First Stone.

T

ThatsMyKnife

Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
78
Hey guys. First post here on the Forum.

I'm getting myself my first waterstone for Christmas this year. I've used the sandpaper/ mousepad method in the past and have made some "ok" edges ( they shave hair and slice copy paper like nothing but have more trouble on phone book paper ). I already own a strop with black and green compund from BR.

So my question is whats a good medium starting stone? I've heard that a good medium grit is 1000. Is that true? Also whats a good brand of waterstone for me to get that wont break the bank? Also I know its necessary to have a flating stone for waterstones. And i've heard DMT is a good brand, there just alittle pricey for me. Are there any cheaper flating stones out there?

Thanks a ton.
 
Well - for me (personally) a 1000 grit is almost for the finish. I use as a medium waterstone a 320 grit Indiga stone. I have an Arkansas Oil Stone with roundabout 1000 grit. Both are impregnated, so they won´t suck with oil/water.

IMO (!!) a good way to sharpen:
80 scythe (water) stone grit for the very heavy tasks (blade breakouts etc etc)
320 water stone for a good edge
1000 for prefinishing (same time of sharping like on the 320 grit)
leather strop (with or without compound) for the finishing

I also have combined 1k and 3k japanese waterstone - but it was not my beer, so they just are there for the kitchen knives ...

Hope that helps a little.

I´ve never used a DTM stone. But I make good results with my stones.
 
The reason I thought a 1000grit stone would be good is because it doesnt remove to much metal.

And since I have never used stones before I didnt want to get something that took off to much stock, cause then If I made a mistake it would harder to correct. So I think I'm gunna get a 1000grit stone, I can practice my technique and form until im comfortable with it. Then I will get myself a full set.

Thanks.
 
I start with #1000 when freehanding. I thought of adding on a #400 or #600 later on, but I haven't seen the need yet. I use a Naniwa Chosera, which is supposed to cut faster and be harder/wear slower than the average water stone, so the need for a coarser stone might arise earlier with other types of stones. If you start out with average (soft) kitchen knives, I think #1000 should be a good start.

Can't really say anything about good flatteners. I've only used a coarse diamond film on aluminium that I got for my edge pro + conditioning stones that came with my chosera stones. I'm sure others will offer cheaper solutions, but from what I've heard, silicon carbide powder on flat glass (recommended for edge pro stones) is pretty cheap. I've also heard that sandpaper is not recommended, since particles get stuck in the stone or whatnot.
 
Under the basic idea of using waterstones you have 3 main levels/grits, Grinding which consist of a coarse stone below 600 grit, Sharpening, a bit finer stone around 1k, and a finishing stone which you could place at 4k and up.

I would recommend starting with a top quality stone such as, Nubatama, shapton pro or Glass stone.

1k would be a decent starting point but it will become over-worked if you try and set bevels with it.
 
A basic setup that I recommend, is a King combo in 800/4k, or 1k/6k. They are about $35 at Japan Woodworker, I think.

You can lap this stone with a handful of playground sand on a piece of concrete. You could use nice sand on a piece of glass. You could use carbide grit on a piece of glass, or just save up a little while and get a 3x8" DMT in XC or XXC (in order of effectiveness and price).

The DMT will reprofle a blade and lap the stone, so you don't want to skimp on that.
 
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