Nice shots, Clay.

Like Mark, I'd say the micro fine fine, for the same reasons. Though, honestly I'd love to see something new, rather than duplicate my MFF. Does Atoma, or anyone else make a yet finer diamond? Or perhaps some new ceramic?

I have a set of glass for PSAs and frankly, they are more of a pain than they are worth for normal every day use, I'm sorry to say.

Ken

Nice Tom!

jendeindustries wrote:


Tom, if you can, after a coarser "texture" rub the 10Ks together wet for a few strokes. I'd love to compare the two shots.

Ken

jendeindustries wrote:


From what I've read, this happens in finishing, not so much later in use. I wasn't sure which way you intended that to read, so just trying to clarify (in my own mind ) I doubt you'll see much change in the surface presented, over time and usage, as the ceramic is much harder than the steel

It isn't like it's manufactured as

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It's more like

_/\_/\_/\_/\_

Or in this SEM

_/\___/\__/\________/\_


And it doesn't "release" "grit" like a Chosera does.

How much effect the size of these "plateaus" makes I don't know but I'd guess 'not much' except to make the ceramic less aggressive.

Ken

Very cool, Clay. I like this a lot!

Ken

PhilipPasteur wrote:


This all started with texturing Choseras and I find they wear off texture pretty quickly down to the base grit. If you switch the discussion to ceramics it's a different ball game. Yeah, they wear, but much more slowly. I can more easily see texturing being a factor there.

Ken

mark76 wrote:


They truely do, Mark. I love those bells!

Congrats on everything getting back up and running!

Ken

You're off to a great start.

But beware, you're right at the mouth of the rabbit hole Enter and there is no coming back

Ken

Great point Phil!

Ken

ChristopherChaplow wrote:


Remember ceramics are hard. Their grits are fixed into this surface. Strops are soft. The grits bury into them, exposing only a very slight bit. So you can have a large grit in a soft strop but only exposed 3% it will yield much finer results than the grit would indicate.

Ken

Congrats & welcome!

You'll be fine.

General recommendation is to drop back a grit moving to the Choseras eg 600 diamond->400 Chosera-> as the diamonds cut deeper scratches.

But it all depends on what you want... Many here are OCD about getting the most polished bevel they can. When you think Chosera think "polish" so going back a level helps to remove those deeper diamond scratches.

But you can still get nice and sharp without that level of polish.

As to the ceramics, I very much prefer the micro fine and would have picked those over the 1200/1600.

I tend to go diamond 100...->1000->micro fine-> 2000 Chosera->and up if I'm polishing an edge that fine.

Ken

Planting clover with grass is old school. Home lawn seed used to come this way until maybe 40 years ago when the Sotts era was born.

I don't need to plant any. We have plenty of clover already

Ken

mark76 wrote:


No worries, Mark. I know who the "Alpha Ken" is around here I'm just one of the pack

the other Ken

Mikedoh wrote:


HaHa, great imagery!

Actually the goal wasn't as much for the initial cut. It already did fine with that. I use it in "mulch" setting and sometime it would leave clumps of grass behind. I was hoping to rectify that. But honestly, the new factory blade on it doesn't. I was just over thinking the whole thing.

In the end, successful or not, I won't be repeating this exercise.

quote="Mikedoh" post=11557My lawn grade is much too rough to appreciate a superbly sharpened blade. I periodically terraform with the mower blades despite my best efforts not to.[/quote]

Nice! I've had yards like that. Ours isn't perfect, but it's pretty smooth. Smooth enough that the 1" deep depression and 1" tall mound (each about 3' in diameter) I left from less than perfect plant relocations are very noticeable.

About 10 years ago I decided to take the yard organic. No more Scott's weed & feed etc. That stuff turns your grass into the plant equivalent of a 'crack addict' and isn't so great for humans or dogs either. No real evidence, but I kinda suspect it caused mast cell cancer in the paw of one of our dogs before I switched.

So I mulch in the grass and, in the fall, the leaves and let the bacteria and fungus microbes feed it for me. I'll pull dandelions and anything really annoying or invasive but I've finally kind of come to terms with 'my yard is never going to look like Augusta National Golf Course'

Still, every Spring I spend 4 days druling over that place on TV. Wow.... Just gorgeous! <sigh>

Ken

Thanks for the update, Clay. My friend is really chaffing at the bit for this baby.

Ken

Mikedoh wrote:


No. It's all done, just waiting on my next blade change. Probably this fall.

Ken

Thoughts when this will ship?

Thanks,

Ken

No mathematical support but I think you've got it spot on.

Ken

Great tip, Curtis. I've had to do that exact thing many times. (refer back to the picture I posted of my Spyderco Balance)

Ken

PhilipPasteur wrote:


I struggled with the wording on that and still blew it. More coffee was needed. The edited version, "If the plates I lap on are rougher than the stone, the stones will be smoothed out when they are rubbed together. If the plates I lap on are smoother that the stones, it will rough them up when they are rubbed together



PhilipPasteur wrote:


I'll trust you on that. I haven't tried lapping with the coarsest plates but the ones I have used didn't (that I could discern) leave any residual texturing.

Ken

I agree with you, Phil, with one additional thought. Before using water stones, I wet them and rub them together. This would pretty much eliminate any differences left from lapping at different grits (within reason ) If the plates I lap on are rougher than the stone, the stones will be smoothed out. If the plates I lap on are smoother that the stones, it will rough them up.

Using texturing on a ceramic (as per Sal) is if different than the end result on water stones due to the wear..

Ken