$200 dollar budget to pick up stones

T

travv801

Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
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I currently own a 5 stone Lansky system and I'm looking to upgrade.

I've been looking at sharpening systems the past week. After weighing my options, it seems best to pick up stones versus a system, so here I am.

I'm looking to spend about $200 on stones and accessories.

What would you recommend and why? If you suggest that I spend a few more dollars to get a much better setup, please provide a list for this as well.

I saw this comment in a different thread and was considering going with something similar to this, but I figure there is some stuff I'd be missing in the accessory department (and maybe a transitional stone between the 500 and 2000).

Jason B. said:
With an open budget I typically recommend the Atoma 140, Shapton Glass 500 and Shapton Glass 2000. This gives you a very useable set of stones with very few limits as to what you can sharpen. Its the set I use most often when sharpening my customers and my personal knives.

So with endless stone options it would help to know what knives you will be sharpening and what type of budget you have to work with.
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I've never freehanded before, so should I look into the washboard system made by our own?

I'm on the fence of just buy once, cry once. I'm sure if I go about this properly, the stones I purchase will outlive me and I'm at the ripe old age of 25 :D

Another question I have is for people that reprofile knives for a living. When you go about reprofiling and setting a new angle, do you do that on stone, or do you use a system to get the angle, then take it to stone to finish it off?



Thanks in advance,

Travis
 
travv801 said:
I currently own a 5 stone Lansky system and I'm looking to upgrade.

I've been looking at sharpening systems the past week. After weighing my options, it seems best to pick up stones versus a system, so here I am.

I'm looking to spend about $200 on stones and accessories.

What would you recommend and why? If you suggest that I spend a few more dollars to get a much better setup, please provide a list for this as well.

I saw this comment in a different thread and was considering going with something similar to this, but I figure there is some stuff I'd be missing in the accessory department (and maybe a transitional stone between the 500 and 2000).



I've never freehanded before, so should I look into the washboard system made by our own?

I'm on the fence of just buy once, cry once. I'm sure if I go about this properly, the stones I purchase will outlive me and I'm at the ripe old age of 25 :D

Another question I have is for people that reprofile knives for a living. When you go about reprofiling and setting a new angle, do you do that on stone, or do you use a system to get the angle, then take it to stone to finish it off?



Thanks in advance,

Travis
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You don't need to spend $200 to get proper abrasives but they are nice to use.

It's more about the skill and techniques not the tools.

You do not need a stone in-between the 500 and 2k

Unless your more concerned with the artistic aspect of a "true mirror" finish. Which can be a draw back to actually cutting.

Otherwise the objective is to limit the sharpening to 2-3 stones max.
Saves time and limits variables and inconsistencies from adding up.

The washboard system is a affordable option. It works, but just comes done to budget and preference.

Reprofiling is done freehand on stones, no need for the systems but it does require dexterity and practice. Fixed angle systems help reduce those variables, but are slower then freehand in the end.

Good luck
 
travv801 said:
I currently own a 5 stone Lansky system and I'm looking to upgrade.

I've been looking at sharpening systems the past week. After weighing my options, it seems best to pick up stones versus a system, so here I am.

I'm looking to spend about $200 on stones and accessories.

What would you recommend and why? If you suggest that I spend a few more dollars to get a much better setup, please provide a list for this as well.

I saw this comment in a different thread and was considering going with something similar to this, but I figure there is some stuff I'd be missing in the accessory department (and maybe a transitional stone between the 500 and 2000).



I've never freehanded before, so should I look into the washboard system made by our own?

I'm on the fence of just buy once, cry once. I'm sure if I go about this properly, the stones I purchase will outlive me and I'm at the ripe old age of 25 :D

Another question I have is for people that reprofile knives for a living. When you go about reprofiling and setting a new angle, do you do that on stone, or do you use a system to get the angle, then take it to stone to finish it off?



Thanks in advance,

Travis
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As Deadboxhero says, you really need three surfaces - coarse, medium, and fine.

First off, if starting out freehand the most important thing you can buy is some second hand knives, the stone you begin on is secondary. DO NOT learn on anything you value.

