Having issues polishing bevel on KME, please help long post

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Oct 22, 2018
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So I recently purchased a KME sharpener and I like it a lot. I have the diamond stones, stand, and some stops that I made up for it using glass blanks with basswood, balsa, and also leather. Some are on glass blanks some are on basswood blanks. The stops and their blocks they are attached to were made by me and are withing Half a millimeter in thickness of the kme stones so angle should be dead on even though they're on a new carrier. I also have a few made up that I use to put ryken 3k and 5k wet sandpaper on. Those seem to work way better tho if I just double side tape them to the back of my 1500 grit hone that I removed the sticker from.

So I guess my question is, I worked for a long time (2 hours probably) last night on my delica. I took this long because it was a full reprofile down to 15dps. I was VERY careful this time around, I made sure to not spend too much time in one place while trying to get my apex and remove sharpie. I did it a lot like how Brian from KME does, which is to say, even time per side, not spending too much time in one spot of the blade, til all sharpie is removed so as to keep my bevel consistent across the blade. This was a good idea because it worked a lot better than in the past. (I put a flat spot on my kizer dukes) and once sharpie was removed, I then formed my burr removed flipped removed and kept my lines very consistent then onto the next grit. I consistently checked with 40x loupe throughout the entire process that there was no wire edge or burr and by the 1500 diamond it was screaming sharp. Not sure if it could whittle hair cuz I didnt want to remove it from the stand and try to perfectly find its placement. It couldn't cut free floating hair though but the edge seemed to to perfect at least when viewed though my 40 x loupe.
Challenge I seem to be having is maintaining a super sharp blade once I get past the 1500 extra fine diamond. I moved onto 3k then 5k ryken paper but they were on the basswood blocks whick I made. Just used down strokes this time and used some 3 in 1 oil on them to help with polishing. I used only down strokes and since they aren't on an aluminum block that means almost zero pressure. After the 3 and 5 K it just didn't "feel" as sharp. Under mag it looked very consistent and very sharp. So I kept at it.... Tried using a basswood blank on its own, leather strop on its own and then the basswood with green compound, and even used some mothers mag polish on a basswood strop and with all of these metal was being removed as it was blackening the strops but the knife seemed to almost get duller the more I tried. I did not spend a long time stropping, maybe 15 minutes between all strops so like 40 light passes per side at most.

So after I was done it was shined up pretty good but didn't feel that sharp. It could cross slice paper towel but it needed help. So I ended up just cutting in a 20dps microbevel using my 600 and finished it on the 1500 and called it a day.

So what happens here? Is it because I just don't know what a 5,000 grit finished blade should feel like? Because I know that the 1500 almost "feels" duller to me after leaving the sharpener than the 600 does.

Could it be because I used 3 in 1 oil on the sandpaper?

Or was it all down to rolling over my edge? I'm pretty sure that's how it ended up being convex cuz it really seemed to have very little bite.

Or, is it more likely that it had to do with me not using the appropriate backer for the paper. Remember I used a basswood block, not glass or a kme blank this time.

I'm guessing it's the last one bit any advice would be appreciated.
 
So, if you're cleanly slicing paper towels, your knife is very sharp. Even if you're having to coax it through paper towels, your knife is still quite sharp, beyond what most folks strive for.

My sounding boards are: 1) If it shaves arm hair, it is sharp. 2) If it will make "S" cuts in receipt paper it is very sharp. 3) If it will push cut free hanging receipt paper it is extremely sharp.

After that you're getting into very advanced stuff. There is no easy answer. The KME can get you into precision but there is still art and experience that is needed if you want to chase extreme edges.

You have a number of variables in your set up so it is difficult for anyone to give meaningful advice. You will have to use your tools on different blades and steels and find what you need.

Me? I couldn't care less about polished edges. It intrigued me for a fleeting moment once upon a time, but I quickly got over it. I also don't concern myself with "hair whittling" edges. I enjoy watching Michael Christy find them, but that is where my interest stops. Too much trouble for too little life for my tastes. Chase what you want and if polished, hair whittling edges are that thing for you that is awesome. Just understand, lots of us don't so advice might be a little light.

