If you are NEW to sharpening, or having DIFFICULTY, YOU NEED TO SEE THIS THREAD

[Evil D]

I've had good luck using my cell phone camera with my 10x loupe held up to the lense. All of the macro pics I've posted here were done this way. I think my camera does something like 50x zoom on top of the loupe's 10x. I also have a 60x lighted loupe but when you go that far the viewing area gets really tiny.

[Josh Crutchley]

For those interested this is what the 14usd 1600x Ebay special microscope will at least get you. This picture is of a Maxamet PM2 before sharpening. This was slightly out focus so with practice it could get better.

[cabfrank]

Impressive. I fear going further down this rabbit hole.

[Wartstein]

For those interested this is what the 14usd 1600x Ebay special microscope will at least get you. This picture is of a Maxamet PM2 before sharpening. This was slightly out focus so with practice it could get better.

Could you share a link to this microscope?
I'd look for it in Europe then

[Wartstein]

.....

Man, I'm in!

Had no idea that those microscopes are that affordable.
Just have to find an European source for the one (or a similar one) you linked (purchasing this one would result for me in shipping costs higher than the price of the item itself plus tarriffs and taxes... )

/ And to all who might be afraid or ashamed to share their possibly imperfect or even crappy edges: I think like there is no silly question on this forum as long as it is an honest one, there is no "too bad" edge. For one getting feedback by more advanced folks is a great opportunity to improve personally. And: Pics of imperfect edges and then discussing those can be good examples for many on "how NOT to do" or "how to do better".

I found some of the same model for $20 on ebay, might be worth checking there.

Thanks, I'll do that!

[Evil D]

Impressive. I fear going further down this rabbit hole.

Nah lol. A lot of this stuff is so affordable it's almost silly to not have it as a standard part of your sharpening gear. Any time I'm sharpening something and it seems like I can't get anywhere, this is my next step. I don't use it in regular sharpening very often though.

[cabfrank]

D, the real thing though, is you guys cut a lot of stuff with your knives. I don't as much. I could easily get to where I spend more time sharpening than cutting. I have to remind myself of this. It's still fun though.

[bdblue]

Sharpening all the way to the edge is so obvious, but I missed it for so long. At some point I had to learn how to really do it and now I can get a good edge.
I have tried my process on real cheap knives and they can be very hard to get a good edge on, I think the problem is that they are too prone to a wire edge and the wire edge won't break off.

[tomhosangoutdoors]

Great thread Shawn. Seeing this kinda stuff up close is invaluable to learning how you can improve. Here's a few of my most recent...

K390 Endura after some use and stropped back to hair whittling. Original progression was 200, 600, 1000 plated diamond followed by 1200 grit Venev OCB and then 1/0.1 micron CBN on leather. Strop progression to bring the edge back was 16/4/1/0.1 micron CBN on leather. That 16 micron stuff works miracles.


REX45 Native 200, 600, 1000 plated diamond followed by 4/1/0.1 micron CBN on leather


REX121 SPK Sasquatch 240, 400, 800, 1200 Venev OCB followed by 1/0.1 micron CBN on nanocloth


CruWear Mini Adamas 240, 400, 800, 1200 Venev OCB followed by 4/1/0.1 micron CBN on leather


S90V 940 240 Venev OCB followed by 16/4/1 micron CBN on leather. This is the only freehand edge out of the bunch. I like to switch it up every now and then.

[autoxer]

Absolutely yes @autoxer. CBN or diamond rods will save you a bunch of wasted time on those really dull edges/reprofile jobs.

Thank you for the confirmation! I'll have to add some to my kit, perhaps that will motivate me to get better at this.

[JD Spydo]

Awesome effort on this thread. But guys. Burrs are the enemy. Don’t form them in the first place, you’re just weakening the steel.

I think for a long time people advocated for making heavy burrs but I also think that worked better with the more common steels from 40-50 years ago than it does with today's steels. Doing it with 420 vs ZDP is a world of difference.

There’s nothing good about the burr. People were just using it as a visual/tactile aid. But sure, it probably worked better on softer steel. Blows my mind that anyone would pay good money for nicely heat treated cutlery steel and then intentionally deform the steel at the edge. You’re just massively increasing the material you need to sharpen away to get back to good steel.

Also, burrs can be very deceptive. You think you sharpened it out but it really just straightened out. And then the first time you cut something harder than paper it rolls. Blech.

You want to learn something about sharpening, look at how we hone straight razors. There isn’t a sharper knife on the planet. Perfect control of the bevel angle and alternating sides on each stroke to prevent burr formation.

That's most interesting. And I've thought that way myself for some time now. Especially on these newer, harder blade steels that if you form an apex by working both sides simultaneously you will develop an evenly sharp apex by removing a minimal amount of stock to achieve it.

