What level of sharpness can be achieved with...

J

JasonJ

Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
109
at highest, a 1000grit Arkansas stone and a naked, suede leather strap as a strop?

Just going through the stuff I have laying about, some of it inherited from dad...

Wonder exactly just how sharp can one take an edge with the above mentioned items? Is it of any value to strop on a piece of suede without compound of some sort?

Thanks all!
 
Arkansas stones will be very limited in usefulness or ineffective, if attempting to use them on more wear-resistant steels (anything from 440C and beyond, like D2, S30V, etc). Simple carbon steels like 1095 and CV, and basic stainless like 420HC, 440A can respond well to Arkansas stones. That being said, a 1000-grit Arkansas stone is basically a polisher, so even it will be limiting, if needing to do any heavier metal removal.

Same with a bare leather strop. By itself, it'll only be useful after an edge is very well-refined; basically it'll function to straighten a very thin, rolled edge; or to remove very, very fine burrs left after honing. If wanting to do more, like thinning the edge, mirror-polishing or stripping heavy burrs away, some compound appropriate to the steel and desired objective would be needed.

With either of the above, if you're trying to sharpen a blade that's long-neglected and very dull, you'll likely need something more aggressive to reshape the edge and establish a new apex. On the other hand, if the edge is ready for it, and the steel not too wear-resistant for the stone or strop being used, a polishing-grade Arkansas stone and bare strop can do some very good things for an edge.

Bottom line: What steels will you be sharpening, and what condition are the edges in currently?


David
 
Last edited:
You probably be more limited based on your skill and not the equipment for all intents on purposes like most things sharpening. Higher grit stones don't make something sharper just provide a different finish and different finishes work better for different applications. Put it simply a more coarse finish is better for slicing applications, a more polished finish works better for push cutting. For the most part you can make a knife stupidly sharp on fairly basic equipment, it's all down to the sharpener's ability. 99% skill 1% equipment.

And yes stropping on naked leather does do something, it doesn't remove much metal as if you put a compound on it but it helps to refine the finish you just put on it with your last stone and helps removing any burrs you left on it when you were done with the stone.

Just know that Arkansas stones are not very aggressive in metal removal so if you want to remove a lot of metal it may take some time, but beyond that there is nothing wrong with them. (Sounds like you have more than just that one stone possibly, i'm not certain with how it's worded.)
 
Sorry to have worded it unclear.. I see that. I do have other stones. I have a 400 and 600 grit stones as well as a ceramic rod for honing.

I have 420HC Buck knives, 8Cr13Mov Kershaws, a few Mora's in 12C27 Sandvik and 1095 Carbon Steel, and a few AUS8 blades. All are in very good to shaving sharp condition now. The 8Cr13Mov and the carbon steel Mora's get the most use, the Mora knives in carbon seem to last fora VERY long time with rough use (cardboard, rope, cutting/carving/whittling Maple, Pine, etc).

I know I can get shaving sharp on all but the AUS8 blades (havent had to put these to the stones yet); but I dont know how far I can take the edges with what I have. I'd like to get a mirror polished edge on a few of them, like the AUS8 and my Buck 119 as well. But really, I was unclear if the 1000 grit stone and bare leather strop are going to be sufficient for a very sharp working edge, and where that limit actually lies.
 
Natural stones produce a different finish from what you often see posted in these forums. You would need to work up to a Black or translucent Ark before going to a strop with synthetic compounds to get a mirror finish. A mirror finish starts around 12,000-14,000 grit.

At 1000 grit you are more in the range of what is useful for an EDC blade. Easily shaving arm hair with without effort and able to cut most items with excellent blade control.
 
I have successfully refined 64hrc cpm m4 with a translucent.

My stone is more of a pocket slip. I sharpen my knife as well as possible, then hold the blade, edge up, in front of a light. I can see the apex and I run the stone along either side in a circular motion. I'm not looking for a microbevel, just polishing. I get a hazy polish that works well. Mostly high carbon steels on leather and woodworking tools, especially because they are typically more complex to sharpen than a straight bladed knife.

Arkansas stones have been very good to me.
 
You may could get a slight step up with the Arkansas stone (what grade?) and a decent strop. Apply slurry to the stone and strop and you'll get a full step up. Still, your ceramic
rod if of good quality should take it 2 steps higher. DM
 
Awesome tips and advice guys.. thank you. I think I know what I can do now.

Although, just thought of a related question. Is a 1000 grit arkansas stone sufficient as the last stone before stropping with green or white compound? How high a grit stone should one go before moving to the compound strops for final polishing the edge?
 
Your can strop/polish after any grit "stone".
 
Thanks Jason.

I have noticed a significant improvement in sharpness after using the bare leather strop. It can be the difference between workable sharp, and shaving sharp. I'm seeing now how much easier/better it is to maintain and hone an already sharp edge, as opposed to going back to the stones all the time (even the finer ones).
 
Add some compound to the strop and it'd work out nicely. This knife was finished with soft arkansas and white compound.
wgVPHh6.jpg


Bit hard to see because my camera is a piece of crap but it reflects letters on a piece of paper and will tree top hairs.

I would add some coarser synthetic stones in as well. On anything but mild alloy carbon arkansas does a better job polishing rather than sharpening. It would take forever to restore a dull edge even on soft arkansas. Even things like 420j2 takes awhile because chromium carbides are significantly harder than washita. My first setup when I was a teen for sharpening was a combination india and a hard arkansas (what you've got). It worked pretty good for being such a cheap setup.
 
Last edited:
Once while on a trip I dulled my knife of 425M steel. Not chipped or anything just dull. I used my Uncle's washita stone to restore it's edge. Which took an hour. Not including the time it took to 1st clean his stone. The Arkansas's cut slow, even on simple stainless steels. DM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top