Polishing Tapes

[GB]

How do I use the polishing tapes that I got with my Edge Pro Apex sharpener? Are they used just like the stones by getting a burr or are the tapes never going to raise a burr? Do I just use then as they sound, to polish?

 

[justplainbill]

Because of the difficulty of keeping a tape flat, it would SEEM tape would have to be used like a strop; dragging or pulling instead of pushing against the abrasive surface.

 

[GB]

The tapes go on metal blanks just like the stones so keeping them flat is not an issue. I am just wondering if I use them to raise a burr or if i used them just to polish visually.

 

[Rob Babcock]

In a sense a tape is no different than a stone; yeah, you sort of strop/polish with it but it's important to keep in mind that the only real difference between any of the media is the grit. The idea is to buff all the scratches out and reduce the size of the burr to a microscopic level. You don't really want to raise a new burr with the tape- you'd just need something even finer to remove it.

Most people use the tape with very light strokes, and just one direction. You can use a clean, dry finer stone to hold the tape, too. This will require less adjusting than using the tape blank.

 

[GB]

Thanks Rob!

 

[buzzard767]

The tapes go on metal blanks just like the stones so keeping them flat is not an issue. I am just wondering if I use them to raise a burr or if i used them just to polish visually.

A burr is in fact formed, but it is so small you cannot feel it. It can be removed by very lightly running the edge across wood, rubber, or a hard felt pad as can be obtained from japaneseknifesharpening.

Ben Dale at EdgePro, recognizing that there is a group of insane addicts like myself also produces blanks, not metal, but glass for an ultra smooth surface. A tape such as 3M NexCare can be applied and be charged with chromium oxide or .25 micron diamond spray for a very high degree of polish.

 

[GB]

Thanks Buzz. I wrote to ben as well and what he told me was that the tapes actually remove any burr. Here is what he said...

They just polish. They will remove any remaining burr from the edge. The edge will be much sharper then the 800 edge but it does not have any micro serrations so it does not work well on a kitchen knife. For cutting hard material like wood or plastic it works better than the 800 edge.

Based on that, I probably will not be using them much as the majority of knives I will be sharpening are kitchen knives.