matthewfrey wrote:


I think, either way, you won't be dissappointed. Some knives seem to benefit more from stropping on leather, so for an initial purchase, this could be a good route to go, that way you'd have this option available to you. OTOH, I really like the edge I'm getting from the Microfine stones, and you don't have to mess with diamond paste, figuring out stropping, etc. So, Ken's also right, you could go this route and then decide what to add from there. There's no wrong answer here. Maybe one thing to consider... if you do a lot of stropping on a bevel trying to polish it out... you probably won't get an edge that slices well.

Either route, (600 and MicroFines or 800/1000 and 5/3.5 strops) you'll probably not reach a polished edge (in a reasonable amount of time anyway), but you'll have a wicked edge! haha

cbwx34 wrote:


That's an excellent point. Stropping on the WEPS is a bit of a different kill set and takes some practice to learn. You can't go into the blade. Not even a little or you'll damage the strops. (note - this is not different from hand stropping but it seems easier to misjudge what you're doing. WEPS stropping takes a lot of focus initially)

Pasting is another skill yet.

The ceramics will play into the skills you're learning on the diamond plates. The strops, much less so.

Ken

Ken and CBW are correct in that it can be a successful progression depending on your goals. If you're looking for a mirror finish, you're best off adding in the 800/1000 diamonds and/or the (soon to be in stock again) Superfine ceramics before using the Micro-Fine stones. The bit about changing the progression order is also correct - if you don't lap the 1.4um stones, then they work best after the 600# diamonds, then the 1200#>1600#>.6um ceramics. For my recent elk hunting trip, I prepped my knife on the Field & Sport model and used only the stock diamond stones: 100#>200#>400#>600#> and then went to the Micro-Fine ceramics and the edge was fantastic for the job; not a mirror but extremely aggressive and very durable.