Thread: high grit then paste

I used to take my razors from 9um (1200grit) all the way down to 0.5um (30000grit) using diamond lapping film on a precision granite, and then maybe paste them.

After taking a look at my edges under a quality microscope, I determined that going to grits higer than 1um(16000grit) on the hone is what thinned out the egde too much and appeared to lead to a wavy, perhaps fragie edge.

My current proceedure is to hone only until 3um (8000grit) and then I smooth it out with a pasted hanging strop (sometimes that's a 1um diamond paste, sometimes Chrome ox)

Here's an edge straight off the 1um pasted strop (you can see the vertical lines are from the 3um hone, the diagonal lines are from the 1um paste):


I have never found using pates to create an edge that was too thin, but I believe that has to do with the fact that I use hanging strops, and that alters the edge geometry slightly convexing the bevel.

I tried shaving direct off of 0.5um honed edges, but found them to be harsh for me.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Here's an edge straight off the 1um pasted strop (you can see the vertical lines are from the 3um hone, the diagonal lines are from the 1um paste)

Does this meant that you hone straight with no x-pattern and strop with almost a 45 degree x-pattern?