Sharpest. Graver. I. Have. Ever. Had.

[mitch]

in the recent thread on using ceramic laps, etc., Dave London mentioned using 3M Micro-Finishing paper from Rio Grande. As far as i can find, the finest grade of that stuff is 1200 grit (or at least what i could find at Rio). However, it reminded me that awhile back i bought a four grit pack of 3M Diamond Lapping Film- diamond coated polyester film with PSA backing in 15μ, 3μ, 0.5μ, & 0.1μ grits: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=68943&cat=1,43072

the sheets are 3" x 6", so i snipped off 3" x 1" strips of each and stuck them to 2" x 4" pieces of very, very clean glass. basically, i made myself a little set of 'stones'. since my graver was already pretty sharp (or so i thought), i started with the 3μ and worked thru the next 2 finer grits. using a dab of "Engraver's Universal Lube" and going thru all 3 grits with each face of the graver to avoid changing the setting on my sharpening fixture (yeah, it's a tedious process), the results are nothing short of miraculous.

under 40x magnification, the point looks like something out of an electron micrograph showing theoretically perfectly polished facets with the tip just sort of disappearing at an infinitely fine point where they converge. for $22.50, plus postage, they're well worth it in my book...

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Mitch, it could be I look over it, but as far as I can read on your tread, you are not telling what graver material you polished, and I'm sure that does matter.

arnaud

 

[mitch]

hi Arnaud-

it's some sort of modern carbide steel hybrid- i can't remember where i got it. i was making a bulino point- plain old 90° square with 3° heel bevels & 55° face, which makes for a fairly fine point and can be difficult to sharpen perfectly. i'm very impressed with these diamond films- the point is freakishly sharp, so much so that i had to use an even lighter touch engraving because it would make a dot in gold before i could even feel the tool contact metal. it makes dots that are black as coal.

 

[airamp]

thanks Mitch,

These films are used quite a bit in faceting and on faceting machines. I do have a few and will give it a try. I just never tried them but they do sound interesting.

AirAmp

 

[Dave London]

Mitch
I guess they do not carry the stuff I have anymore, did not find it in the new catalog. Thanks for the info on the diamond paper

 

[monk]

that fine grit stuff may be available at www.micro-mark.com or perhaps at gesswein-- hey mitch-- do you perform sharpening services for the rest of us ??

 

[Sam]

Mitch: Have you used a cast iron lap treated with diamond spray? Just curious as to how this compares.

 

[mitch]

Mitch: Have you used a cast iron lap treated with diamond spray? Just curious as to how this compares.

no, i haven't, nor have i ever tried a ceramic wheel either. historically, i've been pretty low-tech with my sharpening tools & techniques (and i'll admit, a little lazy & cheap). for 95% of my sharpening i never use more than the standard (fairly worn) 600 grit wheel on my power hone- no further polish, nuthin'. and that same 95% is pretty much all done on 90° squares w/ 15° heels & 45°-50°-55°-60° faces (depending on what i'm cutting). any polishing was done on a fine ruby stone- which will do a good job, but is very slow. these diamond films are both ultra-fine AND surprisingly aggressive. a few swings across them and that's it.

my antiquated thinking was "rough gravers make darker lines" (due to less light reflection). since i don't do bright cut styles and- as stated above, i'm basically lazy by nature- this simple routine has served the purpose.

however, all the time i've been spending doing 3D bulino leafwork has brought me to the realization that if i want a really, really sharp fine point, then the facets must be well-polished. i resisted the idea thinking that a shiny tool will make a shiny dot, but that turns out to be not the case. a perfectly sharp micro-fine point makes a deep little dot that light falls into like a black hole, ne'er to return.

also, all this talk about various sharpening angles, face widths- 90° vs. 105° vs. 116° vs. 120°, etc., has gotten me thinking about expanding my graver grinding universe. stay tuned for a big thread about that- with pitchers and everthang!

 

[Sam]

Are your 3M papers similar to these? http://www.igraver.com/polishing.shtml

The only gravers I use a mirror polish on are for brightcutting precious metals. Aside from that, a ceramic finish is adequate for most of what I do. Yes, darker lines in bulino are achieved with polished gravers. Who would have thunk?

I hope you can try a cast iron lap. Not only does it polish carbide to a bloody mirror, it maintains super flat surfaces on faces and heels. Oh, and it sharpens as well. When I first used the cast iron lap I was surprised at how much metal it removed. I don't have to sharpen heels on another lap first. It does everything. Of course my heels are really small so if you're sharpening a large heel then shaping it first on another lap is advisable.

 

[mitch]

Sam-
i'd guess it's more or less the same as those discs. 3M makes a myriad of variations of that stuff:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Abrasives/Home/Products/DiamondLappingFilm/

Chris DeCamillis told me about using cast iron laps (apparently he introduced GRS to the concept). my understanding of them -and laps in general- is that you pretty much have to dedicate one lap to one grit size as the abrasive particle embed themselves in the softer metal lap* Without regrinding/machining the lap down to a fresh surface, you're stuck with whatever grit is stuck in it. What grit(s) do you use on yours?

until this recent discovery, which turns out to be so cheap, easy, & effective, i was seriously contemplating getting either a ceramic or iron lap wheel. now i'm just mulling over maybe something like a 4"dia. 1200/1800/3000? grit diamond disk from Lapcraft to speed up the process from my 600 grit disk to the lapping films.

*for those new to the idea, that's how soft laps such as iron, brass, & lead cut harder materials like barrel & tool steels or carbide- the abrasive particles stick into the soft metal and abrade the hard metal.

 

[jr hoot gibson]

First let me state that I haveno financial interest in Lee Valley& Veritas tools. My just arrived April 2012 catalog flier has this PSA backed diamond lapping film cataloged as 54K96.30, set of 4 sheets for $22.50. 1-800-871-8158. I have used their .5 micron sharpening film with good results. It however is not diamond. Their standard catalog offers several items found no where else, if nothing else it is good entertainment.

Hoot

 

[mitch]

that fine grit stuff may be available at www.micro-mark.com or perhaps at gesswein-- hey mitch-- do you perform sharpening services for the rest of us ??

i couldn't find anything quite like it on their website, but thanks for reminding me about Micro-Mark- there's always something i need on there! and H3!! NO i don't provide sharpening services! haven't you been paying attention to how lazy i am? i don't even like doing my own! :beatup:

 

[Sam]

I'd never heard of using cast iron before Chris brought it to everyone's attention. I use mine with the 50,000 mesh diamond spray GRS sells and no other grits. My only complaint with the 3M discs is wear, but the ones I have polish fabulously well.

 

[jr hoot gibson]

Go to Lee Valley Tools, click on USA catalog, on woodworking tools go to Whats New...you will find a set of cast iron lap plates and diamond paste, also the PSA lapping film. I just checked between posts.

Hoot

 

[Red Green]

Guys,

Mrthe told me about his CD polishing system it works and is cheap to use :banana:, why not give it a try? I use the Lindsay system and after using the 2000 diamond stone I use a CD with 14,000 paste then a CD with 50,000, it only takes a minute or two for both face and heels and I’m hand polishing.

Bob