Rock Hard Felt Wheels

[BPalv]

This will be a somewhat lengthy post so I apologize in advance.

I've been sharpening knives all my life but about 8 years ago my kids bought me a set of Shun's.  Ever since I've been attempting to get my other knives as sharp.  Next came a Work Sharp, then a KO work sharp, then a Rikon 1x30, then another, next came a Wen then a buffer for Slotted paper wheels and finally a Tormek.  I am now sharpening for clients.
After reading "knife Deburring" I have attempted to re create his techniques but am really struggling.  I can get knives to 50 on the BESS using leather belts on the 1x30 using a variety of compounds but 50 is not attainable most of the time and I have to settle for 70 to 100 scores. 
I just set up my paper wheels with 6 micron polycrystalline diamonds and .25 mono diamonds with chromium oxide.  I am able to improve the edge on edges ground on the Tormek but really struggling with convex edges.
Which brings me to my question...
What benefit does a rock hard felt wheel bring to the table?  How do you measure that benefit?  Is it a worthwhile investment or not?

No I don't want to sharpen everyone's knives to 50, but if I want to I would like to be able to consistently.

Thanks for your input,
Al

[Thread Killer]

Y'all got some lofty goals!  You SETTLE for 70-100 on the Bess? I would love to settle for that. ymmv Can't be of help, btaim Maybe your goals are not reasonable, but that is not for me to set.  Good luck on your endeavors.

[Sir Amwell]

I can really sympathise with you here. I spent a long time trying to get Vadims protocols to work consistently with Tormek, rock hard felt wheel then slotted paper wheels with diamond pastes. I gave up in the end having identified that the problem was with the rock hard felt wheel with 1 micron diamond. I could virtually never get it to progress in the right direction according to Vadims step by step protocols.
I have asked several times on the forum for others experiences/opinions on this with mixed replies so not got anywhere really. If I could get some concrete replies as to proper use or tips I might reconsider using it in my set up.
I'm sharpening lots of knives and gave up chasing sub 50 Bess and am happy with anything around 100, which indicates to me that I've apexed and completely removed the root of the burr. After a while the Bess tester becomes almost redundant as experience tells that you've achieved around a hundred. If I'm having trouble then the tester is still a useful tool.
So you are doing incredibly well with your 50 Bess scores!
But you've got that itch that needs to be scratched!
Maybe others can help you (and me) with the felt wheel issue?
As has been pointed out before, Vadim was obviously a master sharpener with amazing skills and a feel for it. Also he advocated 12 dps for most knives which I think will lower the Bess scores slightly. I standardise at 15 dps and it's not uncommon to achieve 70-80 Bess with my speedy protocols. Vadim no doubt would have got that to 50-60!
Best of luck.

[tgbto]

I don't have a lot of experience with my rock hard felt wheel. However, having sharpened maybe 20 knives on it, I find I have good results (ie 20 BESS higher) results with hard steels (63+ HRC). With standard steels, I'm actually worsening my BESS scores.

I probably don't use it right, but now I'm more after edge retention than initial sharpness.