Toothy verses Polished 3 Max's take

[grepper]

restaurants cut so many different things it is hard to sharpen all so they cut this and that......the WE makes a great restauranet edge after the 1200 grit paddles followed by ceramics........but slow, but they cut tomatoes.........restaurants LIKE KNIVES THAT CUT TOMATOES.  with my belt sanders i use to go up to 1200 grit trizacts and polish.......cut great.....celery, carrots...etc.....TOMATOES.....GO LUCK

the big commercial guys knives appear to be sharpened on a stone.....real toothy and they cut tomatoes  much nicer than the polished jobs i did.....they would call me up the next day and say....hey these knives will not cut our tomatoes.......i called some of the guys above and now at 73 years old my knives will cut tomatoes .......still using kallys...1 x 42"........80grit to 220/240   a few around 600, but 95% of the restaurant knives i stop at trizact A65..........i finish on leather........felt......compounds............i really have fallen in love with 3m non-woven belts......scotbrites.......maroon is med.......blue is fine and  gray are super fine.........they love serrated blades, mowers, axes, yard stuff.
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"i am new to knife sharpening compared to most here "

Umm...  I consider you an experienced sharpener!  4 years of farmers markets, local gun shows, whole foods, williams-sonoma, garden tools, scissors with multiple grinders?  I would say that you are fully qualified, with a lot of experience.  I value that level of experience, think you have a lot to contribute, and look FW to your posts and knowledge you can share.

I have been thinking along the same lines, so I am curious about what you are saying.

A blade sharpened to 600 grit will cut tomatoes easily, but not for long.  Soon the blade starts riding on the skin.  So I have been experimenting with lower and lower grit levels.  Especially when sharpening for other people to use in the kitchen.  I find it most interesting that your customers are most happy with blades finished on Trizact A65, which is basically 220 grit.

You are now the second person here to speak of using surface conditioning belts, i.e., Scotch-Brites.  Are you using these for sharpening or just burr removal?  Are you sharpening with regular belts and then finishing with conditioning belts to create the final toothy edge?

Could you please elaborate more on exactly what you are doing?