Another newbie looking for sharpening stones.

W

withoutink

Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
13
Hi all. I've been reading a number of posts about sharpening knives. At this point my head wants to explode. So I figured I'd just ask a few questions. First a little background....

I have over the years picked up a few hones, but they aren't matched and are missing grit levels etc. it was my hope at some point to figure freehand sharpening out, I just never really got around to it.

I current own:

- Spiderco Sharpmaker (good kit, but I want to learn freehand)

- Lansky Puck for an old hatchet I bought years ago

- Noton India Combo oil stone (I think it's 100/320 grit)

- Chinese 12k (picked this up as I saw it in a store some years back) I wet shave with straights and I thought it would be good to grab.

- two or three barber hones, very nice finishers.

- a small thuringian hone

- Strop block with crox paste, from knives plus.

So you can see I am missing a wide range of hones/stones.

Now that you know my anemic setup, here's what I have to sharpen (off the top of my head)

- Spyderco Delica (vg10 I think, might be mistaken)
- Spyderco Gayle Bradley (cpm4)
- a couple Crkt folders
- Ontario Survival knife.
- a couple no name soligen steel knives
- a Gransfors Bruk Small Forest Axe
- Estwing Hatchet
- Two opinels (carbon)
- Decent set of German kitchen knives
- 4 straight razors

What should I be looking at getting?

Diamond plates? Japanese water stones? Oil stones?

Not a clue as to what to acquire. Most likely I will have to slowly piece together a kit (over a couple months, as we are doing some remodeling and money is tied up.)

I'm not looking for top of the line, more like nice quality at a fair price. But if it makes sense to spend a little more for something that lasts longer, works better etc, I'd rather buy once than have to reexamine and be in this position again.

If I can get what I need for $200 or less I'd be pretty happy. If in a few months, I need to grab something else, I'm ok with that too.

Thanks in advance.
 
withoutink said:
Hi all....
So you can see I am missing a wide range of hones/stones.
What should I be looking at getting? Diamond plates? Japanese water stones? Oil stones?
If I can get what I need for $200 or less I'd be pretty happy. If in a few months, I need to grab something else, I'm ok with that too.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Hi withoutink, what are you wanting to sharpen that you're having trouble sharpening with the stones you have?

I think you have plenty of stuff to sharpen everything

Maybe all you're really missing is a coarse crystolon/sic/silicon carbide stone to repair damage or change angles on CPM-M4, and those can be had for $20 and under (bester, norton...)

Or if you're after 12k polish for all your blades, some intermediary stones maybe a 1k/6k or 1k/2k or something

$200 is a lot of cash, you could buy a full set of diamond plates ... common recommendations can be seen here 1328191-Need-Recommendations-on-Freehand-Sharpening-Stones
 
without, you have enough stones. Too many really. I use just the Norton combination India for most all my sharpening. A 150 & 320 grit and easily get hair shaving edges, from my Estwing hatchet to all the other knives. Just work at it and you'll gain experience and come to understand what you like working with. DM
 
Awesome, for some reason I've been thinking I've missed picking a few levels up. I will grab a combo stone as an intermediate then and call it a day.

Any advice on a 1k/6k?
 
straight razors require a 1k, 4k, some go 8k then to a finisher. I set bevels on a 1k then onto a bbw, coti and either a jnat or the apache strata then ou need a non pasted strop for daily maint. . I never do knives on my razor stones. I make knives and have belt sanders and diamond stones to keep them in check
 
First, what are your current results with sharpening? Or, asked a different way, what are you trying to fix by buying different gear?

IMHO, you've listed 3 totally different classes of blades that require a bit of specialization for each one.

1. Regular pocket knives and kitchen knives.
2. Big outdoor tools like axes that *usually* have softer steel.
3. Straight razors.

The good news is, you seem to have some stones that cover all three areas. The India stone can start you with regular knives or outdoor tools. The puck can definitely work on the outdoor tools as a starter and is probably easier to hold. The various high grit stones can finish your straights. But straights are their own thing and I don't have any experience working on them, so that's all I have to say about those.

Most people make 3 big mistakes when starting with sharpening:

1. Not buying a good coarse stone to set bevels and repair damage. A good coarse stone does 70 to 90% of the work on most knives and will save you time *and* keep you from making mistakes due to fatigue. In other words, if you can make 50 strokes with a coarse stone and get the job done, you'll do a better job than if you used a medium stone and did 500 to 1000 strokes instead. Your India stone *might* be coarse enough on the coarse side. I've never used one, so I'm not sure. I know a coarse Crystolon will do the job on almost any steel.
2. Focusing on GEAR and not on technique. It's a guy thing. I do it ALL the time. I focus on getting new stuff when I start a new hobby or pursuit. Thinking that the gear will make me better. Good gear helps for SURE. But good gear can't do anything without a skilled operator. To (mis)quote Jason B: "YOU are the best sharpener." Focusing on your technique is the key.
3. This is a corollary to #2: Getting frustrated and stopping when you don't get immediate results. Sharpening isn't super difficult, but like any new skill, it requires repetition to build your skill and confidence. If you get poor results, or get frustrated, stop. Take a break. A break might be a few hours, or a few days. Come back when you're fresh and try again. But make sure to stick to one thing for a while. If you try 10 different methods and don't get results from any of them, you've only wasted your time and not built skill. Take your time with one method at a time until you get some results.

Brian.
 
Hi guys I ordered a few stones yesterday.

Naniwa Chosera 400/1000/3000 I figure get some to try them out, if I don't like them I'm sure I can sell them.

Would going from 3k Chosera to 8k Snow White be too big of a jump? Then I could finish on my c12k?
 
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