Bester-500 or 700

I have the Bester 500 and it makes a good jumping stone between the D8XX and 1000 grit stones. It also is good for significant rebevelling when you can trade some speed for a lot less scratches on the blade that may never go away with the D8XX, and also no need for an intermediate stone before hitting your 1K-1200 grit stones. In going to a Zero grind on a Endura it took about twice as long on the Bester as it did on the D8XX (it took about 15 minutes for one side on the Bester, and about 7 minutes for the other side on the D8XX), but on normal rebevelling the difference won't be that big. The edge it leaves is also not bad, as it seems finer than a DMT Coarse (as expected) but cuts way faster than the DMT Coarse.

That being said, if all you are doing is removing the D8XX scratches before you hit a finer grit and you aren't going to rebevel with it the Bester 700 has gotten rave reviews. I personally haven't used it, but a lot of people on foodieforums swear by it. I think it is a decent bit cheaper then the Bester 500, as well. I know for a fact that the Bester 500 takes a long time to soak and dishes very slowly, and have heard the same about the Bester 700.

Mike
 
You have several good choices. My first choice would be a DMT coarse. Another is the GlassStone 220 which does it fairly quick with a finish slightly better than the Bester 500 or a GlassStone 500, which is slightly slower but will do the deed and leave you with a better finish than your King 1200!

The 500 Bester is faster but coarser than the 700 Bester (obviously) and either is a reasonable jump to a King 1200, which I don't consider a particularly fine stone.

There are a couple other alternatives (Naniwa 150 grit natural / synthetic - VERY fast removal of D8XXC scratches - just a few strokes - but a finish slightly coarser than a Bester 500 but enough to advance to a 1200 King - requires some soaking and will dish but the job is done before it dishes) and the Naniwa Chocera 400 which cuts quick with a finish between a Bester 700 and 500 GlassStone. VERY high % abrasive content, but a somewhat pricey stone. Wear rate seems close to the Bester.

The DMTs and GS require no soaking and are fastest in terms of total time spent.

---
Ken
 
I have the Bester 500, too. Bought it after hearing some less than honest advice and then hyped it up to poor Gunmike1 while I was still experiencing the new stone high. That said, it's a very nice, fast cutting stone that takes about 30 minutes to initially soak and then never seems to really dry. It leaves a slurry of sorts, but doesn't seem to dish too much. I hear the same about the Bester 700 and it costs less.

Now this may just be snob appeal or it may be my eyes being honest, but I can go from a D8XX straight to a 1000 grit Sigma Power waterstone without noticeable dishing of the stone or rounding of the edge. Can also go to Norton 1K from D8XX as well, but there's rounding which occurs. For $20 less, a little rounding ain't so bad.

Back to your question about the stones, I've taken a zdp-189 pocketknife (Spyderco brand Stretch II) and gone from the D8XX to the Bester 500 to the King 1200 and it was good. And then the King 4000 and superfluous 8000 made it better. Everything I've read on the internet says the Bester 700 does the same work.
 
gah, don't know if I should go one half, one third, or one quarter in micron size reduction. seems kind of a mix right now. too many shapes and types of abrasives to boot.
 
Why bother with such things? Since both the Bester 500 and 700 remove scratches from the D8XX (that much I can say with confidence), go for the less expensive one.

A D8XX to modestly cut a flat primary bevel, a Bester 700 to remove its scratches for both esthetics and to reduce stress risers, a 1200 for the first micro-bevel, a 4000 or 6000 for the second, and a loaded strop for the final micro. Could you ask for anything more and expect to receive it in under 10 minutes?
 
I don't have the 500, only the 700 and for me it removes the xx scratches easily in no time, and for me it replaces a 1000ish stone. I jump without problems to 2500 and have even tried to bridge to 6000. The gap is a bit too wide, but leaves an interesting edge. 700 to 2000-4000 I would consider ideal in terms of finish and efficiency. I really, really want the Bester 2000 now. This will be my next stone.
 
another opinion this time from the cheap guy. :) I use a cheap black silicon hone found at almost any hardware store as my next hone after the D8xx. So I go in order like this, D8xx, coarse side black silica hone, Shapton 1000, then on to Norton 4000 and 8000.
For around $10 or under I'd give it a try. Heck I still use the black as my first coarse stone sometimes when there isn't much grinding to do.
 
actually, I have an Economy Norton right now, I just don't like the feel of it and the fast breakdown.

Can anyone compare the 700 to 800 King, cause I have that (800/4000, 1200/8000 combo stones)
 
If dishing or wear is an issue for you the DMT coarse may be a good choice. I personally am going to go with diamonds for any hones I may need to get under 1000 or maybe even 2000 grits.
 
just ordered a glass stone 500, 36.95 no shipping. once again I finish nowhere near where I started :p
 
When you see how fine of a finish you'll get from a 500 grit Glasstone, you'll realize how true your words were.
 
if it lets me bypass the 1200 step and not take a long time cleaning up the D8XX, that will be great. Except, half of my King combos will go unused.

Still, no soak time is a good thing. Now it just needs to give better feedback than DMT plates, and that will be that.

until the itch to buy hits again.
 
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