Sharpening Stainless (vs. Carbon)?

[Emieloss]

Oh man, I hate sharpening SG2. Sometimes I think it's sharp, but then there's just an invisible foil or wire edge and as soon as I start using it, that foil edge begins to microchip away, giving me very very slight hicups in my knife cutting performance, which really sucks.

Usually sharpen naniwa pro 400 / 1k / 3k / Belgian blue. Followed by a bare leather strop.

I just put some 0.5 micron diamond paste on my leather strop. Maybe that will help. Will also try a little more edge leading strokes on my finishing stone.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Oh man, I hate sharpening SG2. Sometimes I think it's sharp, but then there's just an invisible foil or wire edge and as soon as I start using it, that foil edge begins to microchip away, giving me very very slight hicups in my knife cutting performance, which really sucks.

Usually sharpen naniwa pro 400 / 1k / 3k / Belgian blue. Followed by a bare leather strop.

I just put some 0.5 micron diamond paste on my leather strop. Maybe that will help. Will also try a little more edge leading strokes.

What brand of diamond paste are you using?
I’m not loving my spray bottle as it leaks everywhere and was looking for something a bit more viscous.

 

[Emieloss]

What brand of diamond paste are you using?
I’m not loving my spray bottle as it leaks everywhere and was looking for something a bit more viscous.

Shuangxin 0.5 micron diamond paste on oil basis. Not a big fan of it, should shop for something different. It gets sticky and is hard to clean of the blades edge after usage.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Oh right. Thanks for the info.
I’ll have to look around at alternatives.

 

[Benuser]

Oh man, I hate sharpening SG2. Sometimes I think it's sharp, but then there's just an invisible foil or wire edge and as soon as I start using it, that foil edge begins to microchip away, giving me very very slight hicups in my knife cutting performance, which really sucks.

Usually sharpen naniwa pro 400 / 1k / 3k / Belgian blue. Followed by a bare leather strop.

I just put some 0.5 micron diamond paste on my leather strop. Maybe that will help. Will also try a little more edge leading strokes on my finishing stone.

Deburring SG2 isn't easy. A few suggestions. Deburr with every stone in the progression. Deburring with the first stone will take a lot of time. Skip any edge trailing when deburring. It does for sure abrade the burr but raises a new one as well. The art is in limiting the contact so that only the burr gets abraded. More, longer contact with more pressure raises a new one. Decrease pressure. The last edge leading strokes should be feather light.
As said, deburring with the first stone takes a lot of time. Go only to the next stone when the burr — with the lightest edge leading strokes — only flips without getting any smaller. Do so with all following stones. After the 3k nothing should be left — and certainly not after the Belgian Blue. Have a light touch with these fine stones.

 

[Benuser]

Deburring SG2 isn't easy. A few suggestions. Deburr with every stone in the progression. Deburring with the first stone will take a lot of time. Skip any edge trailing when deburring. It does for sure abrade the burr but raises a new one as well. The art is in limiting the contact so that only the burr gets abraded. More, longer contact with more pressure raises a new one. Decrease pressure. The last edge leading strokes should be feather light.
As said, deburring with the first stone takes a lot of time. Go only to the next stone when the burr — with the lightest edge leading strokes — only flips without getting any smaller. Do so with all following stones. After the 3k nothing should be left — and certainly not after the Belgian Blue. Have a light touch with these fine stones.

P.S. A foil or wire edge is an accumulation of debris on top of the old edge. It supposes the very edge hasn't yet been reached. Very common when continually flipping sides or the use of a jig system. Better first sharpen one side with a given stone and make sure to have a clean bevel, up to the very edge before going to the other side. I mean by a clean bevel: no black line on top from the abraded steel. Check with a (red permanent) marker and magnifier instead of relying on the burr only. A burr may appear long before the very edge got reached.
A last remark. The work with the first stone is crucial. What goes wrong cannot be restored with finer stones. With a new knife, or when thinning took place, or different angles applied, or you have used a lot of pressure, don't expect at once a stable edge — especially not with this kind of steel. We often go to early to the next stone. Better put it away, and have a look at it the next day to end and deburr with the same first stone. It will go much easier. Better for you, and better for the edge.

 

[Benuser]

P.P.S. Don't take the angles too low. It's no Shirogami. You will find reports of very low angles with SG-2, but the edge will be unnecessary unstable. You may keep the area behind the edge as thin as you may like, apply convex or straight bevels, but please: don't go below 30° inclusive.

 

[Emieloss]

P.P.S. Don't take the angles too low. It's no Shirogami. You will find reports of very low angles with SG-2, but the edge will be unnecessary unstable. You may keep the area behind the edge as thin as you may like, apply convex or straight bevels, but please: don't go below 30° inclusive.

I never measured my sharpening angle, but it might be somewhere between 12 to 15 degrees. Could try and up it a bit.