Heh, got a little ahead of myself and honed up the blade before attaching scales, couldn't wait! I finished this edge on the following progression: DMT EEF to 30 laps CrOx on leather paddle strop to 30 laps 0.25u CBN on microfiber paddle strop to 30 laps 0.1u CBN on microfiber paddle strop to 30 laps 0.05u PCD on microfiber paddle strop. Got a very very nice edge. I test shaved it (just a short test, not full shave) and it was fantastic WTG and ATG. Now it remains to be seen what the longevity is like. I'll take some more scope images after the first full shave and after 5, 10, 25 etc.
Also, I switched to a 3/16" piece of M2 so I didn't have to worry about jacking with making the spine thicker - the angle with no tape is about 14.5°, but for this first test I went with two layers of tape for finishing to get an angle of about 16.5° for a starting point.
Bevel - you can see some remnant DMT C (325) scratches from when I did circles setting the bevel at the top of the image:
Edge Lit - very bullet straight edge:
Also, I switched to a 3/16" piece of M2 so I didn't have to worry about jacking with making the spine thicker - the angle with no tape is about 14.5°, but for this first test I went with two layers of tape for finishing to get an angle of about 16.5° for a starting point.
Bevel - you can see some remnant DMT C (325) scratches from when I did circles setting the bevel at the top of the image:
Edge Lit - very bullet straight edge: