ejames13
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2015
- Messages
- 781
With 3 micron diamond on a leather strop at the same angle used for the stones on my guided sharpener I can see rounding after 5 passes. After 15-20 passes I noticed I had to change the angle of the knife on my arm to get it to shave, it had to be steeper, and I also noticed the bevel was shrinking indicating the apex was being ground off. This was at an angle of 16 or 21 degrees, it has been close to a year since I tested this out and can't remember. 1 micron diamond isn't so aggressive and .1 micron diamond is useless IMO. I also read the part about a diamond loaded strop not removing the foil burr, hell mine removed the apex so I know the foil burr was getting removed. I strop with no pressure using the smooth side of veg tanned cow hide. IMO you rarely want diamond on your strop, it's just too aggressive.
Lately I have been finishing with either 400 grit EP stock stone or 500 grit Shapton Glass and then 3 passes per side on rough side up cowhide strop loaded with 3 micron diamond. The edge coming off the stone can shave and push cut newsprint with the grain (more cleanly with the EP400 stone than the SG500), but after the stropping there is noticeable improvement. Yes, it loses some slicing aggression, but still has some bite and generally seems to cut smoother. Any idea how this can be the case if the apex is being rounded? I wish I had a microscope to see for myself.
When you finish on the veg tanned cowhide, is that bare leather with no compound?