Recommendation? 3D Printed Sharpening Guide - Stones?

_Happy_ · May 30, 2020

Hi, I'm going to be 3D Printing a sharpening guide similar to this. Rather then using the cheap Aliexpress stones he recommends in the guide, I'd prefer to use something of higher quality. I'm hoping for a recommendation on "replacement" stones that may work for this. I know prices vary so maybe I'd like to stay under $50 for a set. And can you please recommend some sizes? I've also seen DMT Aligner stones.

Any help would be appreciated.

Old Biker · May 30, 2020

_Happy_ said:
Hi, I'm going to be 3D Printing a sharpening guide similar to this. Rather then using the cheap Aliexpress stones he recommends in the guide, I'd prefer to use something of higher quality. I'm hoping for a recommendation on "replacement" stones that may work for this. I know prices vary so maybe I'd like to stay under $50 for a set. And can you please recommend some sizes? I've also seen DMT Aligner stones.

Any help would be appreciated.

Make it fit the Edge pro format stones,( 1" by 6") and you will have a multitude of stone choices. Gritomatic, Edge pro, Amazon, and Chefs knives to go, are all good places to find that size stone. Gritomatic has the largest selection I have seen in one place. Chef's knives to go, has a three piece diamond plate set, for about half your limit, and it makes a good starter set. It's what I use. It's 1000 grit diamond is about 15 microns, or between 400 and 500 on the fepa F/edge pro grit scale. If I want a more polished edge I then finish with an edge pro 600 and then 1200 stone. For more information on how grits compare across different brands, See "the grand unified grit chart" thread, in the sticky section of this forum.

O.B.

Mr.Wizard · May 30, 2020

Unless you need diamonds for high vanadium steel I recommend a kit of 1"×0.25"×6" stones from BORIDE Engineered Abrasives. For medium or soft steel the slow wearing T2 series is popular; Golden Star feels nicer but wears faster. Orange EDM and CS-HD are pretty good all-arounders. For very hard steel and wide bevels CS-M works best but it will wear too quickly on soft steel.

Mr.Wizard · May 30, 2020

I forgot about the CKTG diamond plates O Old Biker mentioned. I have only used the #140 and it is a good coarse option. The coarser BORIDE stones (F220 and down) don't work as well as the finer stones (F320 and up) so I amend my recommendation to the CKTG diamonds for coarse work and a BORIDE "fine kit" which starts at F320 and goes up to F1000 or F1200 depending on the type.

_Happy_ · May 31, 2020

Thanks O Old Biker and M Mr.Wizard for the responses. Based on these recommendations I've put together a few items of interest. I was not able to find a diamond set at CKTG although they do sell them individually. I will call them Monday to ask if they do this. Does this "set" below make sense? Anything I should add or remove? (I know the question of metal hardness will come up. I'll just be doing general sharpening of household knives, camp knives, pocket, kitchen etc.)

Boride Ruby Stone 150 $10.00 - Gritomatic (this or the CKTG 140 Diamond?)

CKTG 140 Grit Diamond Plate $19.95

CKTG 400 Grit Diamond Plate $19.95

CKTG 1000 Grit Diamond Plate $19.95

Boride T2 Stone 1200 FEPA Grit $22.00

I'd like a Boride PC 1200 but it seems you can not purchase just one of these at the moment.

Thanks.

Mr.Wizard · May 31, 2020

_Happy_ said:
Boride Ruby Stone 150 $10.00 - Gritomatic (this or the CKTG 140 Diamond?)

I do not like the BORIDE Ruby 150 at all. I wrote about that here.

I think you will have a gap between the CKTG 1000 and a BORIDE 1200 because these do not use the same grit rating system. I don't know specifically which system the CKTG stones follow but most 1000 diamond plates are around 15 micron. The BORIDE stones follow the FEPA F standard where 15 micron is between F400 and F500.

The CS-HD Fine Grit Polishing Stone Kit from BORIDE is $45.62 and includes each grit 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200. (Without mounting plates.) I think this is a very good value. I would start with this kit and the CKTG #140. If you do not want to go this route I would at least add a BORIDE F600 or F800 stone to fill the gap between the 1000 diamond plate and the F1200 T2.

Old Biker · May 31, 2020

_Happy_ said:
Thanks O Old Biker and M Mr.Wizard for the responses. Based on these recommendations I've put together a few items of interest. I was not able to find a diamond set at CKTG although they do sell them individually. I will call them Monday to ask if they do this. Does this "set" below make sense? Anything I should add or remove? (I know the question of metal hardness will come up. I'll just be doing general sharpening of household knives, camp knives, pocket, kitchen etc.)

Boride Ruby Stone 150 $10.00 - Gritomatic (this or the CKTG 140 Diamond?)

CKTG 140 Grit Diamond Plate $19.95

CKTG 400 Grit Diamond Plate $19.95

CKTG 1000 Grit Diamond Plate $19.95

Boride T2 Stone 1200 FEPA Grit $22.00

I'd like a Boride PC 1200 but it seems you can not purchase just one of these at the moment.

Thanks.

Wow, he (CKTG) has changed some things since I last looked. Sorry to have steered you wrong. He used to sell those plates for $10 each, or those 3 bundled for $25, but without the edge pro base plate. The edge pro base plate is nice, but they work ok without it.

I have no experience with the ruby 150. I like the 3 diamond plates you list. They are what I use. I make sure I get the blade sharp with the 140. Then I find that 10 strokes per side with each stone, is all I need to remove the scratch marks from the stone before. If you like a toothy edge you can stop with the CKTG 1000. It gives about the same edge refinement, as most knives have when they come from the factory. As M Mr.Wizard said the CKTG 1000 is about 15 microns. That puts it at about 450 on the Fepa F scale. F450 to F1200 is a pretty large jump. You can try it. If it takes to long to polish out the 1000 scratches then you will need something in between. If I was buying I would get the F800, but I use the F600 because that is what I already had.

I'm sure the set Mr.Wizard suggested will work well too.

O.B.

_Happy_ · Jun 8, 2020

So a little update. I got most of the parts printed and the rails, hardware and stones on order.

I ordered the CKTG 140 diamond plate and a mounted kangaroo strop. For stones I ordered the Boride CS-HD kit from Boride and 6 aluminum blanks from Gritomatic. I almost ordered some 3M lapping film but remembered how much I didn't enjoy using it back when I was sharpening chisels. This should be a good starting place. I'll follow up when I get it all assembled.

Thanks.