No, I didn't look at them under magnification. I look at the 16K and 30K, usually, but by that point when sharpening progressively, the scratches are pretty smooth and the surface is shiny.

I did that last blade using a pyramid between 8KJP and 16K white, and only looked at the final edge at 16K. There were more scratches than usual because of the pyramid, but they were consistent.

So what you're saying is that the 8K JP leaves scratches that are equivalent, if not equal or "better" than the 16K white? Meaning that those scratches I saw after the 16K were rougher than the 8K JP? Now I need to look into that..... If only Japan-tool would hurry and answer my email......