Which Micron Diamond Spray?

C

Coonskinner

Joined
Mar 28, 2001
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If you are buying some Hand American Diamond Spray to put on a strop for convex edges, which micron would you get?

I like an edge that shaves readily, but is still a little on the toothy side.

I have some old Marbles knives and some Bark Rivers with convex edges.

A Hess, also.
 
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I just did a quick search and found a place that sells it in .25, .5, and 1 micron increments. I'd go down to 1 micron at the smallest. Anything less than that and you will have a finely polished edge that is not toothy at all. Most guys that buy Bark Rivers from us are using the BRKT green and black compounds or the 4, 8, and 16 micron CBN.
 
From my experience and from talking to customers you will get a sharp knife, very sharp. You won't really have a toothy edge though. When Bark River Sharpens their knives they don't even come close to getting that fine with the compound they use.
 
Sadden said:
Pretty vague question. Whats your finest stone.
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I like the Norton Fine India, but I have Spyderco Fine and Arkansas Surgical Black.

I want something in the neighborhood of the kind of edge I get with the Norton Fine India.
 
Grab a 2u Boron carbide emulsion. Cheap, and finer than all your stones.

Going too fine .5u etc. Wont do you any favors as those are all still fairly coarse stones.

Get a good burr free edge off your rocks and go to some 2u Boron Carbide on roo and prepare to be impressed.
 
Coonskinner said:
...
I like an edge that shaves readily, but is still a little on the toothy side.
....
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I would try finishing with few passes on the DMT EF at a high enough angle to hit the apex, then strop on 0.25 micron diamond on leather.
 
HeavyHanded said:
I'd consider a sheet of 6u diamond lapping film, maybe a sheet of 15 as well.
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For a toothy edge and considering your stones this would be a good, relatively inexpensive way to see what it is all about.
I think .25 on leather could lead to a wire edge without extreme care and expertise.
Just my thoughts, I am far from an expert.
Russ
 
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mycough said:
For a toothy edge and considering your stones this would be a good, relatively inexpensive way to see what it is all about.
I think .25 on leather could lead to a wide edge without extreme care and expertise.
Just my thoughts, I am far from an expert.
Russ
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I am looking to maintain a convex edge.
 
On a strop something in the 2u range sounds about right for what your trying to accomplish off the stones you listed. 4u if you want something a bit more toothy, for lack of a better word. Lots of different media choices out there.
 
Coonskinner said:
I am looking to maintain a convex edge.
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You can do it with the film over a hard surface, or over a sheet of paper board etc if looking for a little give. Either way the film has a slight bit of give and can remove small burrs etc - works very much like a strop only can be easily cleaned and maintained.
 
Anyone ever tried the DMT sprays? I actually have a bottle of the Hand American spray which I've owned for three years and have never used because I want to finish my DMT paste first. That's going very slowly.
 
mycough said:
I stand by my recommendations.
Russ
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Disclaimer: I am not being argumentative, just trying to understand the process here.

I have had a Marbles Fieldcraft in 52100 for years. It has been my go to knife for deer and such.

I never worried a whole lot about the whole convex edge thing, just sharpened it on a stone and did my best to sort of rock it a little and try to basically follow the convex free handed as best as I could.

That sucker has performed extremely well and satisfied me completely.

I recently picked up a couple of Bark Rivers and a Hess, and one of the Bark Rivers is in 3V. I have been reading a little bit about maintaining a convex edge and have a couple of strops loaded with Bark River compound. It does ok, and I have wet/dry sandpaper and all that.

My question about the diamond spray stems from me wondering if the diamond on leather thing would be a way to cut faster with a strop and avoid the necessity of taking a stone to the knife if it needs more than the black compound.

Is the diamond spray more efficient than the wet/dry sandpaper, especially on something more abrasion resistant like the 3V?

Or am I overthinking this because I am reading too much stuff on the internet?

For years I have blissfully sharpened away with my Norton Fine India and Sharpmaker and my assortment of Arkansas stones, and have had no complaints about my knives cutting.

I have been a member here for a long time but never read in this particular subforum until recently, and now I am seeing a bunch of stuff I never really knew about.

So pardon me if I seem a little dense about all this stuff. :)
 
Yep, quite easy to overthink this. ;)

Coonskinner said:
My question about the diamond spray stems from me wondering if the diamond on leather thing would be a way to cut faster with a strop and avoid the necessity of taking a stone to the knife if it needs more than the black compound.

Is the diamond spray more efficient than the wet/dry sandpaper, especially on something more abrasion resistant like the 3V?
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Yes, that's what I understand.

For reference ...
6u = 2400
3u = 4800
1u = 15000
.5u = 30000

Since I already have stones/rods down to 3u, I went with 1u DMT paste.


I'm a novice at this level. The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. But I do know when it's good enough for me. I can't imagine using .5u and .25u emulsions. Frankly, I sometimes wonder if even 1u is working better than bare leather. ;)
 
TravisH said:
Yep, quite easy to overthink this. ;)


Yes, that's what I understand.

For reference ...
6u = 2400
3u = 4800
1u = 15000
.5u = 30000

Since I already have stones/rods down to 3u, I went with 1u DMT paste.


I'm a novice at this level. The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. But I do know when it's good enough for me. I can't imagine using .5u and .25u emulsions. Frankly, I sometimes wonder if even 1u is working better than bare leather. ;)
Click to expand...

I'm thinking I might just stick with what I have and go back to blissful. :)
 
Coonskinner said:
Disclaimer: I am not being argumentative, just trying to understand the process here.

I have had a Marbles Fieldcraft in 52100 for years. It has been my go to knife for deer and such.

I never worried a whole lot about the whole convex edge thing, just sharpened it on a stone and did my best to sort of rock it a little and try to basically follow the convex free handed as best as I could.

That sucker has performed extremely well and satisfied me completely.

I recently picked up a couple of Bark Rivers and a Hess, and one of the Bark Rivers is in 3V. I have been reading a little bit about maintaining a convex edge and have a couple of strops loaded with Bark River compound. It does ok, and I have wet/dry sandpaper and all that.

My question about the diamond spray stems from me wondering if the diamond on leather thing would be a way to cut faster with a strop and avoid the necessity of taking a stone to the knife if it needs more than the black compound.

Is the diamond spray more efficient than the wet/dry sandpaper, especially on something more abrasion resistant like the 3V?

Or am I overthinking this because I am reading too much stuff on the internet?

For years I have blissfully sharpened away with my Norton Fine India and Sharpmaker and my assortment of Arkansas stones, and have had no complaints about my knives cutting.

I have been a member here for a long time but never read in this particular subforum until recently, and now I am seeing a bunch of stuff I never really knew about.

So pardon me if I seem a little dense about all this stuff. :)
Click to expand...

The wet/dry should work well even on wear resistant steel until you get down to very fine levels of finish, say 1000 grit or so. I recommended the diamond lapping film because it lasts a long time, leaves a (comparatively) toothy finish on all but the hardest of steels. If you use it for repair work, the swarf is easy to clean off as opposed to swamping the compound on your leather.

Being bonded to the film, it also works very fast compared to a loose grit on leather even with a binder. The film has just enough give to make burring an unlikely issue, and you can place it over any surface you want, even over your India stone if you want more precision and shape the convex yourself. The 15 micron stuff can repair most wear and leave you with a nice toothy finish, the 6 micron will refine a bit more and leave you with a fairly bright finish, comparable to a smaller abrasive on a hard plate. I seldom use my 1 micron or .5 micron films. A sheet of each will last a looong time if cared for, and combined should cost under $10.
 
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