i have probably sharpened enough knives over the years to fill a pickup truck bed and then some. i got into sharpening knives back in 1973 when i was 13.

i have put both high polished and coarse edges on knives and i have found out through feedback that the coarse edge is all you need and can cut just as good if not better than a high polished edge.

i put a super fine edge on a knife for a buddy (with a new stone another buddy gave me) that looked like a mirror. he cut a lot of cardboard and plastic straps where he worked at. a few days later he brought the knife back to me and asked wtf kind of edge i put on it. he said the edge crapped out soon after cutting some cardboard like he does every day. he said the edge i put on before lasted for over a month. i resharpened his knife like i did before. he said that edge held up great.

here is a good example. i sharpened a regulator for mrcweiler and the grit used was 120. it was so sharp that he told me he was afraid to play with it. here is the link to his post he made on the forum. http://www.scrapyardknives.com/ubbthread...page=0&vc=1

a high polished edge might look nice but when it comes down to it, that kind of edge will fail faster. i use paper wheels and the slotted polishing wheel will put a polish on the edge but the coarse grit used to work up the burr will result in a toothy polished edge with bite. a fine highly polished edge done on fine grit (1/2 micron) will be similar to a wire thin edge and will roll or fail when you really need it the most.

i have read where others have tested this out and agree with my findings.