Good set of sharpening supplies for a beginner?

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Ztmma

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Oct 9, 2012
Messages
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Hi there, I'm looking for an opinion on what would be a good set of sharpening tools for me to start out with. I would really like to learn how to free hand sharpen. Looking at videos and guides it seems Arkansas, Japanese Waterstones, and DMT Diamonds Stones are the most popular. It seems that diamond stones are the best for course grit and tough knives, but the other stones do a better job at finishing/honing an edge. I figured i should get a coarse grit diamond stone and both a medium/fine Arkansas/Japanese Waterstone, some honing oil, and a strop. Can anyone tell me if I am going about this the right way (guidance/tips/recommendations are all very welcome). Thank you for the time.
 
Pretty lo-tech for me works best. Fewer moving parts :) DMT course then fine then extra fine followed by polishing with ceramic and light stropping works good for me for a new edge. The only "system" I've tried is the Lansky, but I can get a much better edge with the DMT bench stones.
 
I've done just fine with an india stone, and a soft and hard Arkansas. However, I used a diamond stick for several years with OK results (not as sharp as I would like but pretty good).
 
I use a coarse and fine dmt, then finish at 40 degrees for a few strokes on the sharpmaker. I get some pretty mean edges without too much effort.
 
Unless doing major reprofile on high wear resistant steel, Washboard and Balance Strop are enough to produce a working edge that sometime need to be shaver :D
Plus the washboard is a good tool to learn freehand, quite portable and never dish out.

For major reprofile, nothing beats DMT. It eats steel like breakfast;)
 
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It might be a good idea to give us an idea of what sort of knives you plan to sharpen most often. Small pocket knives may benefit from Sharpening Method A, while larger kitchen knives might be better served by Sharpening Method B (and their associated equipment,) and fixed bladed hunting knives yet a third. And while one method and equipment set may work for all three, it may not be the most efficient or effective for one or the other. With more information, we can give you more specific suggestions.


Stitchawl
 
Falkniven make some nice diamond ceramic combo sharpeners
Good for basic working edge type stuff .
Rember you dont allways have to remove steel to sharpen
A chefs steel will bring a dull blade back on line pretty quick.
 
It seems the "what do I sharpen with" is pretty much covered by the others :) One of the most important things for a beginner sharpening is a cheap knife that you can practice on. A Svord Peasant, Opinel or Mora would be ideal. They're all inexpensive so it doesn't matter if you make some mistakes and they're all really great value for money so you'll probably end up holding on to them for life. In fact, get all three - that way you can practice on different blade profiles as well.
 
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Ztmma said:
Hi there, I'm looking for an opinion on what would be a good set of sharpening tools for me to start out with. I would really like to learn how to free hand sharpen. Looking at videos and guides it seems Arkansas, Japanese Waterstones, and DMT Diamonds Stones are the most popular. It seems that diamond stones are the best for course grit and tough knives, but the other stones do a better job at finishing/honing an edge. I figured i should get a coarse grit diamond stone and both a medium/fine Arkansas/Japanese Waterstone, some honing oil, and a strop. Can anyone tell me if I am going about this the right way (guidance/tips/recommendations are all very welcome). Thank you for the time.
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You've got the right idea - you need a coarse, a medium, and a fine abrasive. How coarse or fine at the ends depends a lot on your individual needs. Many folks (including myself) have been recommending the Norton combination India stone for your coarse and medium, and a strop of some sort for a fine. Flexcut makes a very high quality stropping compound, and it can be applied to paper wrapped around the India stone. This will give you a basic set that can do pretty much any sharpening job you might come across. For tougher steels the Norton Crystalon stone can be used in place of the India to fill the same role.

As Chris mentioned, I sell a tool through the link in my signature that does a great job for overall sharpening too - helps with holding angles when sharpening freehand (no built in guide) and excels at finishing and maintenance. There are videos on the sale thread that you might find helpful no matter what you choose for your set. Have sold out of my current stock, but have already started the next run - will be available soon.
 
