Best freehand stones?

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Corvairgod

Joined
Nov 26, 2013
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I was curious what the best set of freehand stones is, I am not looking to break the bank on stones. I need them from medium to really fine. I mainly sharpen stainless and I am not looking to spend more than 175.Any ideas would be great. Thanks in advanced.
 
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I'm no expert on sharpening equipment, but I can tell you that there is not best freehand stone. A $10 norton india or crystalon could fit your bill, but there are waterstones that will greatly exceed the average individual's budget. Really it depends on what steels you will be sharpening. There is a vast span of waterstones, diamond abrasives, and much more to choose from. I started freehand sharpening on sandpaper with glass and it worked decently for light touch ups.

I would first edit your post and add in details to what steels you will be sharpening and your budget. Then someone more knowledgeable or maybe even me could recommend some stones off the given information.

EDIT:

On one other note, a good strop makes all the difference. I have yet to get an extremely crisp edge right off the stone. I always need to strop it to get it to its maximum potential. Especially if you're new with free-handing (I've been freehanding for a year now and I still have things to improve on) a strop will help you a ton.
 
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Being still some what new to sharpening (around 8 months, or less than 50 hours under my belt at the time of this post) was told technique is where it's at....or at least plays a major role in free hand sharpening.
I only own 2 stones, one synthetic one natural, both made in china, both combined cost less than 10% USD. But with these two stones I can put a hair whittling edge on a knife.

But yeah....do try to avoid MIC stuff, the synthetic one has lots of impurities in it, often at times when I'm half way through would hear a loud clack, and the edge is dented from hitting an impurity and have to start over. The natural one doesn't respond very well to PM steels, and makes a screeching sound like scratching black board some times.
 
Well , there are 3 lines of stones i would reccomend. Shaprons , Choseras and Nubatamas.

The shaptons are unforgiving and as such i wouldnt reccomend them to a begginer. They have some quircks.

The Nubatamas have a large lineup and can play well with Natural stones. I am sure there would.be something in this lineto fit your needs.

The Choseras are a good option as well.

Need a better idea of preciselywhat your looking to do.
 
Corvairgod said:
I was curious what the best set of freehand stones is, I am not looking to break the bank on stones. I need them from medium to really fine. I mainly sharpen stainless and I am not looking to spend more than 175.Any ideas would be great. Thanks in advanced.
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Norton stones are really the best bang for the buck and work on carbon steels and simple stainless's. A lot of people are recommending waterstones--which work great, but can be pricey and require maintenance (i.e flattening). I think diamond stones would be best for you as they're low maintenance, cut any steel, and lasts forever as long as you aren't using tons of pressure while sharpening.

I think you could do well with an extra course + fine DMT diasharp along with a strop. You should still be able to get sharp edges that will work for food prep and basic edc tasks. The DMT diasharp stones come in different sizes, but if you don't mind a 6x2 inch sized stone, you probably could get everything under $100. A 8x3 is simply larger and easier to work on.
 
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