Wow: Hair whittling edge off a DMT F continuous hone...

K

KennyB

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Jan 19, 2010
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So this is perplexing. Usually I can get edges that will happily shave and split hairs and everything, but never whittled hair in the traditional "hold the hair out and slice it" method until now. No idea what I did differently, but this time when I did the 3 finger test I nearly pooped 'em when I felt how sharp it was, and sure enough it'll whittle hair like no tomorrow.

I'm thinking a wire edge, but...

-Can't see one with 30x magnification and very bright lighting
-Feels smooth on my fingernail
-Was stropped on CrO following the diamond hone.

The only thing I did any differently tonight was used a bit more pressure than usual on the strop, and only a few passes per side. Is it possible I've just been overstropping this whole time?

Meanwhile I'm still unconvinced it's not just a wire, but it's my Izula, so 1095 at 57 hrc... I'm not sure what to cut to check for one that wouldn't just dull the blade out without a wire there. Just doesn't seem right for it to be THIS much sharper with virtually no change in technique or equipment besides the strop, and from what I've been told CrO is too fine to really have a huge effect on an edge finished that coarse anyway.

So... Maybe I just got better at sharpening? I would cut some cardboard to check, but normally when my edge is just hairpopping cardboard will dull it pretty good.
 
I doubt you have a burr, if you had a burr it would need to be larger as smaller burrs tend to make the edge feel dull. Large burrs often referred to as fins can be very sharp but are easy to see in light.

Yes you were over-stropping. When using a fine compound after a coarse stone you just want to "clean" the apex and not try and polish it to a mirror. The stone itself will make a very sharp edge and light stropping will enhance it nicely, strop too much though and you end up rounding the apex too much. I like the 1micron diamond after a fine diamond for about 5 passes per side.
 
Sweet, I guess stropping really is the key. I think I'm gonna try the diamond compunds, what do you suggest for a backing? I rather like CrO on MDF, so I was thinking balsa or MDF again.
 
Actually, for me, 1095 and CrO compound go very well together. Chrome oxide does a great job cleaning up the very fine burrs from 1095 steel. My favorite 'go to' strop for 1095 is my leather belt, with CrO on the inside (rough) surface. I use it like a hanging strop, with no hard backing behind the belt.

I honestly don't know whether you have a wire edge but, chances are, the hair-whittling might not last very long with 1095 anyway. That's not to say it won't still be very sharp after some use (because it's very capable of that); it's just that hair-whittling edges (in the true sense) are fleeting anyway. 1095 is relatively soft, with little/no carbides, so an edge that fine won't last very long. If the edge performs consistently well in all other tasks (paper, cardboard, wood, etc.), then I'd say your edge is in very good shape. I usually drag my edges through some hardwood (cross-grain) a couple or three times, then re-check by slicing phonebook paper. If the edge is durable (not a wire, in other words), it'll still cleanly slice the paper after the hardwood. So long as it does that well, I don't even worry about hair-whittling after that.

BTW, the relative 'softness' of 1095, and the lack of hard carbides in it, is what I believe to be much of the reason why CrO works so well with it. The compound is plently hard enough for this steel, and the small particle size (0.5 - 1 micron) isn't too limiting to still be effective, maybe even advantageous. I've used diamond compound (1 micron) on 1095 before, and it can work just fine. But, I've also noticed it's much easier to 'over-strop' with it on 1095, because it obviously can still be more aggressive, even at small particle sizes.
 
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Hi

My apologies to be kinda offtopic but anyone can tell me whats the Mohs hardness of chromium oxide ?

I just bought a 1095 rat3 and im quite amazed by the extreme sharpness it takes and its ease of sharpening, i was able to treetop hairs on my leg.
I can put an hair whittling edge on most stainless steels i stumbled upon so far but i struggle to get to treetopping on them, yet i was able to pull off that edge from my rat3 and redo it with as much ease as the first time.
The only stainless steel knife i can decently achieve treetopping is my manix2 154cm because its still at 30 degrees inclusive while all my other knives are back beveled at 30/40.
 
I agree with OWE, the diamond compounds like the diamond stones work better on high wear steels. Chromium oxide works well but I favor a slightly higher grit 1 Micron Boron carbide on carbon and low alloy stainless, seems to suit the steel better.
 
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