razor sharp for CHEAP

[anomad]

So 2,000 grit is rough enough to start fresh on a non-convex blade? You don't need anything else to shape the blade initially?

Svord has videos of sandpaper use to convert a peasant knife to a convex edge. I start with 800 for a dull knife and take it up to 2000. 2000 gives a nice edge for the kitchen.

http://www.svord.com/pages/catalog/PKVIDEO.htm

Overall I prefer the results of a spyderco triangle sharpmaker to sandpaper/convex method. Touching up a convex edge with sandpaper in the field has obvious benefit in terms of portability, however...

[rustycrusty]

Svord has videos of sandpaper use to convert a peasant knife to a convex edge. I start with 800 for a dull knife and take it up to 2000. 2000 gives a nice edge for the kitchen.

Agreed- Irving- do this.
180grit is... Ambitious. I used a cheap foam nail file to shape my first time- guessing its 500grit? And then went to 1k then 2 then strop (cheap leather belt).

as for the spyderco set- I can't say, it looks nice... I've only ever used 1 stone and the convex method

Convex method does afford more strength to the edge than a straight chisel edge or a angled flat grind edge (for the same reason why rounded arches in structures are strongest) but the edge is not suited to all tasks

And Irving- I will bring the bk2 up to fridpa

[Not_A_Llama]

For the convexing, I did this: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/863938

180 grit is waaaaay too aggressive for that kind of work.

Then I have sandpaper and an old foam mousepad. I set the sandpaper on the cloth side of the mousepad. 800 for restoring *destroyed* edges. 1000, then 2000 will put a very workable edge on.

Past that, a surplus leather sling with a little Flitz on it for self-gratification.

The back of a legal pad, and stropping on my own skin, past that.