Beginner: Will 6" Whetstone Be Large Enough for 9" Blade?

[OldMarineVet]

Discussions on this forum has motivated me to start sharpening my own knives. Will 6" Whetstone Be Large Enough to sharpen a 9" Blade? Or will I need an 8" or larger. Thank you

 

[willis]

Yes and a 4x1inch Norton Fine India like Randalls are supplied with will do just fine honing a small chip and dulled tip on a 440b mod 14.

 

[HeavyHanded]

It will be plenty but depending on how you sharpen things. If you rely on full sweeps of the blade every pass, it will feel a bit cramped. If you use a shorter pass or a scrubbing style and overlap sections of the edge it will be more than enough.

 

[OldMarineVet]

Thank you willis and HeavyHanded. I'll start with smaller blades on 6" stone and work on eventually developing that shorter pass. Thanks for the tip on the 4x1 Norton Fine India.