Diamond vs waterstone cutting speed?

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yepimonfire

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Nov 7, 2013
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Which is faster? Was trying to sharpen a difficult to sharpen knife along with it being very dull. Worked for quite some time on a 220 water stone and it was still dull as a butter knife. Took it to a 325 diamond stone and it sharpened up very very fast. Had another knife I sharpened which I decided to use a diamond stone instead of the water stone and in about half the time the entire bevel was re established.

Is it much faster or just a coincidence? I thought waterstones were on par with diamond speed.
 
Diamond stones cut faster than probably any other type of stone. The system used for rating grits on Japanese water stones and what we use here in the U.S. are completely different so you cannot directly compare grits. Diamond stones will cut metal very fast - almost too fast if you're not paying attention. Waterstones wear away the metal much more slowly but will leave a more polished edge. Waterstones will also belly out as the stone wears away and forms a slurry and need to be flattened regularly where diamond stones stay very flat until they are completely worn out. Diamond stones can be used wet or dry.
 
Diamond hones can remove metal quickly but they are not the fastest every time. It also depends a lot on the waterstone, a King 220 and a Shapton 220 might both be 220 grit but the Shapton is harder and faster while being able to handle a broader range of steels.

Some steels just don't like some stones too, I know it sounds weird but some stones will have a hard time grinding the steel depending on the steel itself. You will have some steels that melt when they meet a Damond hone while others go un-phased, same goes for waterstones, oil stones, or sandpaper.

Most of the time a waterstone will be faster but it depends on a lot of factors.
 
The stones and knife in question were norton waterstones, and a Gerber profile made up of some mystery steel. I had taken it to the water stone and even a carbide adjustable angle to try to re establish the bevel and it was going extremely slow on both. I also had some other knives in the past from gerber, mainly ones made out of 7cr17 which isn't even a very hard steel that would not sharpen on either the water stones or a norton india.
 
The Norton 220 waterstone is somewhat slow going but should still manhandle the steels you list. Try using it bone dry and see if that doesn't speed it up.
 
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