The 60 grit may work but sand would last a lot longer, like 4-8 times longer and be a lot cheaper. I got a 50 lb bag of sand for pool filtration for $12, but it is too coarse. It still works but not quite so coarse would work a little better, and work better for the 250.
As for what steels the Matrix stones work on I agree if the steel is too soft then they don't work too well even if you use no pressure. I use them on some Chicago knives I was gifted and they work fine, not great but good enough that I still prefer the Matrix stones. On a friends Cuisnart knives which are very soft the Matrix stones are terrible, they just tear the steel up. For these I use my boron carbide resin bond stones, if I didn't have those then I would use my EP AlOx stones. I think the big advantage to diamond over other abrasives is that it is so clean cutting so it cuts with less force, so it puts less pressure on the apex which is important to get it as fine as possible. Just my current thinking, which may change.
These stones are expensive but they are slow wearing. I think the only complaint that Ben has about them is that once EP sells you one they will never sell you another, I have heard him say this a few times. The ones EP uses daily wear about .002"-.004" a year for the 2300 and 4000, they sharpen around 50 knives a week. The exact numbers are in my Matrix thread. The one year inspection for the new grits is May so I will update my Matrix post when I measure them again. I am quite curious how the coarser stones are wearing now that we will have a year on them.
How much the finer stones load up- After dressing a Matrix stone it will take a few knives for it to settle down, the finish it leaves is a littel too coarse for the first knife or two. After this break in they are pretty consistent for subsequent knives. The 2300 and 4000 will get black from the steel but this isn't too big a problem and is best cleaned off with rubbing alcohol. These stones should be dressed when you start to see stray scratches in the bevel, it seems they may pick up some contamination after awhile. The coarser stones should only need dressing to keep flat, almost never, because they got dry while sharpening with them, or you just want them as aggressive as possible. Keep in mind nearly all the wear will be from dressing, not from sharpening.
Once you set the apex then the grit progression is designed for 10 edge trailing strokes per side on a 3" blade. This includes a buffer, 6-7 strokes are usually enough. I inspect the bevel under a microscope to determine if the stone has done it's job and is ready for the next finer grit. If the blade is Maxamet then maybe 15 strokes, maybe. Yes the finer grits dry up too fast with water, I try to remember to add a dab every 10 strokes or so. I am going to try mineral oil to see if it works better, it shouldn't hurt the stones but I want to make sure with my own before I say it's ok.
Wowbangger, the pass-around never ended if you want to try the lot out. Since it is just sitting in my shop we can extend the try out period to whatever you want. Your cost is the $15 or so to mail a medium flat rate box back to me.
As for what steels the Matrix stones work on I agree if the steel is too soft then they don't work too well even if you use no pressure. I use them on some Chicago knives I was gifted and they work fine, not great but good enough that I still prefer the Matrix stones. On a friends Cuisnart knives which are very soft the Matrix stones are terrible, they just tear the steel up. For these I use my boron carbide resin bond stones, if I didn't have those then I would use my EP AlOx stones. I think the big advantage to diamond over other abrasives is that it is so clean cutting so it cuts with less force, so it puts less pressure on the apex which is important to get it as fine as possible. Just my current thinking, which may change.
These stones are expensive but they are slow wearing. I think the only complaint that Ben has about them is that once EP sells you one they will never sell you another, I have heard him say this a few times. The ones EP uses daily wear about .002"-.004" a year for the 2300 and 4000, they sharpen around 50 knives a week. The exact numbers are in my Matrix thread. The one year inspection for the new grits is May so I will update my Matrix post when I measure them again. I am quite curious how the coarser stones are wearing now that we will have a year on them.
How much the finer stones load up- After dressing a Matrix stone it will take a few knives for it to settle down, the finish it leaves is a littel too coarse for the first knife or two. After this break in they are pretty consistent for subsequent knives. The 2300 and 4000 will get black from the steel but this isn't too big a problem and is best cleaned off with rubbing alcohol. These stones should be dressed when you start to see stray scratches in the bevel, it seems they may pick up some contamination after awhile. The coarser stones should only need dressing to keep flat, almost never, because they got dry while sharpening with them, or you just want them as aggressive as possible. Keep in mind nearly all the wear will be from dressing, not from sharpening.
Once you set the apex then the grit progression is designed for 10 edge trailing strokes per side on a 3" blade. This includes a buffer, 6-7 strokes are usually enough. I inspect the bevel under a microscope to determine if the stone has done it's job and is ready for the next finer grit. If the blade is Maxamet then maybe 15 strokes, maybe. Yes the finer grits dry up too fast with water, I try to remember to add a dab every 10 strokes or so. I am going to try mineral oil to see if it works better, it shouldn't hurt the stones but I want to make sure with my own before I say it's ok.
Wowbangger, the pass-around never ended if you want to try the lot out. Since it is just sitting in my shop we can extend the try out period to whatever you want. Your cost is the $15 or so to mail a medium flat rate box back to me.
