Bench stones

Blue Sky

Blue Sky

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2002
Messages
3,530
I am getting ready to order some new Arkansas stones and would like to hear some opinions on size. Yeah I know, bigger is better, but when is 8" really a necessity vs. 6"? 2-1/2" wide vs. 2"? I will be using them mostly for 2" to 4" long blades, once in a while a 6" or 7".
 
My dad said "better to not need it and have it, than need it and not have it". Is the cost that much more for the 8 inch over the 6 inch? I don't know, never priced them, so that may be a deciding factor for you. When I buy computers for example, I have learned over the years to way overbuy than underbuy, as they will be obsolete before you get them home and plugged in. Poor example I know, but you get my idea?

Omar
 
ON Arkansas stones, quality varies. So, buy from a good, long term dealer. Making certain the stones surface comes Finished and level. A washita and a hard Arkansas should work. The 6" works fine for up to a 4" blade, if your going to do many knives over that size you'd enjoy a 8". Just me. DM
 
If you're trying to keep costs down, a smaller one is fine. Though I use a different technique than alot of people. I use alot more pulling away from the edge, so I'll use only maybe 2 inches for a 4 inch blade. Some people like huge long strokes though, but those just seem useless to me when you can go alot faster with short strokes.
 
Those short back and forth strokes work and it can also wear a stone unevenly. Whereas those 'huge long stokes' make better use of the entire stone and thus helps it wear more evenly. DM
 
I bought this stone some years ago, and split it with a friend. We had a lapidary shop slice it half, horizontally, giving us two large stones with smooth, even faces. (The knife has a 6" blade)

stone0103.jpg


Stitchawl
 
Go for the 8 in. If you don't you'll wish you had the first time you decide to sharpen your kitchen knives. Trust me.
 
Omar, cost is somewhat of a factor, yes. Unless there is a usable advantage to the larger stones, I would rather put my resources somewhere else. Now, I don't have many knives larger than 4" or so but I do have some. Enough to warrant the bigger stones? Tough call so far...
 
drail said:
Go for the 8 in. If you don't you'll wish you had the first time you decide to sharpen your kitchen knives. Trust me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's probably going to be the decider now that you mention it.
 
Size comes down to your personal technique. If you don't feel like you have settled on any one specific way of sharpening. Then you can try what I did. I just grabbed a couple pieces of hobby bass wood from the local hobby shop in varying thicknesses and cut them to the sizes you want to try. Then glue a piece of sand paper to them. This should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from a given size.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top