-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Best xtra coarse stone for the money?
- Thread starter MikeMade™
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2005
- Messages
- 161
I have not used one, but in the past many people have suggested a coarse water stone has being the best remover of metal, specifically the pink one. I own a coarse diamond hone too, and it can still be a bear on steels like S30V. I am considering just breaking down and buying the belt grinder, it will probally be worht the effort to have around.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
A belt sander will cut faster, smoother, and with more controlability than an extra coarse bench hone. The sander may be cheaper as well.
If you want to try a waterstone try a Shapton Professional grade 120 grit hone. You can find them at Woodcraft:
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5162
If you want to try a waterstone try a Shapton Professional grade 120 grit hone. You can find them at Woodcraft:
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5162
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2006
- Messages
- 3,869
What's the hurry? Most folks would not do very well with a belt sander. If you work your steel to fast or hard you remove the temper and can even burn the blade. I would have to believe that most of you have more than a few knives you can use. I have been using a Smiths Diamond Steel for freshining a blade and a Smiths or DMT Coarse & Fine Stones for the serious jobs but I take my time. When I Know I have some work to do on one of my blades I just carry a different one untill I am satisfied with the sharpening of the dull knife. Take it easy and Wowww Up a bit... ~baba~
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2002
- Messages
- 790
If all you care about is speed, get a belt sander and 36 grit belts. You can get a 1x30 sander Harbor Freight for under $30 right now.
The fastest hand-powered way to hog off hardened steel is a coarse synthetic waterstone. Put your blade on the edge of a table and hold the waterstone in your hand. You can push down on the stone as hard as you want to speed up the cutting. Use the narrow side of the stone to focus even more pressure on the area you want to grind away.
Coarse waterstones have their drawbacks - most wear away very quickly. While a dished stone may be preferable for convex edges, keeping a coarse waterstone flattened can be a chore to say the least. If you keep the stone stationary and move the edge across the top, you'll find that it doesn't stay wet very long (coarse waterstones tend to be very porous) so you have to wet the surface frequently.
A few of us have the pink ceramic 220 grit waterstone available at Epicurean Edge and Japan Woodworker. It may not be the fastest waterstone you can buy, but we like it because it wears slower and holds water better than most other coarse stones. Plus the finish it leaves is finer than 220, making the jump to a 1000 grit stone relatively easy.
If you don't want to deal with stone flattening (or if you want a great stone flattener), check out the DMT D8XX DiaSharp. It removes metal fast, though it's not recommended to bear down on it like you can do with a stone. The coarse Razor Edge hone is also reported to be a fast cutter, without the mess of oil or water.
My $0.02 . . . all of these methods are fast, so don't base your decision on speed alone. What does your budget allow and which one would you be most comfortable using? If you don't have many knives to reprofile, consider finding a local knifemaker to do the grinding for you. A lot of the knifemakers here are very friendly and wouldn't mind helping if you ask nicely
.
The fastest hand-powered way to hog off hardened steel is a coarse synthetic waterstone. Put your blade on the edge of a table and hold the waterstone in your hand. You can push down on the stone as hard as you want to speed up the cutting. Use the narrow side of the stone to focus even more pressure on the area you want to grind away.
Coarse waterstones have their drawbacks - most wear away very quickly. While a dished stone may be preferable for convex edges, keeping a coarse waterstone flattened can be a chore to say the least. If you keep the stone stationary and move the edge across the top, you'll find that it doesn't stay wet very long (coarse waterstones tend to be very porous) so you have to wet the surface frequently.
A few of us have the pink ceramic 220 grit waterstone available at Epicurean Edge and Japan Woodworker. It may not be the fastest waterstone you can buy, but we like it because it wears slower and holds water better than most other coarse stones. Plus the finish it leaves is finer than 220, making the jump to a 1000 grit stone relatively easy.
If you don't want to deal with stone flattening (or if you want a great stone flattener), check out the DMT D8XX DiaSharp. It removes metal fast, though it's not recommended to bear down on it like you can do with a stone. The coarse Razor Edge hone is also reported to be a fast cutter, without the mess of oil or water.
My $0.02 . . . all of these methods are fast, so don't base your decision on speed alone. What does your budget allow and which one would you be most comfortable using? If you don't have many knives to reprofile, consider finding a local knifemaker to do the grinding for you. A lot of the knifemakers here are very friendly and wouldn't mind helping if you ask nicely
.- Joined
- Oct 23, 2005
- Messages
- 549
A dry coarse India or crystolon stone costs a fraction of the cost of a coarse diamond and are just as effective.
Bear down on the edge with 2 hands using a drawing back and forth motion from one end of the edge to the other instead of trying to slice the stone and you'll have your edge reprofiled in no time flat.
Bear down on the edge with 2 hands using a drawing back and forth motion from one end of the edge to the other instead of trying to slice the stone and you'll have your edge reprofiled in no time flat.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
I have used bench hones freehand for nearly 50 years. That's why for speed and controllability I suggest a belt sander. If you are really trying to hog off metal by pushing hard on a bench hone it is hard to hold to a precise angle and it is very easy to slip and scratch up the side of your blade. With a belt sander I would normally just use about a 120 grit belt and only moderate pressure. I would focus my attention on holding the blade at the angle that I wanted rather than pushing and pulling on a manual hone. If you use just a modicum of care and don't let the blade get uncomfortable to the touch you won't damage the heat treatment. That is how the blade was shaped in the first place. As you get close to having the edge angle you want, switch to a finer belt and lighter pressure. Finish sharpening with a bench hone by all means but start with a 600 grit to 1000 grit hone rather than a 120 or a 220.
If you get a belt sander start off with some throw away knives. I go to a Goodwill thrift store or a garage sale and get kitchen knives for 50 cents to a dollar. Those are great for honing your belt sander honing skills.
If you get a belt sander start off with some throw away knives. I go to a Goodwill thrift store or a garage sale and get kitchen knives for 50 cents to a dollar. Those are great for honing your belt sander honing skills.
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2001
- Messages
- 8,968
I find that the more pressure I apply when using a coarse silicon carbide stone, the more of the stone I turn to dust. I use moderate pressure on a D8XX and get good results. I also have a 1x30 belt sander, but am waiting on some more belts. I've used a fine aluminum oxide on it with a couple large fixed blades, heat was not a problem. Getting them beyond slicing newsprint is, it's not very hard steel to begin with (advertised 44-50 RC) so I need to build some finesse into my handling.