Gonna buy some more gear...

K

KennyB

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Jan 19, 2010
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So I'm wanting to buy some more sharpening gear, but I'm not really sure what I should get. Right now I have a Norton 220/1K water-stone and a piece of scrap leather taped to a honing stone as a strop, and so I'm torn between these items...

Norton 4k/8k waterstone - $71 off Amazon
Naniwa 8000 Super Stone - $59
DMT EEF DiaSharp Continuous - $66
8" Double Side Paddle Strop + DMT DiaPaste kit - $57

I'm not sure if I should get the Norton or not because for the sake of grit progression it seems like I should have a 4K grit in there, and that's also one of the reasons that getting the strops doesn't seem like the best idea, but I'm not really sure how important the grit progression is.

The Naniwa is desireable because I can get it cheaper than the Norton or the DMT, and the DMT is desirable of course because it's diamond. Overall though i wonder if I shouldn't just get the strop and the compound since I would be able to go from 6 microns to 1 from the 1K, but I'm not sure if the strop would be as effective doing that as an actual hone.
 
Keep in mind the dmt eef is lower in grit than the other stones up there. I'd go for the norton and make your own strop.
 
Forget about buying strops! If you're going to use compounds of any sort, and still wish to use leather for a substrate, buy a piece of 12"x12" veg tanned leather from Jantz Knife Maker's Supply and cut it in thirds. You'll have three 4"x12" good quality veg tanned cowhide for half the cost of a single bought strop! Just glue them down on a flat board and you're ready to go. If it was me doing it, I'd leave one of 'em bare for the final stropping...

Stitchawl
 
Why that stone selection? its not really progressing in any way that's helpful.

Check my sig for strop making.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Why that stone selection? its not really progressing in any way that's helpful.

Check my sig for strop making.
Click to expand...
I'm mostly just not sure what to get. I'm not sure if jumping from 1K to 8K will be beneficial, but I'm assuming so since Norton sells a 1K/8K combination stone, and then as far as the strops go I understand they're much cheaper than stones, but I don't know if they'll really give me dramatically different results without needing to get a new stone too.

I'm really just trying to go to that "next level" so to speak, but I feel like starting down in the 4000-6000 grit ranges just isn't going to be that significant of a difference considering the results I already get from 1K and stropping, and then since Norton sells a 1K/8K combination I figured that maybe 8K isn't too much of a leap to take care of all the cuts from the 1K.

So I guess the question is more along the lines of... Should I get the Norton 4000/8000 and have proper grit progression, should I jump all the way up to 8000, or should I jump ALL the way up to strops and compound?

I'm not really sure how much sharper I want to get. Hair whittling and shaving ( my edges just barely shave) are basically what I'm unable to do now that I would like to do. Perhaps someone could explain what I should expect from each option?
 
Get the norton 4k/8k to get proper grit progression, it just makes life easier that way. Follow with DMT paste on balsa wood and enjoy the sharpest of edges.

Its always best to stick with one type of stone, switching between stones requires you to get a new feel for the stone and depending on the abrasive could be a totally wrong grit to use even when it sounds right. If you like the norton get more, if you want different water stones try naniwa in a set, if you sharpen a lot of high wear steels get a set of diamonds, whatever you do just make sure its all the same set.
 
My current bench stone set up is an all Norton affair I have the 220/1000 combo and the 4000/8000 combo stones along with the flattening stone to keep everything true. I find that the progression I have works for me. I assume that Norton sells the 1k/8k combo is so that you can get away with only buying 2 stones the combo and a 4k. that way you can soak the 4k while using the 1k side then soak the combo while using the 4k stone and have the 8k side ready when you are. Just my thoughts on it
 
I like pure DMT benchstones. Though an XXC diamond stone wouldn't be a bad idea either, as that would be most of the sharpening done right there.
 
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