Second, I wouldn't spend $200 on anything till I had some skills and a bit more understanding what I'm getting into and what I expect as an outcome. A simple combination stone from the local hardware store or splurge on a Norton Crystalon or India stone to start. Even if you eventually wind up spending the rest of your budget on "better" stones these will never collect dust for long. There are many members of the forum who do not own anything beyond one of these and for utility edges you won't need anything more. Here's a video of me using a combination stone and some creative use of the mud from the stone as a finishing surface, giving one the basic big three coarse, medium, fine, and winding up with an edge that can wave through newsprint. This is the combination I used the most learning and still use fairly often - simple, and it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF2Y7Hha0MQ

Third, my Washboard system has been a big help to many owners when it comes to learning as well as being a solid platform for using sandpapers and other flexible-backed abrasives. I still use mine all the time for finish and maintenance work and I have more stones in my collection than I'd like to admit. Also, silicon carbide wet/dry is one of the most consistent performers across a range of steels that one can use (my opinion), from soft Western kitchen stainless to HSS it is always in the game. You would have to do a lot of sharpening before the cost of wet/dry or lapping film becomes an issue.

Quote from an owner who recently got back to me about it:
It works as advertised, I love this thing!
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If you start out learning on coarse abrasives, you will learn to reprofile and "set the bevel" in one step, the first. This is the foundation of freehand sharpening. From the factory, almost all edges are screwed up and when you go to sharpen them you'll learn they all need to be reprofiled more or less. Aside from the remote possibility you cannot learn to freehand and get acceptable results, the only time a guide or powered unit really comes in handy is thinning out the primary grind or for cosmetic commercial work, but thats a whole other conversation.

Best of Luck
 
DMT coarse, fine, Spyderco ceramic Medium or fine or both. I jump from DMT coarse to Spyderco medium but I'm not one that prefers a mirror finish. But before going crazy on stones sandpaper is a real good idea. That washboard thing looks like a pretty good idea wish I had tried it.
 
With the Atoma 140, Shapton Glass 500 and 2000 there is not much I can't accomplish in sharpening. They cover most every aspect of sharpening while also being very fast and efficient.

I find the 500 to 2k jump to be of no issue, I have the Glass 1k and feel it was almost a wasted purchase because of how little it is used. The only concern might come from the 140 to 500, on harder steels with larger bevels it might be a little tougher to remove the 140 scratches, not impossible but it can take some extra effort at times.

Personally, I'm all for buy once cry once. I've bought a lot of sharpening stones over the years because I was trying to save money getting the cheaper stone... it never saved me money.
 
Jason B. said:
With the Atoma 140, Shapton Glass 500 and 2000 there is not much I can't accomplish in sharpening. They cover most every aspect of sharpening while also being very fast and efficient.

I find the 500 to 2k jump to be of no issue, I have the Glass 1k and feel it was almost a wasted purchase because of how little it is used. The only concern might come from the 140 to 500, on harder steels with larger bevels it might be a little tougher to remove the 140 scratches, not impossible but it can take some extra effort at times.

Personally, I'm all for buy once cry once. I've bought a lot of sharpening stones over the years because I was trying to save money getting the cheaper stone... it never saved me money.
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I've read some reviews that the atoma 140 has some issues of not being flat. Have you experienced this yourself?

What site do your normally purchase your stones off of? I've heard Amazon doesn't have the best prices on this kind of stuff, figured I'd ask you.
 
I've heard of no such issue with the Atoma. I purchase most of my stone through ChefKnivesToGo, big selection and excellent service. Sharpeningsupplies is also good.
 
Jason B. said:
I've heard of no such issue with the Atoma. I purchase most of my stone through ChefKnivesToGo, big selection and excellent service. Sharpeningsupplies is also good.
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+1 on Jason B's advice.

I've got the Atoma 140 and Shapton Glass stones from 220 to 8000 and they were all bought from ChefKnivesToGo. Great service from them.

The only stone I regret buying is the 8000. I don't see much of an improvement going from the 6000 to the 8000 and the 8000 is... weird. Last time I used it, it felt rough after a few passes, but I kept at it. When I went to lap my stones it looked like a leather strop after minstakenly making leading edge passes, it was call cut up. Was very rough looking like parts of the stone had fallen out of it.

(Jason B. - I find the 220 stone works great after using the Atoma. I'm not working nearly as long or as hard with my 500.)
 
I picked up the Atoma 140, Shapton 500, Shapton 2000, and a stone holder. Excited to get in the world of freehanding!

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
travv801 said:
I picked up the Atoma 140, Shapton 500, Shapton 2000, and a stone holder. Excited to get in the world of freehanding!

Thanks for the help everyone.
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I just did the 500/2000 combo on a coworkers knife yesterday. Sharpest I've ever gotten a knife. I swear the hairs were jumping off my skin before the blade could get to them in fear of what was coming!
 
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