Now I do agree with the one Brother that the older steels and especially the types of steel that they used on culinary/kitchen knives the "burr" method might have been OK. Because those softer and more ductile steels are a totally different animal than the newer supersteels we are all currently spoiled with. And it's actually easy to do by simultaneously doing each side if you start out with fine to medium diamond stones to do your primary reprofiling as well as removing the dents and dings with a faster cutting stone. And then use your finer stones for your finish work.

[me2]

I have not used any of the current crop of supersteels in years so I can’t comment specifically on how they behave. I have experience with S110V, S60V (formerly CPM 440V), and whatever supersteel Hinderer knives was using 8 or 9 years ago. My experience was the standard kitchen knife steels benefitted more from not forming a burr than the super steels. The standard steels in that category would hang on to a burr like grim death. It was better to just not get one started.

[Deadboxhero]

Very nice, good edges, good steels

Great thread Shawn. Seeing this kinda stuff up close is invaluable to learning how you can improve. Here's a few of my most recent...

K390 Endura after some use and stropped back to hair whittling. Original progression was 200, 600, 1000 plated diamond followed by 1200 grit Venev OCB and then 1/0.1 micron CBN on leather. Strop progression to bring the edge back was 16/4/1/0.1 micron CBN on leather. That 16 micron stuff works miracles.


REX45 Native 200, 600, 1000 plated diamond followed by 4/1/0.1 micron CBN on leather


REX121 SPK Sasquatch 240, 400, 800, 1200 Venev OCB followed by 1/0.1 micron CBN on nanocloth


CruWear Mini Adamas 240, 400, 800, 1200 Venev OCB followed by 4/1/0.1 micron CBN on leather


S90V 940 240 Venev OCB followed by 16/4/1 micron CBN on leather. This is the only freehand edge out of the bunch. I like to switch it up every now and then.

[vivi]

got my microscope in the mail, ill try to get some photos posted once I finish formatting my laptop and re-installing linux.

[Deadboxhero]

got my microscope in the mail, ill try to get some photos posted once I finish formatting my laptop and re-installing linux.

Very exciting.

This is a much more refreshing way to share.

[vivi]

agreed.

whenever I get around to photographing my crusty 200 grit freehand edges I'll start a dedicated thread for these images.

thanks for the inspiration!

[bjz]

Thanks, so far, to all who’ve contributed to this thread, especially the OP.

I’ve been muddling my way through sharpening for ~15 years. Mostly kitchen cutlery, mostly results that were acceptable but not pretty and certainly didn’t last long.

I recently picked up some Diamond plates for my edgepro (thanks to the threads/discussions of coarse grit sharpening) and a new loupe (thanks to that ongoing thread).

Tonight I fixed up a friend’s victorinox santoku using these new tools and the notion of not even letting a burr persist (via using only edge-leading strokes and finishing a grit with light alternating strokes) and the resulting edge has the following bests for me: bevel consistency, feedback on the stones, “feel” for burr formation and subsequent removal, and final test experience (this thing practically fell through all of the vegetables I cut with it). Obviously, I have to give it back, but it’s a good friend so I’ll get to regularly check in on my results. I used a 140 grit Diamond plate, followed by 400 grit Diamond plate (both from CKTG) and finished with a 400 Edgepro standard plate. That’s it.

I’m excited to move onto my own knives! Thanks again!!!

[Josh Crutchley]

I just got a used Edge pro but I need stones. This was done using a Eze-lap fine diamond plate in the edge pro. It's 14c28n at 18dps.

[bjz]

I just got a used Edge pro but I need stones. This was done using a Eze-lap fine diamond plate in the edge pro. It's 14c28n at 18dps.

That looks great! I picked up the 140 and 400 grit Diamond plates from chefknivestogo to supplement my original aluminum oxide EP stones (400/600/1000). I also have a small blade attachment. These do me just fine, but I also don’t have any of these super hard steels…if I did, I’d probable check out the now not so new EP Diamond matrix stones. That being said, the EP shop is located down the street from me so if I ever want to try any of their stuff out, I can make a call and swing by (the EP folks are super nice to work with)

I’m getting pretty comfortable with this unit on larger/kitchen cutlery, but sometimes have trouble with smaller blades that have a lot going on. Might start an EP technique thread.

[Josh Crutchley]

That looks great! I picked up the 140 and 400 grit Diamond plates from chefknivestogo to supplement my original aluminum oxide EP stones (400/600/1000). I also have a small blade attachment. These do me just fine, but I also don’t have any of these super hard steels…if I did, I’d probable check out the now not so new EP Diamond matrix stones. That being said, the EP shop is located down the street from me so if I ever want to try any of their stuff out, I can make a call and swing by (the EP folks are super nice to work with)

I’m getting pretty comfortable with this unit on larger/kitchen cutlery, but sometimes have trouble with smaller blades that have a lot going on. Might start an EP technique thread.

Thanks

I have a set of Venev stones I would like to try with the Edge Pro but I can't seem to find them lol. There's a few different brands that make diamond stones for it so I need to decide which ones to get. I have a few "super steels" so diamond is a must for me and those Matrix stones might be a good option.