Thread: Sharpening Stainless Steel

So last night and today I've been working on sharpening my Hess 44 stainless. It's the first SS blade I've sharpened.

It had some microchipping in it, so I decided to start from scratch; work out the microchips with some light breadknifing, set the bevel, sharpen, refine, etc.

I used a DMT 8E for the breadknifiing and bevel setting. This part took a very long time. After all the visible microchips were removed, I'd set the bevel, then looked at the edge again. I kept getting new microchips after setting the bevel with the 8E. Apparently, the 8E is just a bit harsh for such a brittle blade? I was finally able to get an acceptable (but not perfect) bevel using the very lightest touch I could. And then I had to stop before the blade was really as sharp as I would like to see coming off of the 8E.

I then went to the 8EE. Again, I had to use the very lightest strokes I could. This took *forever*, and countless number of strokes. I had to start over again several times after getting an unacceptable amount of micro chips in the edge. I was about ready to lose my cool at this stage, it was taking so long, and the chips kept coming back. I finally got an edge with just a few microchips that was acceptably sharp.

I then put some 1 micron 3M film on a marble slab. It took 200 laps to remove the marks from the 8EE. This was followed up by 50 laps on .25 diamond paste, and 200 leather.

The blade looks very good (but not perfect) under the microscope. There are no visible scratch marks, but there are a few microchips.

I'm gonna go shave with it right now...

Is it normal for stainless steel to be so brittle and difficult to sharpen??

If it doesn't pass the shave test, I'm going to start over again, only this time using 3m films for the entire process. The DMT's just seem too harsh.

hey so did those DMT's ever workout for you on the Carbon Steel blades? i have had troubles lately with a SS blade (i posted about it) and the microchipping could be the problem i am having also as the most magnification i have is 10x. the thing seems nice and pops hairs like it should but doesn't shave worth a crap, lots of irritation and really doesn't cut well. i went back to the 8k norton and then the 12k chinese with slurry and then without last night but haven't shaved with it yet. i am going to after work thoug so we'll see. i am very interested to hear how your shave goes, good luck.

BTW, i'm sure you have come across this in readings here but a couple post i have read talk about breaking the DMTs in, i think one guy used an old wood chisel on its edge. i haven't looked into it as i don't have them, and again i'm sure you have read it but thought it worth mentioning. good luck

It really depends on what Stainless steel alloy its made from. I just honed a Fridour 8/8 Squarepoint- it literally took me about 6 hours of work to get it where I really wanted it. I also have a H.Wacker INOX that isn't as hard but micro-chips very easily. I found that once the chips appear I take it all the way back to the coarse hones and reset the bevel. (1K or 2K Shapton glass hone) then I found the Wacker responded very well to Natural stones with VERY light pressure. After setting the bevel I used a coticule with slurry,coticule with water and then a blue/green escher. No chips. I found that .50dp on a balsa strop followed by CrOx gave a very smooth shave.

So to answer your question, it is not uncommon for certain stainless steels to be difficult to hone-or at least that has been the case in my experience.

Advise to how your shave goes. I've never had luck with .25 micron diamond paste, it has proven to give me harsh feeling edges-even if I finish with CrOx. Today, I shaved with the Wacker INOX-prior to the shave I gave it 10 laps on my newly acquired 30K Shapton glass hone followed by 10 laps of CrOx on a balsa paddle. The edge was very keen, +HHT and gave a very smooth shave and was MUCH keener than off the diamond paste--For a while though, untill I figured out what that particular Stainless Steel blade required to prevent it from chipping, it had never really been a stellar performer.

I have found the Wackers sometimes (60%) to be rather finicky on the hones.....when you get them dialed in right, they sure do slice nice though...

The Hess 44 however should be very straight forward, and very, very, smooth when done correctly, in fact it is the smoothest SS edge that I have ever felt...

Chee, it's been a love/hate relationship with the DMT's. I did break them in as was suggested, and it seems to have helped some, but I'm still having problems with them microchipping the SS blade. The DMT's aren't microchippiing the regular steel, though. I do like how quick they are to cut, they just need *alot* of refining on the higher grits afterward, though.

I'd rate the shave with the Hess SS at a B-. It's just not quite to where I know it can be.

Lt., thanks for the very helpful information! I just wish I had that kind of hone selection to chose from. Unfortunately, right now my only choices are the DMT's and 3m films. It's good to hear that the SS blades can be tricky to hone.

When I get a chance (I have about six blades I gotta get done first), I'm going to revisit the Hess with the 3m films. Hopefully they won't microchip the edge like the DMT's.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I have found the Wackers to sometimes (60%) to be rather finicky on the hones.....when you get them dialed in right, they sure do slice nice though...

The Hess 44 however should be very straight forward, and very, very, smooth when done correctly, in fact it is the smoothest SS edge that I have ever felt...

I gotta get it to that point... I just don't think the DMT's are gonna allow that, though. Micro-chipping buggers that they are.

I had some pretty good luck with the 3m films before I switched over to the DMT's... hmm.. maybe those six other blades can wait for a while...

Did you break in that DMT before taking a straight razor to it? That's a really important step. I use the flat back of an old wood chisel to do my breaking in. The steel will take down any high diamonds that could cause a chip when rammed into with the .001" edge of a razor. If you're going to use vertical draw strokes to get the blade to the back of the chips, I'd rather see you using a Shapton 1000 or something like that. The DMTs can cause microchipping with certain steels and certain razors.

Originally Posted by Howard

Did you break in that DMT before taking a straight razor to it? That's a really important step. I use the flat back of an old wood chisel to do my breaking in. The steel will take down any high diamonds that could cause a chip when rammed into with the .001" edge of a razor. If you're going to use vertical draw strokes to get the blade to the back of the chips, I'd rather see you using a Shapton 1000 or something like that. The DMTs can cause microchipping with certain steels and certain razors.

Yeah, I broke in both of the DMT's with the handle of an old, large Craftsman screwdriver.

And honestly, I'd rather see me using a Shapton 1000, too.

I'm starting to understand how people spend *alot* of money on hones. Right now I'm really thinking about getting a DMT 8C for lapping, then the following Shaptons: 1k, 4k, 8k, 16k

Maybe the hones still need some more breaking in.? Really, hit up the hones with the screwdriver until the scratch pattern on the screwdriver smooths out. Don't just say "I'll give it 20-30 laps, or what have you. Keep breaking it in until you see evidence of change in the scratch pattern.

Otherwise, why not just go with the films? That pretty much all I use for all my honing. 9um, 6um, 3um. I've used 1, 0.5, 0.1 in the past, but wasn't too impressed with those results. Actually, the 1um is still pretty nice, but below that I didn' think the edge held up at all.

I have seen little to no difference in honing my stainless blades versus my carbon. Perhaps that's because I use diamond lapping film, and it cuts through pretty much anything. I had no issues sharpening up a Tosuke, which are well known to be difficult to hone due to the high carbon edge.

Micro chipping while setting bevels on my D8E was what prompted me to get my Shapton pro 1&2K stones. End of the problem. I still use the D8E for some jobs. Depends on the razor.

Here is a quote from one of Joe Chandler's old posts,"I won't be getting rid of my Tam O' Shanters or Dalmores, coticule or Eschers...some razors respond better to the slower, softer cutting actions of these stones, and they remain a valuable part of my arsenal of honing stuff. Wackers, for instance, because they're so hard and "chippy" seem to love the TOS's. It cuts and hones without microchipping, which I had a lot of problems with on other, more aggressive hones".