Good whetstones?

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Brutus013

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I have a few knives, many of which are starting to dull. I want to get them sharp, and from looking around have found that using good quality whetstones and a strop will get the knife as sharp as it can get. Now, I wouldn't need a real course stone, none of my knives are that dull. So I am looking for a two sided stone, medium on one side and then fine on the other. I don't want it to be THAT expensive, but I don't really know the range so I will welcome any suggestions.
 
King Stone 800/4000 ~$40, Minosharp 240, 1000, and 6000 ~$150. I suggest you buy both, they are excellent for the price.
 
Now on that King Stone, is that a two sided, 800 on one side and 4000 on the other? Or are they seperate? And, with sufficient practice, would I be able to get a knife as sharp as possible on that combo, or would I need to get a finer stone if I wanted to get a knife "scary sharp" (shaving hair above the skin). Just as a note, I do not need a knife to be that sharp, I am just wondering if it would be possible on that combination.
 
Also, if I were to get a soft Arkansas stone and a hard Arkansas stone, what would be the approximate grit of said stones?
 
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Source: previous post by Chad Ward
 
Wow, that is very helpful, thanks. But about the King Stone 800/4000, I can't find it anywhere online. Where online do they sell them?

Edit: Also, between the King Stone 800/4000 and the Spyderco Sharpmaker, which, with sufficient practice, can get knives sharper? I am well aware how easy the Sharpmaker is, so I am assuming I can get them sharper with the Sharpmaker right off the bat, but after a bit of practice would the bench stones be able to get a better edge on a knife?
 
That chart mind you has nothing to do with cutting speed, as I guarantee a 1000 grit japanese waterstone will outcut a white arkasas about 100 to 1.
 
Just saying, on most high end knives, the steel is hard and wear resistant enough that it makes arkansas stones about useless for anything other than the final polish. If they're old carbon steel blades arkansas stones are fine, but I'd definately recommend getting something that cuts nice and fast anyways to use before you finish the edge.
 
I rely mainly on DMT diamond hones for 99% of my sharpening. I use a coarse carborundum for reprofiling an edge (or sometimes a file), and an ancient black Arkansas stone for the final hone on my carbon steel blades. Diamond hones seem to work better on 'stainless' alloys like ATS-34, VG-10, S30V, etc., and will also do a great job on carbon steels IMHO.
 
Alberta Ed said:
I rely mainly on DMT diamond hones for 99% of my sharpening. I use a coarse carborundum for reprofiling an edge (or sometimes a file), and an ancient black Arkansas stone for the final hone on my carbon steel blades. Diamond hones seem to work better on 'stainless' alloys like ATS-34, VG-10, S30V, etc., and will also do a great job on carbon steels IMHO.
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With the new steels like VG 10 my favorite and S30V i wouldnot use traditional waterstones or arkansas stones.
Personally i'm highly impressed with DMT coase fine extra fine.
They will cost you a buck but worthwile for modern stainlesses.
I'm thinking about picking up a spyderco Milly in BG 42 just curious:)
;)
 
Alright, so for modern steel diomand hones and ceramic is basically the best way to go? Now, for touching up the edge of a knife once a week or so, I wouldn't really even need a medium/coarse grit stone, would I? It seems like if I just wanted to touch up a not very sharp knife until it is as sharp as possible, and then keep it sharp, just getting a fine and extra fine would suffice. Am I right? For instance, a fine DMT 4" Pocket Whetstone and an Extra fine of the same thing would be able to touch up any knives that don't need reprofiling, and I am assuming you can get a knife pretty damned sharp using a fine and an extra fine stone. But back to the Sharpmaker, would it put an edge as sharp or moreso sharp then the DMT fine/extra fine, or with practice could I get a better edge on the DMT fine/extra fine?
 
Brutus013 said:
Alright, so for modern steel diomand hones and ceramic is basically the best way to go? Now, for touching up the edge of a knife once a week or so, I wouldn't really even need a medium/coarse grit stone, would I? It seems like if I just wanted to touch up a not very sharp knife until it is as sharp as possible, and then keep it sharp, just getting a fine and extra fine would suffice. Am I right? For instance, a fine DMT 4" Pocket Whetstone and an Extra fine of the same thing would be able to touch up any knives that don't need reprofiling, and I am assuming you can get a knife pretty damned sharp using a fine and an extra fine stone. But back to the Sharpmaker, would it put an edge as sharp or moreso sharp then the DMT fine/extra fine, or with practice could I get a better edge on the DMT fine/extra fine?
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A fine and an ultra-fine (red and green) DMT hone is what I use almost all the time. I don't care for the various 'systems' because all they basically do is keep the blade at a consistent angle, which anyone can do pretty well with a bit of practice. Bench stones and a little practice are all that you need to keep your knives screaming sharp (that's one level above scary :D).
 
Thanks. I mean $40 for two diomand hones, a fine and extra fine DMT, is very reasonable, and from what I have heard with some practice the knives will be very sharp and the stones themselves will last for a long time.
 
You can actually get a knife shaving sharp with a coarse diamond stone and a bit of care, I prefer to go a little finer. The diamond stones and modern (manmade, often uses ceramic abrasives) waterstones are the fastest cutting, I prefer waterstones for the feel and consistent cutting quality. Ceramic hones are nice as they will cut even the hardest steels, but they're still too fine in grit for heavy material removal. If you're going to sharpen dry though then diamond and ceramic are probably the best choices. One thing about diamonds though is that they aren't the best for soft steel, it tends to wrap around and pull out the diamonds, which reduces the life of the hone.
 
Yeah, I don't really use soft metal. Most of my knives are Sandvik (I have a few Kershaw) and/or S30V.
 
For the last couple of years, I've been using Norton's waterstones in 220, 1000, 4000, and 8000 grit, along with an Illinois razor strop charged with half-micron chromic oxide. The edges I get are truly exceptionally sharp, especially with the harder steels. However, the tiniest recurve to the blade creates problems, and initial profiling takes a lot of work. Once profiled, the blades are easy to maintain. Keeping the stones flat is another matter: it has required a window glass, and a lot of elbow grease and 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper.

Lately, I've gone to using Harbor Freight's 1x30 belt sander, along with Lee Valley's 3M mylar belts, Surgi-Sharp leather belts, and Hand American's polishing pastes. Not much more money, but a whole lot less work (and I mean a *lot*). Recurves aren't a problem, and the results are even better.
 
Ah, I have heard good things about using different belts and films and such. But with the DMT Diamond Hones, don't they not need flattening?
 
Brutus013 said:
Ah, I have heard good things about using different belts and films and such. But with the DMT Diamond Hones, don't they not need flattening?
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The only surface to worry about is the diamond, and when that wears out, the hone is useless. There just isn't anything to flatten. By all accounts, DMT seems to have the most durable of the diamond hones. Recurves will still be a problem.
 
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