05-08-2017, 11:38 PM
I would imagine that yes; my 200X scope could see a 16 um scratch. I’ll have to try it and see, but I suspect yes. I don’t have one of your hones, but I could try it on a 1000+ grit belt and see what I could see.
So, 16 um is between 1200-1400 grit. My idea of a “toothy” edge is somewhere around 150-180 grit. From my experience at least, a knife sharpened with 1200+ grit will cut a tomato just fine while it is still very sharp, but soon it starts riding on the skin. It seems you have to get really “toothy” to avoid that.
But then again Mark, I would think that with regular use your strops would keep an edge very sharp regardless of the grit finish.
So, 16 um is between 1200-1400 grit. My idea of a “toothy” edge is somewhere around 150-180 grit. From my experience at least, a knife sharpened with 1200+ grit will cut a tomato just fine while it is still very sharp, but soon it starts riding on the skin. It seems you have to get really “toothy” to avoid that.
But then again Mark, I would think that with regular use your strops would keep an edge very sharp regardless of the grit finish.