KME sharpener question-diamond or stone?

[Doc Nock]

Shakes....yes, call Ron. Best SOB you'll ever talk to and no BS! Guaranteed!

Snipe,

Ron swears by regular corrugated cardboard, but have at the leather strop... I got a leather strop used across my butt more'n I care to remember as a youngster... but cardboard, across the ripples has worked super for me adn is CHEAP...

Be sure to get that burr along the edge all the length and then flip and do so on the other side before smoothing it out... You'll have SHARP.

I was the founder and CEO of Can't Sharpen Shix, Int'l for years, till Ron hooked me up!

[Sharpster]

Thanks to everyone for the well informed replies and all the kind words.   ... and thanks for the heads-up on this Doc!


Diamonds (especially the very coarse ones) are superior for changing the shape of a cutting edge from rounded over dull back to V shaped and sharp. Ceramics and Arkansas stones can then refine and polish that edge, but don't ask a ceramic or Arkansas stone to do much in the way of stock removal.

Even a XXC 60 grit ceramic is not in the same league as a 140 grit diamond when it comes to stock removal. (think out of the pack Zwickies, older Grizzlies, and very dull knives). Diamond is just a far more aggressive cutting material.

That said, the 140 grit diamond hone will also produce a true hair shaving edge. It'll be coarse and toothy, similar in feel and appearance to a file sharpened edge but it will plow the hair right off your arm. This is the most critical step in sharpening anything... getting the blade very, very sharp right at the start, using only the coarsest stone you have.  ...and when in doubt, go coarser. There are lots of ways to get from sharp to broken glass sharp BUT going from dead dull to sharp requires the coarsest, most aggressive stone, file, or sometimes even belt grinder you have.

Once the blade shaves, it's now very easy to refine the edge with finer grit stones to any level of sharpness you may be looking for because each successive grit stone only needs to remove the scratches left by the previous grit. At this point you can refine the edge using either finer grit diamond hones or ceramic/Arkansas stones. Both work very well and we're really getting into the area of personal preference now.

One more "but" though... Diamonds are great for taking a blade from dead blunt to hair plowing sharp in no time BUT... there's a limit on how fine of an edge you can create using only diamond hones. Used with a very light touch, an XF-1500 grit diamond hone will produce an incredibly sharp edge... way sharper than an out of the pack utility knife blade but not nearly as refined as a 1000 grit ceramic or Arkansas can and not "polished" in any real sense of the word. This is where ceramics, black and translucent Arkansas and stropping are far more efficient than diamonds.

So, it's really not a question of which type is "better", it's more a question of what do you want the stone to do.  

Questions?

Thanks!


Ron

[NoCams]

That is so right Ron..... they are VERY sharp when they come off even a X coarse diamond, plough hair like crazy. As a matter of fact most folks have never had a knife or BH even this sharp due to not being able to hold a consistent angle. I remember being so frustrated by getting my long bladed hunting knives either almost sharp or shaving sharp only the partial length of the blade. Never again !!!

On my hunting knives or someone else's knife that I want to show how well the KME knife sharpener works I will go thru the steps of X coarse, then medium arkansas, then fine arkansas, then stropped on leather. The difference is felt when you shave your arm or leg..... with just the X coarse diamond the hair will "pop" off and you feel a little, "pull" from the edge. After going thru full polishing and stropping the hair simply falls off and no pull at all from the edge. Also you can shave even the thickest patch of hair in one smooth swipe and skin is totally hairless and slick. Just like a brand new razor is for shaving your face. And remember.... a factory razor is VERY thin and VERY small, fragile edge angle compared to a hunting knife so it has a huge advantage for just shaving hair.

By the way..... a trick to save you $$$ on razor blades. I take a 4 pack of Mach III's and get 3-4 months shaving off them and I have a very stiff, coarse beard and shave 4-5 days a week for work. Every morning I strop my blade by pushing it backwards up my forearm about 8-10 times and a few times during shaving. Your skin is leather ! Keep your blade and arm as dry as you can during stropping by patting dry on a towel.

Originally posted by Doc Nock:
I was the founder and CEO of Can't Sharpen Shix, Int'l for years, till Ron hooked me up!

Doc, why are you claiming to be the founder and CEO of MY company?                  

Bisch

[azhunter]

Doc and Bisch. I got a good laugh out of that one, but I felt the same until I got the KME.