3M Micron belts

[Mark Reich]

The most common, highest end, 3µ-ish belt is the Trizact A3.

I have always liked CBN on linen for deburring, but PDP on leather deburrs without killing tooth.

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you and i have talked PDP on and off for a few years, i have tried on leather and linen, but never fell in love with it.  could be i never ended up with the best grit ......for demurring use:  i have 16 down to 1, should i step up to maybe 80...45...30?? or CBN

Sorry Max, I meant to answer, but lost the question.

Of course, blade steel makes a big difference, amid other variables. The difference between your technique and mine could be a lot.  

I think you should use your own judgement, to be honest. My best advice would be to get a 60x mini microscope so you can see exactly what's happening on the edge. 

I can give you a little rundown on my experience, but I question my experience. I didn't realize how much difference being able to quickly examine the edge at 60x magnification could make. I was making determinations about the edge by feeling the edge with my fingers. Now I know that is a flawed game plan. In fact, it can be totally misleading.

Measuring sharpness in BESS numbers is a game changer, but it's a great advantage to be able to see WHY your getting your numbers. 

Now that we are often striving for maximum tooth, that changes the game. I don't expect a 140 grit edge to measure less than 150gf, but it can measure 150 without being clean. That makes the difference in edge longevity. 

Deburring by refinement is easier to obtain and easier to feel. CBN is better than diamond for that. I was using 30µ to 80µ CBN on linen belts and loving it. For event sharpening where you see a majority of soft stainless, I *think* that was working for me. I felt like I was getting clean edges with tooth. Maybe I was. I'm less sure now that I know feeling can be deceiving.

I've been happy with PDP on leather for quite a while. With 16µ PDP, I can manually strop on a stationary belt for a while. I think that helps embed the diamonds into the belt too, because I think 16µ is the limit of what will stay on a belt. I was also happy with the toothy edge, but you have to be careful not to create burr. 

I think 4µ is better for softer stainless, 16µ gives hard steel a very toothy edge as far as compounds go.

I feel like I need to revisit the coarse CBN paste on linen...