Elmax steel on Jnats?

Rennd · Feb 24, 2014

I'm planning on buying a king 1000/6000 stone, in conjunction with a spyderco ultra fine bench stone. I've mostly been stropping since, making some pretty convex edges. My question is, will such a Japanese stone cut well enough on a vanadium rich steel such as elmax? If someone could tell me the Rockwell of the abrasive in such a stone, it would be much appreciated, too. Thanks guys!

#217 in RyanW's 2014 Giveaway

BluntCut MetalWorks · Feb 24, 2014

King 1K/6K is a synthetic not natural waterstone. Abrasive is alumina (form of aluminum oxide). King waterstones work well on simple carbon knives, so so to lousy on high alloy knives. I recommend shapton glass or pro 1K & 6K for this Elmax (and other high alloy knives) knife. Shapton Waterstone has high density ceramic particles work as abrasive, which quite effective up to 6K.

Rennd · Feb 24, 2014

I would certainly have bought shapton straight off the bat, if it weren't for my price restrictions. Do you have any recommendations in the 30-70 dollar range?

#217 in RyanW's 2014 Giveaway

BluntCut MetalWorks · Feb 24, 2014

A tad over budget, spend $57 for a shapton 1K and $16 for DMT 4" replacement for aligner. if still need/desire later on, well buy shapton glass 6K.

However if you lean toward high-alloy future, buy DMT 8 E and 8 EE.

I think 1K grit is top(sweet spot) of the bell-curve in usage/utilization for those sharpen their own knives. 180-400 grit is a good fit for edge-scratcher non-knut users.

Rennd said:
I would certainly have bought shapton straight off the bat, if it weren't for my price restrictions. Do you have any recommendations in the 30-70 dollar range?

#217 in RyanW's 2014 Giveaway

wade7575 · Feb 24, 2014

I know your not asking about the Chosera stones but here is my 2 cent's worth,I have a KME system and the Chosera and KME ceramic stones and I find that the Chosera stones work just fine on my ZT0560 and 0566 and get really sharp and can shave hair off my arm with the lightest touch.

Rennd · Feb 24, 2014

Do you happen to have any opinion in the spyderco bench stones?
I went ahead and grabbed those Dmt stones.

#217 in RyanW's 2014 Giveaway

BluntCut MetalWorks · Feb 24, 2014

Many brand/type of quality (non-diamond/cbn) waterstone will work fine for high alloy knives but usually become in-effective in higher grit range 7+K. You can test edge off these high grit (7K+) stones for durability by cut 3+ feets of thick cardboard then try to shave or slice newsprint afterward. a durable edge should pass the test because the presents of carbides on the apex(wear resistance) shield most of the matrix from cardboard abrasion for this short cutting duration.

wade7575 said:
I know your not asking about the Chosera stones but here is my 2 cent's worth,I have a KME system and the Chosera and KME ceramic stones and I find that the Chosera stones work just fine on my ZT0560 and 0566 and get really sharp and can shave hair off my arm with the lightest touch.

Alberta Ed · Feb 25, 2014

Diamonds are harder than any carbides.

BluntCut MetalWorks · Feb 25, 2014

I like spydero ceramic: medium & uf. Don't lap medium in spite its surface is not super flat but it cuts fast + use BKF to clean it. I mostly use my lapped 306UF as finishing grit for high end ($300-$1K) salon shears. However lately I relied on dmt E to fix a lot of worn out shears and some time just lightly strop after this stone/plate.

Rennd said:
Do you happen to have any opinion in the spyderco bench stones?
I went ahead and grabbed those Dmt stones.

#217 in RyanW's 2014 Giveaway

wade7575 · Feb 25, 2014

I use the 10000K Chosera on my ZT0566 and ZT0560 and you can see a grey slurry on the steel and on the stone,I know what you are saying that it's not going to remove as much metal as a 1000K or 5000K stone.I know I was surprised at how much the 10000K removed the first time I used and it was a fair amount.

I find the edge last's along time on my ZT's wether it's cutting cardboard or zipties off of something,I must say I'm really impressed with the ELMAX steel.

bluntcut said:
Many brand/type of quality (non-diamond/cbn) waterstone will work fine for high alloy knives but usually become in-effective in higher grit range 7+K. You can test edge off these high grit (7K+) stones for durability by cut 3+ feets of thick cardboard then try to shave or slice newsprint afterward. a durable edge should pass the test because the presents of carbides on the apex(wear resistance) shield most of the matrix from cardboard abrasion for this short cutting duration.