Best Deal on Sharpeners?

C

Confederate

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Sep 5, 2005
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I'm not really trying to save money here, so when I say "good deal" I mean, best bang for the buck.

Recently, my brother bought this set of sharpening stones. They're two Belgian Blue/Coticule stones, price, $116. He swears by them, but I'm wondering if the price is really worth it?

belgianbluecotikiy.jpg


Everyone wants a sharpener that's effective and will leave an edge as polished as if it came from the factory. These stones are to be used with oil and I don't know how difficult they are to use (for their relatively small sizes).

One of the things I hate most is cleaning my sharpening tools. I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker that is okay, and a Lansky set that clamps the blades in place and lets the user determine what angles they work best at. The course stone is really course and I've never needed one that rough. After trying it a few times, I just sort of lost interest. I'd really like something quick and simple; something I can use in the field; something that doesn't require a scouring pad and Comet.

Arkansas stones are relatively cheap, but I worry about stones losing their flatness. I've always liked the idea of rods with pre-drilled slots for various angles, but the Sharpmaker only has two angles and I'm curious to find out if there are other, better sharpeners that let users control the angles.

So basically what I'm looking for are recommendations and suggestions. How good would the Belgian stones be?

Thanks!
 
DMT diafolds would be my first suggestion for something light and portable. If you looking for benchstones go DMT for the coarse stuff and spyderco for the finishing.
 
Thanks.

The Belgian stones come in 4000 and 8000 grit, but one web site says:
Natural sharpening stone imported from Belgium. The normal grit of the stone is 4000, making ideal for re-sharpening a dull blade. After using the Blue Coticule the transition can be made to the yellow coticule for final polishing and touches. The stone is very hard (harder that most artificial wet stones) but will still need lapping before first usage and from time to time. It can be lapped by using a lapping stone (i.e. DMT-8C 325 coarse diamond sharpening stone or Norton Lapping Stone) or with sandpaper on a very flat surface (i.e. glass).​
I'm not crazy about having to lap the stones with use, but if they perform well, I'd be willing to learn how to do it.

I'm not necessarily looking for something light and portable, but I do like a mirror polish on the edges, and I don't think the Spyderco does that. There are many things I do like about the Sharpmaker, but they seem to get dirty pretty quickly. Even after cleaning, there seems to still be steel embedded in the course rods. Don't know if that's a problem or not.

I like the diamond pads, but do they work best with oil? The Lansky kit I have includes oil, but don't know if the diamond pads require it.
 
I don't use water or oil for either, just keep them clean. The spyderco UF ceramic will give a almost perfect mirror polish. In my experiences the UF ceramic will yield a better polish than a 8000 grit waterstone.
 
When I use a Diamond pad, I do so with water. I don't think it works better than dry. It just feel better - at least for me.
 
That's good to know.

There's a criss-cross type sharpener I bought through Smokey Mountains and it's outstanding for touch-ups. The rods are round and extra fine, but they maintain edges very well. As far as sharpening a dull knife, it's pretty tough using only a Sharpmaker. I can feel it removing the steel, but it does it so slowly that it really takes time.

I think $116 for stones like the Belgians is a bit steep, but my brother's having a good time with them. Once they lose their flatness a bit, he may become less enchanted with them. I can use the Sharpmaker to put somewhat better angles on my blades just by not coming straight down, but reducing the angle.

About those steel streaks in the medium ceramics, will those inhibit the cutting or are they just blemishes?

Thanks.
 
I'll second the suggestion for the Diafold rigs (or other DMT-type products). You're talking very low maintenance, which is one of the chief qualifiers you mentioned. I will admit to being fascinated with the Belgian stones, Japanese water stones, etc. BTW, I use a bit of water with my DMT bench stones...
 
I use soap and water on my DMT XX-fine as recommended by DMT but I use all the others dry. It does help with keeping the stone from cloging but that's about it.
 
Confederate said:
I'm not really trying to save money here, so when I say "good deal" I mean, best bang for the buck. Thanks!
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Best bang for the buck IMHO is a Harbor Freight 1x30 belt sander and belts (including a powered leather strop with compound) check out this thread. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496644 post 78 tells you everything you need to get started. With a little practice you can get spooky sharp edges in very little time. You can get the whole outfit for about what the Belgium stones cost.

Confederate said:
About those steel streaks in the medium ceramics, will those inhibit the cutting or are they just blemishes?Thanks.
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Barkeepers Friend will remove those streaks and make your ceramics look brand new again (or just throw them in the dishwasher if you are lazy).
 
The Belgian stone users I know use them with water. They are popular for honing straight razors. The yellow coticule is considered finer than either the surgical black or translucent arkansas stones.

As far as hones go, the fastest cutting ones (for a given grit size) are diamond hones. Waterstones are next, Then fuzed ceramic like Spyderco's. Arkansas stones are the slowest.
 
dmt aligner kit. clamp with preset angles, diamond abrasive that requires no oil and no lapping
 
i have a Sharpmaker and some months ago bought the diamond rods on ebay for $40. to me they have transformed the Sharpmaker from very good to outstanding, as many knives need a re-profiling to a more acute angle before doing the actual edge sharpening.
as you already have a Sharpmaker, if you do not have the diamond rods, this may be an excellent, relatively inexpensive, option.
roland
 
Amen to what Knifenut said. I use the same system: DMT coarse, Spyderco alumina ceramic med. and fine. I don't have the ultra fine though. In my opinion this is the perfect combo.
 
smitty0331 said:
Amen to what Knifenut said. I use the same system: DMT coarse, Spyderco alumina ceramic med. and fine. I don't have the ultra fine though. In my opinion this is the perfect combo.
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Get that UF it makes a world of difference. :thumbup:
 
knifenut1013 said:
Get that UF it makes a world of difference. :thumbup:
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Past useing the brown ceramics at 40 degs. i have not found the white ceramics to help in improveing my delicas performance in reguards to edge retention or rolling, while cutting cardboard, plastic straps, twine, cargo straps, and some other materials. I have also noticed this edge to be allmost as tough as a convexed edge.
 
donny bee said:
Past useing the brown ceramics at 40 degs. i have not found the white ceramics to help in improveing my delicas performance in reguards to edge retention or rolling, while cutting cardboard, plastic straps, twine, cargo straps, and some other materials. I have also noticed this edge to be allmost as tough as a convexed edge.
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No disrespect, but that is because your sharpening skills have not reached that level.
To gain benefits in edge retention you must go much further. Moving from a 15 micron to a 6 micron stone will not give you that much improvement.

If its as tough as a convex edge that's not because of the stone.
 
knifenut1013 said:
No disrespect, but that is because your sharpening skills have not reached that level.
To gain benefits in edge retention you must go much further. Moving from a 15 micron to a 6 micron stone will not give you that much improvement.

If its as tough as a convex edge that's not because of the stone.
Click to expand...

You my be correct about my skills, however i said allmost when talking about the convexed edge.
 
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