Hello all. Im new to the forum . I recently got into free hand sharpening and have got pretty decent with my king 1000/6000. I now would like to get a set of water stones .My budget is $ 350. Would like 4 stones in the set. I will use for japenese chef knives VG-10 pocket knives . ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ??
 
kickin_wing said:
Hello all. Im new to the forum . I recently got into free hand sharpening and have got pretty decent with my king 1000/6000. I now would like to get a set of water stones .My budget is $ 350. Would like 4 stones in the set. I will use for japenese chef knives VG-10 pocket knives . ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ??
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I like the Shapton Pro, Gesshin, and Sigma Power II stones the best not in any particular order there are plenty of quality stones available I'm not mentioning too.

You could get a few stones and make a very nice set of premium quality for well under your $350 I think. Especially if you keep the King combo in the rotation, it's a good stone on it's own and you already bought so it might as well use it till it need to be replaced. I'd look at adding a coarse diamond plate for heavy steel removal work and it will double as a stone flattener to keep your stones in top shape. I have been using a DMT XXC plate for this for some time now and recently made a splurge and got an Atoma 140. If you don't mind the extra cost of the Atoma it's the better choice of the two. After the diamond plate I'd look at something to use before the King 1000. My pick would be the Gesshin 400 but anyting in the range of 220 to 500 that meets your fancy would be good. Then you'll want something around 2000 for after the King at 1k. I love the Shapton Pro 2k and Gesshin 2k. Either of them would be a great stone for stopping at for many knives you might encounter. Softer SS - German and lower end kitchen knives, harder steel knives like many Japanese kitchen knives will lend themselves to more refinement on higher grit stone better. Also you may find you like to stop in the 2k range for some folders and EDC type knives? You'll have to try it and see what you like. Then it would be on to your King 6000 for refinement and maybe an 8k or 10k after that?. The Kitayama 8000 would be a super choice for a reasonable price. Then you could add a strop at some point maybe or hold off getting a stone above 6000 and get a strop instead? There are a lot of ways to go. The sky is really the limit.

If you want to just dump the King, the Sigma Power II 1200 is my favorite stone for that 1k range stone in my progression. The Gesshin 6000 splash and go is also a really nice stone.
 
ebrguy said:
I like the Shapton Pro, Gesshin, and Sigma Power II stones the best not in any particular order there are plenty of quality stones available I'm not mentioning too.

You could get a few stones and make a very nice set of premium quality for well under your $350 I think. Especially if you keep the King combo in the rotation, it's a good stone on it's own and you already bought so it might as well use it till it need to be replaced. I'd look at adding a coarse diamond plate for heavy steel removal work and it will double as a stone flattener to keep your stones in top shape. I have been using a DMT XXC plate for this for some time now and recently made a splurge and got an Atoma 140. If you don't mind the extra cost of the Atoma it's the better choice of the two. After the diamond plate I'd look at something to use before the King 1000. My pick would be the Gesshin 400 but anyting in the range of 220 to 500 that meets your fancy would be good. Then you'll want something around 2000 for after the King at 1k. I love the Shapton Pro 2k and Gesshin 2k. Either of them would be a great stone for stopping at for many knives you might encounter. Softer SS - German and lower end kitchen knives, harder steel knives like many Japanese kitchen knives will lend themselves to more refinement on higher grit stone better. Also you may find you like to stop in the 2k range for some folders and EDC type knives? You'll have to try it and see what you like. Then it would be on to your King 6000 for refinement and maybe an 8k or 10k after that?. The Kitayama 8000 would be a super choice for a reasonable price. Then you could add a strop at some point maybe or hold off getting a stone above 6000 and get a strop instead? There are a lot of ways to go. The sky is really the limit.

If you want to just dump the King, the Sigma Power II 1200 is my favorite stone for that 1k range stone in my progression. The Gesshin 6000 splash and go is also a really nice stone.
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thanks for input. Im going 1. Dmt XXC 2.gesshin 400 3.My king 1k 4.gesshin 2k 5. My king 6k 6.Leather strop. I will replace king stone later
 
I have a few knives in 3v, d2, and 1095. 5-3.5inch fixed blades and a 3.5inch folder. Thats what i would manly want to be sharpening.
Thanks for all the great input everyone, this forum is a really great place to acquire knowledge!
 
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