Good day to you, this is my first post on this forum, I hope it is okay to make this thread.
When I sharpen my knife I often tend to take them to very high polish and high edge sharpness. Also people bring me knives to sharpen pretty often. If it is quality steel, which happens very rarely, I apply high grit finish and spend some time doing that. But most often, people bring me cheap knives to sharpen, mostly low carbon content low hardness stainless steel. And here lies my question. What is the overall optimal finish for decent push cutting and slicing ability, but also optimal edge retention for these particular types of knives:
-stainless steel kitchen knife (low carbon, low hardness)
-stainless steel outdoor/general utility knife (low carbon, low hardness)
-stainless steel hunting knife (low carbon, low hardness)
as these are the types I encounter the most.
From what i have tried, fine finish on these types of knives does not last very long. For my own use, i like results from Dmt Coarse or Fine, but i think it is not worth wearing these plates on such knives, especially if i do it for free mostly. From what i noticed, people not used to using sharp knives tend to cut by slicing anyway, so I assume coarser finish would be more optimal. I have tried Dmt coarse finish on my pocket knives, and i really like it - fast and easy, very good performance. I want to use benchstone and not a ceramic/ diamond rod, as i am more consistent with stones and have to focus too much when using rod. I always start with 150/320 grit combination SiC stone, cuts fast but is a little bit friable, especially 320 grit side, i can easily make edge to shave off this stone, but do not like it for apexing very much, DMT coarse gave better aggression. However, what i liked was when i stropped the edge a little after this or coarse diamond stone (about 20 pps, low angle, absolutely clend and burr free edge when i go to strop), and it increased push cutting ability while maintaining great deal of aggression.
I do all my shaping on SiC stones, but i want something for apexing the edge exclusively, edge shaping and polishing can be done with variety of other stones I have.
I am seriously considering buying Norton Fine India stone for this purpose. I have read that it gives almost perfect finish and edge retention for that types of knives. I am not a hunter, I do not cook much, so i do not know how those types of steel behave in such situations. When i cook, i am used that my knives fall through that food, but people are not. I sharpen this type of knives far more than I use them ( i mean this particular type of knives in that particular situations, sure I use and test my blades). That is why I am asking about this, I do not have enough experience using these steels im manner these people use them. Will the Norton India give similiar overall sharpness to DMT Coarse? Is it good choice for tasks these knives are meant for? Or would you recommend some different grit for finishing? Or particular abrasive? I am aminig for something not particularly expensive as it will be used on these cheap knives mostly for free.
Thank you
Greetings from Slovakia
(by the way, in summer I plan to review some abrasives and upload it here with photos from microscope also).
