Advatages to ceramic bench stones?

B

bsjoelbs

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Jan 2, 2005
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I need to get a shapener of some sort, and I was thinking of getting spydercos ceramic bench stones. They cost a lot more, so I was wonderifg whats so good about them?
 
Cost alot more than what? There are many stones out there that are significantly more expensive.

IMHO, the advantages of the fine and extra fine--I have not used the medium--stones are that they don't need lubrication, clean up easily, and stay flat.

The drawbacks are that they remove little metal and are basically used in the final steps of sharpening, or to maintain an already sharp edge.

For their intended use they are a good value.

John
 
Howdy!
The advantage of one type of stone or sharpener over another depends upon what blade material and style you are using, along with what was done to the material since then, i.e. heat treat & abuse. In other words, what are the edge properties of the knife: Is it the type that dulls by denting, or by chipping at the edge? (is it tougher than it is hard, or otherwise?)
If you have a knife that will dent or deform when it dulls through usage, and not chip, then a ceramic knife sharpener is best: it will, if used to RE-ALIGN the edge, salvage the steel material at that edge instead of simply "strip" the edge-metal away. This lengthens the life of the blade, instead of shortening it every time you sharpen it. The proper way to do this is to run the edge of the blade "backwards" (away from the edge, toward the spine-side) at the proper angle, i.e. the current angle of the edge bevel. (Similar in direction to stropping an edge.) This is the sharpening instruction from Busse, whose INFI steel is of the aforementioned property.
If, on the other hand, you have a knife material that will chip out as it dulls, then you need a sharpener that will take more material off as it sharpens the edge, that is, to fashion a "new edge," at the level of the bottom of the "chip troughs." A picture here would be handy, but alas, i have none.
Hence, all the sharpeners in the world do little, without proper application to the right knife-edge; you need to know how your knife dulls, how it responds to which sharpening method, and why. If i had to carry only two sharpeners, they would be a ceramic for the re-aligning method, and a medium diamond for the material-removal method, and use one or the other, depending upon which "kind" of edge i happened upon that needed sharpening.
( i DO carry two sharpeners at all times, in my belt pack: one smooth ceramic with three flat sides - and three corners, of course - and one medium DMT diamond "stone." This is perfect for "field" work, when stropping or various grit-sequencing aren't time-permissible.)
i never know who i may run into, whose knife may need sharpening, or what condition they may be in, but those two do just fine. If you "need" to field-strop for scary-sharpness, even a corner of a handy piece of wood will do, just don't overstrop! The purpose is to remove the burr, not more edge-material.

KNOW Your Knife, and sharpen accordingly.

Hope this is helpful. :)

Clif
 
I use the spyderco ceramics in my EZE-Sharp, and they do a great job for me. The medium stone removes plenty of metal in my experience (not like a medium diamond stone, but still gets it taken care of) If you are sharpening something like D2 or zdp-189, the ceramics or a diamond stone are almost mandatory. Just my thoughts for what they are worth. The spyderco ceramics are a good buy.
 
I have the Spyderco medium and fine ceramic stones and like them quite a bit. I also have the DMT DiaSharp (continuous, not polka dot) coarse, fine, extra fine stones. I got the diamond and ceramic stones to go "dry" and simplify my freehand sharpening. The diamond stones remove material faster and leave a rougher edge and the ceramics give me a nice finished edge, not polished, but with just the right amount of "bite" that I like.

The Spyderco bench stones will give the same effect freehand as the Spyderco Sharpmaker does in the little stand.
 
I'm another Spyderco benchstone user. To me the great advantage is they are used dry, easy to clean and I doubt that they will wear out during my lifetime.
 
What's a better deal the benchstones or sharpmaker? What does the plastic lid on the stones say?
 
The plastic lids on my Spyderco stones say:
Ceramic Whet Stone
Fine Grit (light blue box) and Medium Grit (dark blue box)
Spyderco, Inc.

The better deal is probably the Sharpmaker which has both medium and fine grit rods, and the option to use them like benchstones. It will cost less than purchasing the bench stones.
 
Or for another great deal the Spyderco double stuff it has both med and fine grit on a 1x5 hone.
 
Using a sharpmaker as a benchstone doesn't work out too well. The rods aren't wide enough, but it's not bad..
 
bsjoelbs said:
What's a better deal the benchstones or sharpmaker? What does the plastic lid on the stones say?
Click to expand...

You just can't really say that one of those sharpening systems is preferrable over the other because they truly both have their place in the Sharpening Arena.

I have both the 204 Sharpmaker and the Spyderco Benchstones ( medium, fine & ultra fine). Trust me you will find multitudes of uses for both of them.

I even bought one of their old Galley V sharpening kits way back in 2000 and for really big kitchen knives it works like a dream. I was sad to see when they discontinued it. I bet that Spyderco has got some new Sharpening stuff coming down the pipeline soon because it's been a while since they have hit the market with anything new in sharpening tools,
 
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