The coarstest belt for sharpening

[SHARPCO]

The first belt I use when sharpening is blaze(plus) 80 grit. Sometimes I use blaze 60 grit. 

It's because, when I have to repair wide bevel(e.g. japanese sushi knife, meat slicer blade, zero convex edge, scandi edge), it takes very long time. I always use slack belt and the direction is edge trailing.

Then I switch it to 120 grit before it makes burr. Do you think is 60~80 grit is too coarse for sharpening?

What is your the coarstest belt for sharpening?

[grepper]

I'm curious. What did you think of the 120 grit edge? Did you like it? How did the burr removal go? Did you get the kind of tooth and edge finish you wanted? Do you think it is too coarse? It would be cool if you posted microscope images so we could see your results.

Since it's your blade I think how you like it is far more important than my opinion, but for what it's worth, I like 150 grit for most edges. That seems to provide a nice toothy edge which can even stand up to a bit of tooth loss during deburring.

I've tried even down to 40 grit just for grins, but much less than 150 is a bit gnarly even for me.

[SHARPCO]

grepper,

If I decide to make toothy edge with belt, I'll use blaze 120 grit for final stage.

I'll upload the image soon

[grepper]

My apologies Mr. Sharpco.  I read your question too quickly.  You asked, "Do you think is 60~80 grit is too coarse for sharpening?" and I replied about 120 grit which you said you finish with.  

I don't know exactly what you mean by "for sharpening".   If you have a bunch of metal to remove 60-80 grit will speed the process.  Just keep in mind, and I'm sure that you have found out that it will produce significantly deep scratches.  If you then wish a polished bevel it will be more work and steps to remove them, but it will remove metal quickly.  

"If I decide to make toothy edge with belt, I'll use blaze 120 grit for final stage. I'll upload the image soon."

Cool!  I for one will be interested in seeing your images and hearing what you think of the edge.

[Mark Reich]

The thing that makes the biggest difference to me regarding belt selection is the price and size of the blade I'm sharpening. Few things turn my stomach like realizing I overground a blade. It can happen in two seconds on a Kally with an 80 grit belt. A new 80 grit belt will also leave deep scratches Above the edge bevel, which looks horrible.

A worn 80 grit still makes quick work of a broken tip or whatever, but I'd rather use a new 120 grit. I go through 220 grit belts far more than 80 and 120 put together. 120 grit burrs are really big and difficult to remove. I can do it cleanly on a stone, but it's frustrating on a belt. Especially when I'm trying to preserve as much blade as possible.

Inexpensive kitchen knives are a different story altogether...

[SHARPCO]

My apologies Mr. Sharpco.  I read your question too quickly.  You asked, "Do you think is 60~80 grit is too coarse for sharpening?" and I replied about 120 grit which you said you finish with.  

I don't know exactly what you mean by "for sharpening".   If you have a bunch of metal to remove 60-80 grit will speed the process.  Just keep in mind, and I'm sure that you have found out that it will produce significantly deep scratches.  If you then wish a polished bevel it will be more work and steps to remove them, but it will remove metal quickly.  

"If I decide to make toothy edge with belt, I'll use blaze 120 grit for final stage. I'll upload the image soon."

Cool!  I for one will be interested in seeing your images and hearing what you think of the edge.

grepper, 

Sorry, that's my mistake. I felt that my words were not clear and corrected them after your reply was uploaded. 

As you say, too rough belts make deep scratches. But I worry about another problem.

The 60 grit Blaze makes louder noise than 120 grit Blaze. I thought that the noise was proportional to the impact on the edge.

[SHARPCO]

Mark,

I feel 60 grit is too rough but 80 grit is not bad when repairing.

My work horse is 120 grit Blaze. It's good at first stage of sharpening. But as you said, the burr it makes is really difficult to remove. So I hesitate to make toothy edge with it.