Spent probably 3 hours fixing a Kasumi finish on a knife i repaired for a former boss. He got a knew gyuto. His first japanese knife. He broke down a case of chickens with it. It looked like a serrated knife. I don't have a belt grinder.Ah yeah! There are certainly plenty of experts who do like to go up to 8k, though I quite like a edges a little less refined (or perhaps I don't want to risk rolling an edge on a fine stone and then having to go back ).
Funnily enough though - the only knives I do always finish very high are yanagiba, though that's probably because I'm polishing them as well. I have a few old yangi that I've restored, and spend far more time polishing them, and thinking about how pretty they are, than actually using them .
I lit up a cigar, put a movie on the tablet and got to work. Got the profile right, had to figure out how far behind the she to thin it etc.
Two cigars and two movies later, the blade was fixed but the finish was marred from the repair. Another cigar and movie and I'm covered in mud from a jnat. Make mud, out on blade. Polish with cork and mud...
Yes I billed him for 7 hours of my day off labor. Knife looked good though.