BEST non-diamond sharpening stones

You might want to take a look at the Smiths' "Tri-Hone". I use one, with excellent results!.:).
 
Spyderco. The ProFiles will sharpen any edge configuration...plain, serrated, or recurved.

Paul
 
Razor Edge Systems stones are awesome. THe coarse stone cuts FAST! It is really coarse... if you slip, it leaves big scratches! But that is the case with any stone. The fine hone leaves an edge that isn't super polished, but it sure cuts well.
 
I like ceramic "stones" because they clean up with scouring powder. No honing oil. Wears very slowly.
 
2nd the Norton course and fine india. You may also want to try a Japanese water stone. These are also made by Norton. Spyderco's stones work well, but the ones I have dont cut very fast. I have the medium and fine grits that come w/ the sharpmaker. They may have a course version in their benchstones.
 
One vote more for SPYDERCO ceramics :)

Although it clogs quite fast – it is very easy to clean, I’m just washing mine with abrasive pot cleaner. No oil or water required to work with. Wears out really very slowly. Here are a lot of posts about knife abuse but pretty rarely (if at all) someone writes about sharpener abuse ;) And my sharpeners are really abused, in fact they are in work continuously and SPYDERCO ceramic holds up excellently.
The single complaint is about too mild cutting of medium (brown) one for edge reprofiling. I usually support it with coarse DMT whetstone.
But now, when SPYDERCO issued pretty coarse diamond rods for SharpMaker this problem is gode.
 
Japanese waterstones will cut much faster than ceramics, and India stones, and have a wider range of grits. They also don't need to be cleaned as they don't load. However they will need to be flattened on a regular basis, so you will need some lapping compound.

-Cliff
 
I would second the Tri-Hone, or any combination of Arkansas stones. I think they are the best value of any mentioned so far. Keep them cleen and they will last for a while. As far as dishing out, I have had a few start to dish out, but using a coarse silicone carbide stone on them usually flattens them back.

Waterstones seem more geared to woodworking tools, but some people use them on knives. I've used mine on my knives, but I like Arkansas stones better.

Haven't tried the ceramics mentioned so far, but at my old job, I used to get scrapped semiconductor power modules, which were ceramic topped. These did put a nice polish on the edges, a really good final hone.
 
I prefer Arkansas stones when I'm actually using stones (I prefer ceramic for the harder steels), but mainly for my slipjoints and fixed blades with softer HC steels.
 
Here's an Unbreakable ceramic. It is an aluminum core that's surface is converted to Ceramic. Same sharpening properties as solid ceramic but unbreakable because of the aluminum core. Saw it at the SHOT Show

Check out this sight:

Microarc
 
In over nine years I have sharpened over 20,000 knives at blade and gun shows. In that time I have tried everything. I usually start with an extra coarse EZ Lap diamond stone. I do this only to spend about 5 min. per blade. Razors Edge makes a coarse and fine dry synthetic stone. The coarse stone is very soft and developes a belly after 4 or 5 knives. This is why we specify a semi coarse grit on the stone we supply. You have to work a little longer but the stone wil last several years. Their fine stone is another animal. I usually end my sharpening with this stone. It puts a nice polish on the edge without being too fine. The stone is over nine years and still is as flat as the day I bought it. For an extra fine finish a water stonw with a 6000 grit would be ideal, but not really necessary
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top