 
I usually use the black and green compound but I used my f1 for ALOT of bushcraft work and the black isn't cutting it.
 
If I've reached the point where stropping isn't quite doing the job, I'll go back to a grit selection comparable to the level of the original (working) finish. For some who prefer a coarse edge, that might imply a coarser grit (maybe 220 through 400). If the edge was more 'satin' in finish, that might be in the 400 through 800 range. If the edge was polished, I'd start up around 1000+. Point being, there's no benefit in starting too low in grit, to get the edge back to 'stropping shape' again. Starting too low will remove more metal than necessary, and will also require much more work to get back to the original finish. Start as high as you think might accomplish the task. If that's not quite enough, only then take a step down in grit. Just enough to get the job done, no more.
 
Hmm.. I would say, type of metal is of some consideration.. I agree with above post about using highest grit possible that correlates to original finish. I tend to use 600 grit then step up to 1000 or 2000 and then leather. I like a smooth sharp edge.. mostly, therefore ending with 2000 and leather.
 
clichtenwalner1 said:
I usually use the black and green compound but I used my f1 for ALOT of bushcraft work and the black isn't cutting it.
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Yep same thing happened to me with my F1 lol. I used 2000 or 1200 grit and a bit of patience and it's back to it's old self now.
 
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