Well I have a wicked edge but would really like to get a couple bench stones for just general up keep. I was wondering what size stones everyone prefers, they will always be at home and the largest knife I sharpen is a 10". I am looking at the DMT Dia Sharp stones
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6, 8, 12" stones? Which one do you guys prefer
- Thread starter Chris_S
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Overall I find the 8" combination stone size to be perfect. Its small enough to hold like a file when working larger tools or if a flat surface is unavailable, but big enough to spread the swarf out a bit. With a silicon carbide stone I actually prefer a 6" because with a good puddle of oil it doesn't matter where the swarf is building up and its very easy to keep the stone flat by moving around on it. I modeled my Washboard after the 8" Norton stones as its a good size for surface area, but not so large I'll be tempted to reach a bit and maybe mess up my angle control. I used to use 18" of bonded sanding belts on a brass plate for sharpening machetes and larger tools, but once learned to break the edge down into smaller overlapping stretches, a larger surface is not helpful.
David Martin
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I like a Norton 8" two grit stone of SiC or India composition. It can handle most any size blade if one utilizes the right method. I've done 10" blades on mine. Plus, this size is very portable. Norton's JUM-3 a 11.5"X2.5" in SiC is a dream stone to use. It shortens the time for any sharpening job. But it's not as portable as the 8X2" stone. DM
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All my current bench stones are single grit Norton 8x3's (I have a full set -coarse, med, and fine- of both Crystolon and India). I find them the perfect size for me. I think an 8x2 would also work just fine. I haven't felt the need for a longer stone with any of my knives, but I wouldn't want to go shorter, since longer knives (chef's for example) felt a bit cramped on the 6x2 generic stone I once used.
8 x 3 " seems just about perfect to me. My 8" DMT plates and my waterstones are approximately that size and they work really well for me. My Norton stones that are more like 8 x 2 feel MUCH smaller. I guess that extra width really makes a difference in the amount of blade contact at one time.
IMHO, there's a reason that Japanese waterstones are a certain size. There's a reason that the Japanese have consistently produced some of the sharpest, most highly regarded cutlery in the world. It's hard to argue with their results. It makes me want to emulate as much of their process as I can. In this case, in how they sharpen and what they sharpen with.
Brian.
IMHO, there's a reason that Japanese waterstones are a certain size. There's a reason that the Japanese have consistently produced some of the sharpest, most highly regarded cutlery in the world. It's hard to argue with their results. It makes me want to emulate as much of their process as I can. In this case, in how they sharpen and what they sharpen with.
Brian.
Just got in my norton economy stone 8x2 and it didn't take me long to start enjoying the increase in dimensions compared to my 4x1 DMT diamonds. Though I will be honest a 6x2 will probably be more ideal with how I sharpen as the little time I did use it I seemed to shorten my strokes to be roughly that length.
We'll see what happens, I have to return the stone for a replacement as it is defective on the fine side with it going coarse/fine/coarse on one side. Though it seems what I got is the India stone to the best of my knowledge, so I may just hit up the hardware store and pick up a 6x2 silicon carbide economy stone at the local hardware store to go along with the replacement.
We'll see what happens, I have to return the stone for a replacement as it is defective on the fine side with it going coarse/fine/coarse on one side. Though it seems what I got is the India stone to the best of my knowledge, so I may just hit up the hardware store and pick up a 6x2 silicon carbide economy stone at the local hardware store to go along with the replacement.
