Thread: Grit issues, does any one else see a problem here

To get a better idea of what is going on, you may also want to change your honing direction between the 8k and the 16k, so that you can better see when the 8k scratches are gone. Make a crisscross pattern and stop when you can't see the 8k scratches anymore.
You will see more scratches per inch with a 16k than with an 8k because there is more grit per inch in the 16k than the 8k.
The 16k scratches should be narrower than the 8k scratches due to a smaller grit.
The 16k scratches should be shallower than the 8k scratches as well, but it is hard to judge the depth of cut in a picture.

Yeah it's hard to judge under the microscope too on the depth. Normally I don't look under my work microscope because the lighting is really hard to manage so I usually use a 45x lighted loupe. Under the loupe as I progress up the grits I always see a finer scratch patter with each grit level and almost a mirror reflection under the loupe at 8k until I get to the 16k. then the edge looks "scratchier" and less mirror like than the 8k. An so is my fear that my 16k is polishing less than the 8k. Because of this I decided to get the higher powered microscope out in hope to see what is going on.

And what's the difference between what the edges can do? I'm not one to look at pictures of scratch patterns, because that's not where the rubber meets the road. Having said that, that's probably why I can't really pull much meaningful information from pictures of scratch patterns...

The pics do not seem to be of the same area ?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

The pics do not seem to be of the same area ?

You are correct. I honed the entire edge to 16k then for half of the blade I went back in grit to the 8k so that I would have two samples of the same edge side by side to examine and compare.

Oh and before it's mentioned I examined the edge at 8k before moving to the 16k and the 8k was comparable to the above 8k. I just don't have any pics because I didn't think to snap a pic before I moved up to the 16k to see what it was doing.

I have heard of random particles breaking off stones & marring a finish. I have also heard the least likely stone that happens on is the Shapton GS.

Have you done this a number of times to prove it was not a one of ?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I have heard of random particles breaking off stones & marring a finish. I have also heard the least likely stone that happens on is the Shapton GS.

Have you done this a number of times to prove it was not a one of ?

I'm going to be going through a testing phase and see if it's something I'm doing or if it is the stone (which I doubt, but can't rule it out yet). I'm been in contact since the start of my post with the guy at shapton and he's given me a few ideas to try. One of the reasons he gave me for my observation seems far out but I have to realize that he is the expert and in not.