Good cheap sharpening stone advice

smitty0331

smitty0331

Joined
Dec 5, 2006
Messages
892
Hello everyone. I'm teaching a "whittlin' chip" class for a local weblos pack, and I volunteered to provide the stones for the boys as well. I'm looking for a good, cost effective stone for the boys to learn on that won't break the bank. I personally freehand sharpen on diamond, alumina ceramic, and arkansas stones, but I really can't afford to purchase these for 8-9 boys. I was thinking about Norton india stones, but I have never used, or even handled one, and I'm not a fan of their Crystolon stones at all. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
King is a Japanese waterstone manufacturer. I personally don't think it's the right stone for young 'uns because they require more maintenance (flattening, water lube, etc).

Maybe a stone from Home Depot or Harbor Freight. Their cheap, but they sharpen. And, honestly, the kids are going to suck at freehand. Everyone sucks at it in the beginning.


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I picked up a med/coarse harbor freight stone to throw in the ranch truck. Figured I always have something in there and if it is lost then no big deal. The stone will put a rough edge on a blade however it is so soft you think you are cutting off pieces of cheese when using it. Makes a huge mess compared to better stones.
 
A little "out of the box", but the most cost effective would be Jackknife's coffe mugs. You would also be teaching them something about improving & using what is at hand.

Other than that, check out chef supply stores. They often have several good but inexpensive stones available. A couple of years ago, I got a course/medium stone & a med/fine stone from a chef's store in Pittsburg for about $10.00 for both.

These were not the sort of stones that most of us here on BF lust after, but they are effective for what they are.

Allen
 
Home Depot as mentioned earlier, sells a combo stone made by Norton for around $6.
 
Do you have access to a wet saw? You could by some longer stones and cut them in half. Personally I find harbor freight and ace hardware to have a nicer stone selection for your needs. Ace has a soft arkansas for ten dollars last time I was there
 
The Eze-Lap model L diamond hones are small, light, and cost all of something like 6.99. You can cut the red plastic handle off to fit better in a pocket or wallet. Also check out the old boy scout pocket stones that are the Norton crystolon. I went back to using my old boy scout stone I found in a box of stuff in the attic. It works great.

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Before we go any further, can you tell me about the knives that you'll be sharpening? I find that that will make an impact on my recommendation.

Edit- let me clarify. What kind of knife? Fixed carver? Slipjoint? What kind of steel?

Depending on the steel and hardness, you might get away with simple stropping. In any case, that would be a very valuable skill to teach them.
 
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Simple slipjoint pocket knives.....thats all they"re allowed to carry, and probably cheapos at that, maybe a case or 2 in the mix-probably ss.
 
I gotta go with the Home Depot Econo Norton stone. For the money I can't think of anything better for your crew.
 
smitty0331 said:
Simple slipjoint pocket knives.....thats all they"re allowed to carry, and probably cheapos at that, maybe a case or 2 in the mix-probably ss.
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HeavyHanded said:
I gotta go with the Home Depot Econo Norton stone. For the money I can't think of anything better for your crew.
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David Martin said:
I must agree. DM
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Ditto. I've found the Norton Economy stone very useful on typical (traditional) pocketknives of both simple carbon and stainless steels, and it works great with Case's stainless ('Tru-Sharp', a.k.a. 420HC), AND their CV as well. I use the 'Fine' side of the stone the vast majority of the time; it still works very fast. Follow that with stropping on wood with black and/or green compound, to clean up the burrs and make the edges really pop.

Ace Hardware also has an equivalent stone, under their own branding, in 4" and 6" sizes (maybe an 8" also, though I don't remember at the moment). The 4" size is very handy (I have one), and could be especially convenient for scouts in the field. Kids may also find the smaller size easier to handle.

These are so-called 'oil stones', primarily intended to be used with oil or similar lubrication. They don't have to be used this way, but I personally really like the feedback of these stones, when used as such.


David
 
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