Best of luck though and let us know what you learn!
 
That's excellent advice. Thank you. And yeah, I can s cut receipt paper with ease so maybe I should just stop. I guess I just want to know I can do it is why I'm going so whacky with this. And yeah it was coaxing through paper towel but it was sparkle brand which I find one of the toughest to cut due to the little embossed in it. I've never been able to truly achieve a tree topping edge although i did run the delica across the UF sharpmaker rods today and did cut one free floating hair. But I think you're right in that this isn't practical any more. I guess I feel like the polished edge kinda feels less sharp to the touch to me, maybe cuz of the lack of bite? I seem to appreciate a 600 grit finish the most. And that's debatable. I may even like 300 more. Yes it's super toothy but it just feels good to me for some reason. Maybe I should just polish the hell out of the main edge and do a quick 600 on the the 20 deg bevel and call it a day. Would still look awesome and with just a small microbevel it would hardly even be noticeable from any distance. Thanks for the input.
 
That's excellent advice. Thank you. And yeah, I can s cut receipt paper with ease so maybe I should just stop. I guess I just want to know I can do it is why I'm going so whacky with this. And yeah it was coaxing through paper towel but it was sparkle brand which I find one of the toughest to cut due to the little embossed in it. I've never been able to truly achieve a tree topping edge although i did run the delica across the UF sharpmaker rods today and did cut one free floating hair. But I think you're right in that this isn't practical any more. I guess I feel like the polished edge kinda feels less sharp to the touch to me, maybe cuz of the lack of bite? I seem to appreciate a 600 grit finish the most. And that's debatable. I may even like 300 more. Yes it's super toothy but it just feels good to me for some reason. Maybe I should just polish the hell out of the main edge and do a quick 600 on the the 20 deg bevel and call it a day. Would still look awesome and with just a small microbevel it would hardly even be noticeable from any distance. Thanks for the input.

It takes some of us years to realize that a lower grit edge is really what we prefer. If you've discovered that in weeks, you're doing very well. Again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with chasing highly refined edges so long as you understand what the journey entails and what the true end results will be.

I've said this here before but Stan Wilson, a true living legend, sharpens his kitchen knives on a 220 grit belt sander.

There's waaaaay more to sharpening than the reflection of the edge, or hair popping or whatever catch phrases. The real beauty, for me, lies in finding edges that meet my needs and exploring different mediums and steels and uses. I don't care if I can see my face in the bevel, I care about how long the edge lasts given it's usage. Should I have stopped on a lower grit? Maybe a bit more refinement on a higher stone would be better? Is that not really as sharp as I thought it was? Should I really be stropping this? And so on and so on.

Welcome to the amazing world of knife sharpening.

:)
 
I have been sharpening and carrying knives for over 40 years and recently acquired a KME.
The owner of KME told me at Blade, that he seldom sharpens above 600 grit.
I go to 1500 but see no practical reason to sharpen above that for my use.
From past experience, those highly polished edges don't last that long in everyday use even with premium steels.
But if someone just wants to see how refined an edge they can get, I guess that I could relate to that.
 
Ok, so after thinking some more and playing with the sharpmaker ultrafines, I tree topped several more hairs just now. Moved over to the knives plus strop after and..... Then not so much. So it's definitely my stropping ability, or lack thereof. Now that I've accomplished my ultimate goal of getting there I think I'll be very happy to polish up main bevels and use a 300-600 working edge. Thanks to all for the contributions. Glad to see it's not my kme cuz I seriously love this thing. But I guess stropping just isn't my thing. Guess I should be happy I can make a tree topping edge with a sharpmaker. Looks like that puts my edge around . 5 micron or 70 bess which I feel like is damn good for that tool. I know jende makes some custom cut 4x1 spyderco stones for the kme and I may grab some if I feel I need better.
 
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