good sharpening stone?

A

army4ever

Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
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hi i am looking to find a good quality brand of sharpening stones. i was looking on bucks site and they seem good but not sure any suggestions?
 
how much can you spend, what kind of knives are you sharpening, and for what kind of work?

DMT, Shapton, Spyderco, Norton, etc, there'll be something for you to work with, just need a little direction. Or you can do like some of us and try just about all of it :D
 
I have a DMT I've used for several years and I like it real well. It's 2" x 6" and red, but I forget what grit that indicates. It's a good all purpose stone for my uses, but you might eventually want one that's "medium course" and one that's "fine." Mine works well with just a little water on it.
 
well, several don't care for the interrupted surface diamond sharpeners (that's the one with all the holes in it) because the tip of the knife can catch in the holes. Arkansas stones are a bit soft for the really wear resistant steels, you'll be working a little longer on something like S30V.

If you want diamond, I would suggest DMT diasharps. For finishing, Spyderco ultrafine or a quality waterstone. Follow up with a loaded strop with chromium oxide, diamond powder, boron nitride, silicon carbide, butterscotch pecan, oh wait, forget that last one :)
 
alright thanks alot im gona go with the dmt diasharp fine and extra fine and and arkansis from buck since im only sharpening 420hc blades at the moment
 
yeah, once the diamonds are broken in you'll get a slightly finer finish. until then the washita should give a smoother edge than the DMT fine.
 
hardheart said:
Follow up with a loaded strop with chromium oxide, diamond powder, boron nitride, silicon carbide, butterscotch pecan...
Click to expand...

Yes, those work well, but I've had even better results with New York super fudge chunk. It achieves a well polished belly :D.
 
I too am looking for a good sharpening stone for a gift for my brother. He has two Shun Kaji kitchen knives and would like something to keep those blades sharp. I think he prefers a stone to a steel. Thanks for the help.
 
Shapton glass stones are what my oldest son uses. Like me, he's tried several types including Norton waterstones, India stones and Arkansas oilstones. Unlike me, he's a freehand sharpener, but he gets good results.

Now he uses the Shaptons exclusively. I believe he has a 1000 grit and a 4000 and he seems to be perfectly satisfied with just the two of them.
 
you might want to get a course dmt to start with until you decide how much time you want to spend sharpening.
 
Phinneygirl: For sharpening Japanese knives, get the best Japanese waterstones you can afford.
 
It is important to remember there are several types of Arkansas stone out there. There is the marbled Soft Arkansas which is a medium stone, then there is the white Hard Arkansas used for a fine edge, and lately in stores I have been seeing a packaged gray stone which the package says is an Arkansas. Not being willing to buy one of those, I have no idea what grade of finish that produces.
 
army4ever said:
where can i get a white hard arkansas? not a marbled one?
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I Lansky has a few of the small ones on their web site. See http://www.lanskysharpeners.com/LBS6H.php . Larger (i.e., 8" x3, 9"x4", etc.) ones have grown scarce and began doing so in the '60s. Something to do with a finite size to the quarry, but more consumer demand than the vein provided. Whenever I encounter one of the old large ones at a flea market or estate sale in a good unchipped condition I try to buy it. The large ones tend to be pricey unless the owner is totally clueless. However the small ones go for about $20.
 
Armyforever: Check (Google) some woodworking sites for good AR stones. I've gotten some nice oil stones from "Tools for Working Wood"
 
I should mention that the kitchen knives are Damascus steel. Does that change how they should be sharpened or what they should be sharpened with?
 
Are grizzly diamong honing stone 300grits ok for reprofiling? how should I start it? benched?
 
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